Participated · Series A · Jul 2023

Ten Thousand is a New York City–based men's activewear brand focused on performance-driven apparel tested by elite athletes. The company offers apparel, accessories, and equipment for athletes ranging from crossfitters to endurance runners. Its products emphasize athlete-led design and precision for customers who train with purpose. Ten Thousand competes within the global athleticwear market, which the article notes exceeds $100 billion. The brand has attracted institutional investors and is positioning to lead the premium men's performance apparel category. Financially, it completed a Series A in 2023 that raised $21.5 million and has secured additional capital in a subsequent Series B (terms undisclosed). Ten Thousand is a men's activewear brand that designs premium, purpose-built training apparel for serious and hybrid athletes. Its core product line emphasizes high-quality materials, attention to detail, and athlete-tested performance gear. The company has cultivated a strong following and claims one of the highest repeat-customer rates in the industry. Ten Thousand has built the Run Strong program to engage hybrid athletes and has activated at events like the Life Time Miami Marathon and Chicago Half Marathon, raising over $10,000 for the Life Time Foundation. With the new funding and partnerships, the company plans to grow its team, invest in inventory, explore retail, form larger partnerships, and expand marketing channels. The company is addressing customer demand and capacity constraints as a key operational focus.

Led · Seed · Aug 2022

Boisson operates brick-and-mortar shops and an e-commerce platform that curates non-alcoholic spirits and beverage brands for consumers and suppliers. Launched in 2021 in NYC, the company has expanded to eight storefronts across New York City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco and grown its ecommerce channel. Boisson has executed strategic industry partnerships, including with Drizly, and positions itself as a tastemaker in the fast-growing NA category. The company reported a 300% revenue increase from 2021 to 2022 and is on track for triple-digit year‑over‑year growth in 2023. Boisson’s product strategy emphasizes curated collections, wholesale and retail distribution, and an omni-channel experience for customers. Recent leadership change—appointing Sheetal Aiyer as CEO with founder Nick Bodkins remaining as President—signals a focus on scaling and category expansion. Boisson operates retail stores and an e-commerce platform focused on non-alcoholic spirits and a curated collection of over 125 non-alcoholic beverage brands. Launched in 2021 in NYC by Nick Bodkins and Barrie Arnold, the company currently runs five retail locations in Manhattan and Brooklyn and offers nationwide shipping. Boisson has grown sales 7.5x and recently closed a $12M seed round that values the company at $47M. The company plans to expand its physical footprint to Los Angeles with three locations opening in August and September and intends to open additional stores in major U.S. and international markets. It will also launch an on-premise arm to offer wholesale distribution, product education, and consumer data to restaurants, bars and hospitality properties, and will debut new content platforms. To support distribution, Boisson has partnered with Ford Electric Vehicles for zero-emissions delivery to on- and off-premise accounts.

Participated · Series B · Sep 2021

Cleancult is a NYC-based sustainable cleaning brand founded in 2019 by Ryan Lupberger and Zachary Bedrosian. It offers a full lineup of home cleaning essentials—liquid hand soap, laundry detergent, stain stick, all-purpose cleaner, dish soap, bar soap—made with biodegradable plant-based formulas, many featuring its patented CocoClean Technology. The company emphasizes zero-waste packaging, using recyclable milk cartons and offering reusable glass dispensers instead of plastic bottles. Cleancult closed a $25M Series B with investors including Reynolds Channel, Anchor Capital, Box Group, Vanterra Capital, Blue Scorpion Investments, Hartbeat Ventures (Kevin Hart), and Rachel Zoe Ventures. As part of the financing, Seth Cohen (Managing Partner, Reynolds Channel) and Mark Zurcher (former CEO of Angie's BOOMCHICKAPOP) will join the board. With the new funding the company plans to add retailer partners and expand into an additional 2,500 stores, growing its retail presence to over 5,500 stores across the U.S. and Canada, including CVS, Bed Bath & Beyond and Meijer.

