Red Sea Ventures
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Scott Birnbaum is the kind of investor founders actually want to work with - he gets his hands dirty post-investment and doesn't just write checks and disappear. Portfolio companies consistently say RSV "punches way above their weight" in BD, strategy, and PR support. The fund has serious conviction around "cult brand" consumer companies and mission-driven founders, which sounds fluffy but actually translates to early bets on category-defining companies like Sweetgreen and Allbirds before they were obvious wins. They strongly prefer warm intros through their network, so if you can't get a connection, you're probably SOL. The portfolio skews heavily NYC-centric with some legitimately impressive exits, but fund size means they can't lead larger rounds.
- —Best for: Mission-driven consumer/enterprise founders who need hands-on operational support
- —Watch out for: Cold outreach - they're network-driven and warm intro dependent
- —Known for: Punching above their weight in portfolio support and backing cult brands early
Red Sea Ventures backs companies that radically simplify complex, regulated categories while delivering consumer-grade or worker-grade experiences around "societal organizing principles." They invest in early stage technology-enabled companies that have the potential to transform industries and consumer experiences for the better.
Pre-Seed and Seed-stage primarily (average $3.51M), with selective Series A participation ($17.6M average). Portfolio spans Enterprise Applications, Consumer, Retail, Consumer Goods and FinTech, with 63 Tech companies, 45 Consumer (B2C) companies, 36 Software companies and 33 Enterprise (B2B) companies.
French-American entrepreneur with 20+ years experience, previously co-founded Epok (intelligence/law enforcement platform), was M&A lawyer at White & Case, and Director at CBS Local. Founders say he "punches way above his weight" and is "one of the most supportive investors" who focuses on business development, strategy, PR, and follow-on financings.
Co-Founder & Chief Concept Officer of Sweetgreen, scaled it to 250+ restaurants across 23 states with $3B+ IPO valuation in 2021. Named to Fast Company "Most Creative People in Business" and Forbes "30 Under 30."
Serial entrepreneur who co-founded TULA Skincare (acquired by P&G), Troops.ai (acquired by Salesforce), and Spinback (Buddy Media/Salesforce), with over $1B in acquisition value. Wisconsin engineering grad who volunteers with National Ski Patrol for 20+ years.
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