Participated · Series A · Jun 2024

Fuze Technology is a Los Angeles-based IoT company that operates a network of IoT utilities backed by data-driven advertising. Its flagship product, chargeFUZE, provides a pay-per-use mobile charging solution. The company’s adFUZE product delivers contextually relevant content to targeted audiences by combining its IoT hardware and software. Led by CEO Brandon Afari, Fuze plans to use the $11.5M Series A to accelerate demand and support international expansion. The company also intends to invest the proceeds in new product innovations. The Series A involved both strategic and institutional partners, including live-entertainment and venue investors named in the round. ChargeFUZE provides high-speed, on-the-go mobile charging via a network of autonomous kiosks where users scan a QR code to rent an all-in-one portable charger. The service removes the need to buy a battery, carry charging cords, or use tethered public chargers. Its kiosk network is expanding to span over 40 states and more than 50 professional sports stadiums and has been deployed at major venues and events such as Crypto.com Arena, SoFi Stadium, the US Open, Super Bowl LVI and the Miami F1 Grand Prix. The company partners with venue operators and property owners including Simon Property Group, Live Nation Entertainment, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Brookfield Properties and Oak View Group. Co-founded by Brandon Afari and Ryan Levy and based in Los Angeles, ChargeFUZE intends to use recent funding to scale its team, expand its global partner roster, accelerate growth, and explore new sectors of interest. The company announced a $5M Seed funding round in May 2022.

Participated · Series A · Jul 2023

Komi offers an all-in-one digital storefront and landing-page tool for creators, celebrities and brands to aggregate music, videos, merch, tour dates and more across platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Spotify, YouTube, Twitch and Shopify. The company recently launched public access to new commerce features such as on-page checkout, the ability to browse multiple stores and add items from different stores into a single cart, and deeper marketing and community-building tools. Komi is rolling out integrations (including an upcoming Amazon storefront integration) and custom-built data-capture tools that give fans instant benefits in exchange for email or phone information. The platform is priced at $9.99 per month or $96 per year with a 30-day free trial, and Komi says it has partnered with creators and brands across six continents with a combined audience of more than two billion followers; notable users include Lizzo, Usher, Meghan Trainor and Jessica Alba. The company plans to use new funding to expand its product suite and grow its U.S.-based team. Komi first launched in 2021 as a landing-page tool and has evolved into a broader commerce and creator-business platform. Komi is a London-based landing page and personalized website builder launched in October 2021 that targets content creators, musicians, athletes, celebrities and other creative talent. The product lets users create a central hub to promote podcasts, videos, music, merch, tour dates and social links, and integrates with platforms including TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Snapchat, Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, SoundCloud, Twitch and Shopify. Komi provides backend analytics such as total views, earnings, clicks and average clickthrough rate to help creators track engagement. The platform is invite-only today with plans to open to the public in early 2023 and operates on a $10-per-month subscription model. Komi reports fans engaging with Komi pages has grown 40% month-over-month since launch and that user engagement has more than doubled over the same period. High-profile users include Lizzo, Elton John, Idris Elba, Matthew McConaughey, Eva Longoria and influencer Zoe Sugg. The company said it will use funding to improve the platform and eventually roll out additional fan engagement and monetization tools, but declined to provide specific details.

Led · Equity · Sep 2022

Turn Systems supplies reusable cups and custom-branded collection bins to venues, operates its own dishwashing service, and provides software that tracks cup returns and shares data with venues. Cups are handed out by default with no deposit and include a scannable code on the bottom that opens a slot in collection bins. The company says its dishwashers are “700% faster than traditional dishwashers.” Fans can opt into an app to enter giveaways and win perks such as merch or VIP upgrades, which serves as an additional incentive to return cups. Turn has been trialed at several major events, with Live Nation reporting overall return rates above 90% and site-specific results such as 93% at Lollapalooza and 58% at the Sueños festival. Live Nation has invested in the company as part of broader efforts to reduce single-use cup waste at events.

