Led · Seed · May 2023

G.O.A.T Fuel is a Dallas, TX–based lifestyle brand and maker of a health-forward energy drink. Its core product is an energy drink with a proprietary blend that includes cordyceps mushrooms, 200 mg of natural caffeine, green tea with EGCG, ginger, amino acids and 10 essential vitamins. The company was co-founded by CEO Jaqui Rice Gold, Trevion Gold and Jerry Rice. G.O.A.T Fuel raised $5M in a Seed round, bringing total funding to $12M. The company intends to use the funds to accelerate growth, amplify marketing, secure additional distribution in new U.S. markets, launch innovative new flavors and build consumer awareness in the sports energy drink market. Leadership positions the brand around a G.O.A.T. mindset and health-forward positioning to appeal to sports and wellness consumers.

Participated · Series A · Sep 2022

Bond Pet Foods began as a maker of plant-based pet treats and is shifting to develop precision-fermented, nature-identical chicken, beef, fish and other meat proteins for pet food. The company has partnered with Hill’s Pet Nutrition to develop a craft meat protein and is positioning to supply other established pet-food brands rather than building its own consumer-facing line. Bond is based in Boulder, Colorado, and plans to scale production at a new 15,000-square-foot facility in Boulder while tripling the size of its team. Management expects the facility to be complete in Q1 2023 and initial meat proteins ready for commercialization in roughly two years, including pilot feeding programs and regulatory work. The move is framed against a global pet food market valued at $110 billion in 2021 and projected to grow to $164 billion by 2029. Since 2017 the company has raised a total of $20 million, including a $17.5 million Series A in June. Bond Pet Foods develops dog and cat foods produced via microbial fermentation to make real animal proteins without animals. In August the startup announced a prototype of its "chicken without the chicken" product. Co-founder Rich Kellman said Bond is currently the only company developing meat proteins through microbial fermentation in the pet food space. The company plans to develop other cultured meat proteins for pet nutrition, including turkey, pork, and beef, and is exploring applications in the human food space. Financially, Bond completed $1.2 million in seed funding in December and a seed extension this year, bringing private raises to just under $2M to date; it also received a $250,000 grant from the Colorado OEDIT Advanced Industries Accelerator Grant Program. Bond states its mission is to be an ally for all animals by finding a better way to make complete, nutritious food for pets. Bond Pet Foods is a biotechnology company that produces animal-free, protein-rich ingredients for pet food by using fermentation to grow muscle proteins in microbes such as yeast. The company adapts fermentation technology used for cheese-making and insulin production to harvest high-quality proteins nutritionally identical to chicken, turkey, beef, pork and fish. Its proprietary process inserts animal muscle protein genes into microbes, ferments them with simple sugars, vitamins and minerals, and uses the resulting proteins as the foundation of complete pet-food recipes. Bond plans to use the seed proceeds to drive R&D and scale its animal protein production. It intends to debut its first consumer product — a protein-packed dog treat bar made with a pure yeast protein — early next year. The company reported closing a $1.2M seed round to support these efforts.

Participated · Series A · May 2022

Founded in 2020 by Dianna Cohen, Crown Affair positions itself as a haircare brand built around slow, intentional hair rituals grounded in ingredients and education rather than quick-fix formulas. The company reported $20M in bookings in 2024 and is targeting $30M in bookings for 2025. Crown Affair has raised prior institutional capital, including a $5M Series A and a $9M Series B in 2022, both led by True Beauty Ventures. Its Series C was led by Stride Consumer Partners with participation from True Beauty Ventures. The Series C marks Stride's first investment in the prestige hair category. The articles do not provide detailed product roadmap, unit economics, or use-of-funds specifics.

Led · Series A · Sep 2021

Spudsy upcycles imperfect sweet potatoes into plant-based puff snacks and a sweet potato “fry.” The puff comes in five flavors and the fry/straw product is offered in four flavors. Its products are sold at Whole Foods, Kroger and Sam’s Club, and the company works with a North Carolina farm and was on track to save 1 million flawed sweet potatoes by the end of 2021. Spudsy raised $3.3M in a Series A and has raised $6.5M total since it was founded three years ago. The company built out much of its executive suite last year and plans to use the new capital primarily for hiring, to support growing national retail interest, and to invest in in-store demonstrations. Management also plans to expand into other grocery categories such as frozen foods, bread and tortillas, and to push direct-to-consumer and Amazon sales next year. Founder and CEO Ashley Rogers previously founded Buff Bake and sold her share before starting Spudsy.

Participated · Series A · Aug 2019

Herbivore makes non-toxic skincare, bath and body products formulated with concentrated vitamins, minerals and botanicals and more than 35 SKUs. The brand emphasizes natural, plant-based, GMO-free and steam-distilled ingredients and excludes synthetic ingredients, parabens, SLS, phthalates, mineral oils and animal testing. Herbivore grew awareness largely via social media and sells through more than 500 doors globally, including Nordstrom, Credo, Space NK, Carbon Beauty, Follain and Sephora (where it launched in 2015 and is among Sephora’s fastest-growing skincare brands). The company was founded in 2011 by Alexander Kummerow and Julia Wills and was bootstrapped until this round. Reported historical revenue trajectories include being on track for $6M in 2016 (up from $2.2M the prior year), and an Owler estimate of nearly $10M more recently. Management plans to use the new capital to expand manufacturing capabilities and increase brand awareness through digital and in-store marketing.