• Ollie

  Participated · Series A · Aug 2017

  Ollie operates a subscription service that prepares and delivers what it calls human-grade dog food, tailoring recipes and portion recommendations to each dog’s unique needs. The company uses a third-party USDA kitchen in Pennsylvania to produce meals that include proteins like chicken, beef and lamb heart alongside ingredients such as butternut squash, rutabaga, chickpeas, potato, cranberries, kale, strawberries and cod liver oil. Pricing is calorie-based, with small dogs starting at about $3 per day and an average around $6 per day per dog. Ollie emphasizes precise portion delivery and customization as its core product differentiator. The business is early stage relative to the broader pet food market, which is expected to reach $75 billion in revenue this year. Competitors mentioned in the market context include The Farmer’s Dog, The Honest Kitchen and NomNomNow. Ollie offers fresh, cooked pet meals made with 98% natural, human-grade ingredients and 2% supplements, formulated by vets and prepared in a USDA-inspected, FDA-regulated facility alongside human food sold at top-tier retailers. The brand ships refrigerated meals to pet parents within two days of cooking and provides weekly or bi-weekly deliveries with flexible shipping options. Each pet is placed on a tailored nutrition and feeding plan that accounts for allergies, health concerns, weight, activity, age, and size. Ollie uses customer data and feedback to continually update formulas and portions to match each pet's needs. The company recently launched a new product line and was co-founded by Alex Douzet, Gabby Slome, and Randy Jimenez. Ollie raised $4.4M in seed funding to further build out its product line and expand the team.

• MasterClass

  Participated · Series B · Feb 2016

  MasterClass operates a subscription streaming platform providing access to 100+ instructors and classes across Arts & Entertainment, Business, Design & Style, Sports & Gaming, Writing and more. Each class features about 20 video lessons averaging roughly 10 minutes apiece, and content streams on mobile, tablet, desktop and major TV platforms including Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV and Roku. Launched in 2015 by founder and CEO David Rogier and headquartered in San Francisco, the company plans to use its new capital to increase content production and pursue international expansion. MasterClass also intends to launch a new Enterprise business and continue growing its workforce. Financially, the company raised a $225M Series F and previously closed a $100M Series E a year earlier, bringing total funding to date to more than $475M. The company’s product and growth initiatives are the stated focuses for the new capital. MasterClass offers documentary-style, celebrity-taught classes (called “masters”) across topics, with lessons broken into 20–30 minute videos and downloadable workbooks plus community hubs. The platform has produced about 85 classes featuring high-profile instructors such as Gordon Ramsay, Serena Williams, Steph Curry, Anna Wintour and Neil deGrasse Tyson. MasterClass charges a $180 annual subscription; subscriptions accounted for 80% of revenue in 2018 and now represent 100% of the company’s revenue. The company said sales more than doubled last year but declined to share more recent usage metrics tied to the coronavirus period. MasterClass positions its content at the intersection of entertainment and education and emphasizes production quality over interactive instruction. It is experimenting with formats including audio-only, short form and augmented reality and plans to use capital to produce new classes and ramp production to roughly one class per week. MasterClass offers celebrity-taught online classes across subjects such as tennis and photography. The company currently offers 39 classes and plans to exceed 50 by the end of the year, and it released its first mobile app this April after growing primarily via desktop. MasterClass introduced a $180 annual subscription granting access to all lessons; subscriptions account for 80% of the company’s revenue. Sales more than doubled from 2016 to 2017 and were on track to double again in the current year. CEO David Rogier said the company is on pace to match Udacity and Coursera in revenue, though he declined to disclose MasterClass’s financials or valuation. The company plans to use capital to expand internationally and to recruit additional celebrity instructors. San Francisco-based MasterClass previously raised $54.5 million in venture capital. MasterClass produces hours-long, production-quality online courses taught by well-known practitioners (e.g., Serena Williams, Gordon Ramsay, Christina Aguilera) and offers community access and instructor Q&As. Courses are sold individually at about $90, and the company shares revenue with instructors. Leadership says learners span income, education and geographic cohorts, and that for up to 80% of students it is their first online class; the company did not disclose overall user or revenue figures. MasterClass works with instructors to produce and develop each program. The team plans to add more classes, hire more employees, and expand beyond arts into a “business” category with tutorials from entrepreneurs and visionaries. The company operates offices in San Francisco and Los Angeles. MasterClass is an online education platform that sells video courses taught by high-profile professionals and celebrities. The site charges $90 per class and currently features offerings from Dustin Hoffman, Serena Williams, James Patterson, Usher, and a newly released Kevin Spacey class. Cofounders Aaron Rasmussen and David Rogier started assembling talent and filming in 2013 and currently employ 22 people. The company says it has "substantially more" registered users than the 30,000 figure reported previously but declines to disclose exact user counts. Management plans to film 10–15 additional classes in 2016, with some releases delayed by post-production. Several teaching talents, including Spacey and Usher, also participate as investors in the business.

• SonicEnergy™

  Participated · Convertible Note · Sep 2015

  uBeam develops wireless charging technology and is led by CEO Meredith Perry. The company is based in Santa Monica. It is currently pursuing a Series B financing and presented to prospective investors to raise capital. The fundraiser is intended to cover operations for roughly two years at the company’s current cash burn rate. The articles identify several investors involved in the round but note the $20 million raise is not yet complete. No revenue or user metrics were disclosed in the coverage. uBeam's core product uses ultrasound transmitters to send ultrasonic vibrations and a charging case that converts those vibrations into electrical energy, enabling charging at distances of around 15 feet and to multiple devices at once. The company says it has moved from large, non-portable prototype receivers to more compact designs and is shifting focus from small-scale prototype development to large-scale production as it approaches launch. uBeam is preparing to ship wireless phone chargers and has hired seasoned executives — Jeff Devine as COO to manage manufacturing and Monica Hushen as CFO to handle finance and potential M&A/partnership activity. The technology is being pitched as applicable beyond phones to appliances and public venues, and uBeam has held talks with Samsung and Apple while engaging potential strategic partners such as Starbucks, Virgin, Starwood Hotels, and major fast-food brands. Financially, uBeam previously raised a $3.2M seed round and a $10M Series A (October 2014), and has now secured additional capital as it scales. uBeam is building a consumer-facing wireless charging system that uses ultrasonic sound waves to convert inaudible sound into energy to charge devices. Its initial product is planned as a light, unobtrusive protective phone case that charges when in range of a uBeam transmitter, without a large battery on the case. The company has filed multiple patents and says it has a working prototype. uBeam aims to have product in customers’ hands within the next two years and is preparing to move into production. The startup recently hired 11 new employees to accelerate development. To date it has raised about $12 million in total capital. uBeam is developing wireless charging technology intended to power gadgets such as laptops and smartphones without plugging them into wall outlets or other energy sources. The company has filed several patents related to its approach. Meredith Perry, a 22-year-old University of Pennsylvania graduate, founded uBeam and has led public demos, including at TechCrunch Disrupt NYC. uBeam raised $750,000 in seed funding to build out its technology. Investors include Founders Fund's angel investing arm, Andreessen Horowitz, Crunchfund, and individual angels such as Marissa Mayer and Tony Hsieh. The company is described as being in heads-down development; Perry declined to disclose staff count or many details.

No current team members are available.