Led · Series A · Jun 2022

Everything Legendary is a Black-owned and operated plant-based meat brand best known for its bestselling burgers. Launched in 2021, the company gained national attention after an investment deal with Mark Cuban on Shark Tank. Its products expanded to more than 3,000 stores, including Publix, Target, Safeway and Ralphs, within ten months. In February the company raised $6M in a Series A, which included a strategic equity partnership with Live Nation and participation from Mark Cuban, CircleUp Growth Partners and General Mills. As part of the Live Nation partnership, Everything Legendary’s burgers will be featured at select Live Nation festivals, theaters, clubs, amphitheaters and all House of Blues restaurants beginning this summer. The company says it will use the funding and partnership to expand availability to music fans at events and continue growing retail distribution. Everything Legendary produces plant-based, gluten-free, and soy-free vegan burgers formulated with ingredients such as hemp protein, beet extract, potato starch, and coconut oil. The brand was founded and is led by Duane "Myko" Cheers, Danita Claytor, and Jumoke Jackson. After appearing on season 12 of Shark Tank, the company sold $250,000 worth of burgers online within 24 hours and reported six-figure revenues in that period. The company is shipping products nationwide and has reduced shipping expenses by increasing the number of patties per package. Founders say the investment and exposure will help position the brand against competitors and reach new customers while emphasizing flavor and quality.

Participated · Series C · Jan 2022

Liquid Death sells canned water with irreverent, alcohol‑inspired branding and packaging, positioning itself as a healthier alternative while borrowing marketing and shelf strategies from beer. The brand places product not only on grocery shelves but also at events, bars, restaurants and conferences to reach social occasions. Liquid Death has been framed by investors and industry observers as a potential disruptor to legacy beverage players like Coke and Pepsi. The company reported $263 million in sales in 2023 and has attracted significant venture capital despite the capital‑intensive nature of the beverage category. Investors have noted the brand’s cultural relevance and repeat‑purchase potential as reasons to back it. The company has raised more than $267 million in venture funding to date. Liquid Death is a direct-to-consumer beverage company that sells canned sparkling water. It positions itself as a premium, personality-driven brand with distinctive metal-inspired can design and marketing that courts a death-metal/frat bro cohort. The company is on track for $130 million in revenue in 2022, up from $45 million the prior year, per Bloomberg reporting cited in the article. TechCrunch notes a 12-pack of Liquid Death tallboys retails for about $16 on Amazon (over $1 per can), which the article suggests supports relatively strong gross margins. The company is expanding into new flavor verticals (the article cites a hypothetical “Berry It Alive” flavor) as part of its growth plans. The piece frames water as a very large TAM and presents the brand’s rapid top-line growth and premium pricing as justification for investor interest. Liquid Death sells canned mountain water sourced from the Alps and markets itself with a punk-metal, humorous brand voice. The company launched in 2018 and is based in Los Angeles. It is now carried in more than 29,000 U.S. locations, including Whole Foods, Target, Safeway and 7‑Eleven, and revenue reached nearly $45 million last year. Liquid Death is beginning to roll out flavored waters (Berry It Alive, Severed Lime and Mango Chainsaw) sweetened with agave, each with three grams of sugar and about 20 calories. The brand emphasizes aluminum cans as more recyclable than plastic and relies on organic, viral marketing stunts and celebrity tie‑ins, such as Tony Hawk. Distribution gains on Amazon—moving to wholesale terms—have boosted sales, and the company noted ACV penetration was approaching about 9% at the end of 2021. Liquid Death sells mountain water in recyclable aluminum cans and has built a viral, irreverent brand around the tagline “murder your thirst.” The company is four years old, based in Los Angeles, and now employs about 60 people. Its distribution footprint includes roughly 16,000 U.S. locations, from bars and tattoo parlors to Whole Foods, Walmart and 7‑Eleven, and the product is also available in Canada. Cessario says the business has seen strong growth in retail and online channels over the past year. The team is not pursuing international expansion immediately and is instead focused on the U.S. and Canada, while exploring limited‑release flavor ideas for later in the year. As a maturing startup, Liquid Death says it now has more access to favorable debt terms for working capital if needed. Liquid Death is a Santa Monica-based beverage startup selling mountain water sourced from the Austrian Alps in aluminum cans, offered as still and sparkling. The brand uses heavy-metal-inspired, irreverent marketing (including the slogan “murder your thirst”) and also sells branded merchandise such as T-shirts and hoodies. Products are sold direct-to-consumer and through retail channels, including Whole Foods and more than 1,000 7-Eleven stores in California. A 12-pack of tallboys is priced at $16 and a “Hydrate or Die” T-shirt at $26. The company was incubated with help from the LA startup studio Science and is led by founder Mike Cessario, a former West Coast agency executive. Financially, Liquid Death has now raised a little more than $34 million in total funding following its latest round.