Participated · Series B · Jun 2021

Alto offers on-demand rides through a members-only platform in which all drivers are employees and the company owns and maintains a fleet of new, 5-star crash-rated SUVs. Its mobile app lets riders customize music, lighting, climate, and provides exterior vehicle lighting for easy identification, creating a curated "vibe" for each trip. The model emphasizes safety: drivers are rigorously vetted, performance-managed, and can unlock doors only when the passenger is in range. Alto specifically targets customers—especially women—who are hesitant to use traditional ridesharing services due to safety concerns. The company is currently live in Dallas and intends to expand to additional cities in 2019, aiming for national coverage by 2020. Financially, Alto has raised $14.5 million across two funding rounds to support its launch and early operations and plans another raise in the spring to fuel further growth.

Participated · Series C · Sep 2019

Canndescent is a Santa Barbara, Calif.-based cultivator of premium cannabis led by CEO Adrian Sedlin. The company sells flower under the Calm, Cruise, Create, Connect and Charge labels and operates two brand tiers: Canndescent (ultra-premium) and goodbrands (middle market). It has launched its brands into other product categories including vapes and ingestibles and into additional geographies. Consumers can currently purchase its products in California and Nevada. Canndescent raised $27.5M in a Series C financing to support growth. The company plans to use the proceeds to expand into vapes and ingestibles, grow in Massachusetts, Nevada, Canada and beyond, and deepen investments in both of its brands. Canndescent is a Santa Barbara-based cannabis cultivator that grows and markets premium flower for the adult-use market. Led by CEO Adrian Sedlin, the company applies practices from consumer-packaged goods, advanced agriculture and luxury lifestyle marketing. It opened a municipally-permitted cultivation facility in 2016 and launched a premium flower brand in California in 2017. It is now opening a second facility, quadrupling its production to 48,000 square feet, and plans to expand production presence to over 100,000 square feet. Consumers can purchase Canndescent products at dispensaries and delivery services throughout California. The company raised $10m in Series B funding to finance new product launches and further expand production capacity. Canndescent cultivates and markets a branded line of premium cannabis flower produced, packaged and distributed in accordance with state and local laws. The company closed a $6.5M seed funding round to support its operations. It intends to use the proceeds for working capital, marketing, and additional property, plant and equipment. Canndescent planned to open a facility in Desert Hot Springs, CA the following month, operating under a municipally issued conditional use permit specifically for cultivation. The business emphasizes compliant, packaged flower as its core product while expanding cultivation capacity and market presence.