Participated · Series C · Feb 2019

Back To The Roots is an Oakland, CA-based organic gardening company led by co-founders and co-CEOs Nikhil Arora and Alejandro Velez. The company offers small-space indoor grow kits and outdoor gardening products that include a line of organic, 100% USA-grown seeds, raised beds, and organic peat-free potting soil. Its products are distributed in over 10,000 retail locations nationwide, including The Home Depot, Lowe's, Target, Walmart, Cost Plus, Albertsons, HEB, Amazon, and Costco. Back To The Roots raised $15M in a Series D to fund its next phase of growth. Major investors in the round included S2G Ventures, Loft Growth Partners, Fenwick Brands, Echo Capital, and lawn & garden leaders Steve Hill and Jim Feinson. The company plans to use the funds to accelerate product innovation and support new distribution growth. Back to the Roots makes small-space gardening kits, live plants, aquaponic systems, mushroom grow kits, microgreen kits, and a retail line of 100% U.S.-grown seed packets. The company plans to scale national distribution and marketing for its seed packet line and expand its kit product line, including four new products launching at Walmart and Lowe's. Its seed program was piloted in 100 The Home Depot stores and will expand nationwide to The Home Depot, Albertsons, and H-E-B next spring. Back to the Roots emphasizes organic, non-GMO varieties and transparency about American farmers supplying its seeds. The company's products are sold in over 10,000 stores nationwide and online via BacktotheRoots.com and Amazon. Founded in 2009 and based in Oakland, California, the brand targets making gardening accessible to families and classrooms. Back to the Roots sells organic breakfast cereals and a line of indoor gardening kits, including the Water Garden aquaponic system, Mushroom Grow Kits, and windowsill herb and veggie planters. The company was co-founded in 2009 by Co-CEOs Alejandro Velez and Nikhil Arora and is based in Oakland, CA. Its products are distributed through national retailers such as Walmart, Bed Bath & Beyond, Bloomingdale’s, Petco, Costco, The Home Depot, Target, Lowe’s and Whole Foods. The business focuses on both consumer food products and educational/home gardening solutions for schools and homes. The company intends to use newly raised funds to accelerate growth in the indoor gardening market. No revenue or user metrics were disclosed in the article. Back to the Roots is an organic food company founded in 2009 and based in Oakland, California. It sells products in over 14,000 stores worldwide, including Whole Foods Market, Target, Costco and Amazon. The company offers consumer food and indoor gardening products, including a Ready to Grow line with three Garden-in-a-Jar varieties, an Organic Self Watering Tomato Planter using ancient "olla" technology, and an expanded Organic Stoneground Flakes cereal line featuring Biodynamic® Cinnamon Clusters. This spring the company launched five additional products across its lines. Back to the Roots expanded a crowdfunding campaign on CircleUp into a $10M Series A funding round. The financing was led by Acre Venture Partners and included S2G Ventures and Red Sea Ventures. The company plans to use the funds to accelerate product development, scale distribution within retail and education sectors, and continue growing the team. Co-founded in 2009 by Nikhil Arora and Alejandro Velez, Back to the Roots commercializes breakfast cereals and organic breakfast toppers. The company currently sells its products in over 14,000 stores worldwide, including Whole Foods Market, Target, Costco, and Amazon. It plans to launch 10 new products in 2016 and has signed an exclusive national partnership with Sodexo to enter K-12 schools. The company intends to use the $5M seed financing to accelerate product development, expand distribution into retailers and schools, and build the team at its Oakland headquarters. The $5M round includes a $3M portion being raised through CircleUp via a 30-day crowdfunding campaign led by Agency of Trillions, with participation from previous investors Blake Mycoskie, John Foraker, and Nicolas Jammet. Prior to this, the company raised a $2M convertible note in June 2015.

Led · Seed · May 2018

Hooch operates a consumer subscription that offers one free drink per day for $9.99 monthly and a premium Hooch Black tier for $295 per year that adds hotel deals, concierge service and other perks. The company recently launched Hooch Black and is expanding its advisory board to support hospitality and media partnerships. Hooch said it will work with Warner Music Group on content, events and promotions. Leadership views strategic partner relationships as central to competitive advantage in the hospitality industry. The company is preparing to launch a blockchain initiative and is exploring its own cryptocurrency token to enable a decentralized model for consumer rewards. Financially, Hooch raised a $5M seed and had previously raised $2.75M across two pre-seed rounds; management expects to reach profitability before pursuing a larger Series A. Hooch is a subscription-based drink app that charges $9.99 per month to let users claim one “free” drink each day at participating bars and clubs. The app partners with venues to drive customer discovery and currently works with about 400 bars across New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Dallas, Austin, San Diego, New Jersey, Phoenix and Hong Kong. Hooch has signed established partners including Dream Hotels, The London Hotel in Los Angeles and Ladurée in New York, which the company says adds credibility in a competitive hospitality app market. The startup plans product enhancements such as a touchless redemption process for bartenders and a mobile payment solution to allow users to order additional drinks and pay their full bar bill through the app. Hooch views the mobile payment feature as a potential revenue stream by taking a small slice of transactions. The company will use the new funding to roll out these product improvements and to expand geographically, targeting 35 cities in the next year and a half with San Francisco, Seattle and Houston listed as next markets. Hooch is a subscription-based mobile app that offers members one round of cocktails at participating bars via a curated drinks menu. Members pay $9.99 per month or $99 per year for access to partner venues. The app launched exclusively in New York in November 2015 and is available on iOS and Android; it advertises presence in New York City, Los Angeles, Austin, Dallas and Miami. Hooch positions itself as a virtual cocktail society connecting users and venues and has been featured in TechCrunch, CNBC, LA Times and Time Out, and listed on Refinery29's Favorite App List. The company says the service drives value for both users and venues and has won the Anheuser-Busch/ZX Ventures Start Up Competition at SXSW. Hooch was founded by nightlife and tech veterans and plans to use new funding to accelerate growth domestically and internationally. Hooch is a subscription app that lets members redeem one complimentary cocktail per day for $9.99/month. The service partners with bars and restaurants, which offer a first drink free as a promotional tool to drive foot traffic and higher tabs. CEO Lin Dai reports members redeem an average of 16 drinks per month, with customers spending an additional $30–$40 per visit and checks at participating restaurants reaching up to $140. Hooch is live in Los Angeles and New York and is expanding soon to Austin and Miami. The app is available on iOS and Android. The company envisions expanding beyond drinks into broader hospitality offers such as free appetizers or hotel room upgrades.