What stage does Collectiv invest at?

Collectiv invests at the Seed, Series A stages.

Where is Collectiv located?

Collectiv is headquartered in Houston, US.

Collectiv

Venture capital

Houston · Seed–Series A · 8 people tracked

★ Follow + Add to CRM ⤳ Find an introduction

✨ Fox Verdict

Investment thesis

The Collectiv is a community-powered venture fund that invests in AI-native, dual-use technologies first validated in sports and then scaled to health, enterprise, and consumer markets, alongside selective minority ownership in emerging leagues and franchises. Focus areas include AI and data intelligence, fan engagement and media, human performance and wellness, venues and operators, and next-generation sports properties. Backed by 50+ sports leaders and strategically partnered with Texas VC firm Mercury Fund, the fund seeks to open premium sports-technology and ownership opportunities to its community, delivering institutional-grade rigor, differentiated sourcing, and community-powered insights to sports as an asset class.

Invests inAI & Machine Learning Consumer Data & Infrastructure Enterprise Software Healthtech IoT Media & Entertainment Sports Tech Wellness & FitnessGlobalHoustonUnited States

Source: firm website, verified Aug 11, 2026.

Stage

Seed–Series A

Houston, TX, US

Instruments

Equity

Founded

2023

Tracked investments

Team · 8 people

from the firm's website & public directories

Chantell Preston· General Partner

A 25-year healthcare executive and co-owner of LOVB San Francisco who joined The Collectiv as General Partner, advocating for women's role in investment and ownership.

Heath Butler· Co-Founder, Venture Partner

Co-founder and venture partner with 25+ years of executive and investment experience; also a venture partner at Mercury Fund and founder of Urban Capital Network, with startup and board experience. Holds a B.S. in Finance and an MBA in Marketing.

Winston Gilpen· Co-Founder, Managing Partner

Co-founder and managing partner with 30+ years of executive and advisory experience across finance, strategy, operations, and management; a Texas CPA.

Ashley DeWalt· Co-Founder, Managing Partner· Houston, Texasin

Co-founder and managing partner of The Collectiv whose work has been featured in outlets including ESPN, CBS Sports, NBC Sports, Sports Business Journal, and Front Office Sports.

Blair Garrou· Senior Advisor & Investment Committee

Senior advisor and investment committee member with 30+ years of venture and executive experience; co-founder and managing partner of early-stage VC firm Mercury Fund.

Michelle Torres· Head of Operations

Head of operations at The Collectiv.

Nate Thompson· Head of Platform

Head of platform at The Collectiv.

Simone Williams· Analyst

Analyst at The Collectiv.

What they invest in

from 3 of 7 portfolio companies

Enterprise Software ×2AdTech ×1AI & Machine Learning ×1Cloud Computing ×1Creator Economy ×1Developer Tools ×1Marketing Tech ×1Media & Entertainment ×1

HQs:United States×2

Investments · 7 tracked

founders shown can be your intro path

Concord Communicationsbizjournals.com

LISNRlisnr.comin 𝕏

LISNR is an ultrasonic proximity platform that enables contactless commerce and customer engagement through presence detection, secure authentication, targeted promotions, and gamified loyalty experiences across retail, finance, mobility, and education sectors.

AdTechDeveloper ToolsEnterprise SoftwareRetail TechCincinnati, US

Rodney Williams(Founder & CEO)

nVenuenvenue.com

nVenue builds AI/ML infrastructure for the creation, pricing, and resolution of prediction markets on real-world events at scale.

AI & Machine LearningCloud ComputingEnterprise SoftwareDover, US

Kelly Jean Pracht(Director and CEO)

BoardSam Yagan(Director)John Garabedian(Director)Geoffrey Reiss(Director)

Ricerice.edu

SailGP Team USA

Minority ownership in the U.S. team of SailGP, the 'F1 of Sailing'; co-investors Avenue Sports Fund and Elway Capital.

Subscribe to our newsletterbeehiiv.comin 𝕏

beehiiv is a newsletter platform for marketing teams, offering a content editor, branded newsletter website on a custom domain, list growth tools, CRM/CDP integrations via API and webhooks, engagement analytics for pipeline attribution, and a native ad network for monetization.

Creator EconomyMarketing TechMedia & EntertainmentSaaS

Tyler DenkBenjamin HargettJacob Hurd

Videon

Distributed video network management platform for capturing and distributing sports content, with partnerships including FloSports, Sportradar, and Nokia; co-investor Cercano Management.

Portfolio news

latest coverage across their companies

nVenue Secures $5 Million to Revolutionize Live Sports Betting with AI and Machine Learning | Signalbase

nVenue · trysignalbase.com · Mar 7, 2025

Frequently asked questions

What stage does Collectiv invest at?: Collectiv invests at the Seed, Series A stages.
What sectors does Collectiv focus on?: Collectiv focuses on AI & Machine Learning, Consumer, Data & Infrastructure, Enterprise Software, Healthtech, IoT, Media & Entertainment, Sports Tech, Wellness & Fitness.
Where is Collectiv located?: Collectiv is headquartered in Houston, US.

Media · Podcasts & interviews

featuring the team

#14: Community Sports Tech Investing with Ashley Dewalt, Managing Partner of The Collectiv

Vetted Sports · Ashley DeWalt

Images

Similar investors

Everywhere Ventures

Everywhere Ventures is an early-stage venture firm that backs founders globally, supported by a community of founders and operators as LPs.

$250K

BCF Ventures

BCF Ventures is a corporate venture capital fund spun off from BCF Business Law Firm, investing in technology startups primarily in Canada, the US, Israel, and opportunistically Europe.

M ACCELERATOR

M Studio is a strategy and execution firm specializing in go-to-market strategy, technical implementation, and market communication for technology companies across multiple verticals including B2B SaaS, MarTech, media & entertainment tech, fintech, healthcare, sports tech, CPG, fashion, food tech, mobility, and cleantech. The firm provides particular expertise in US market entry for international companies.

$1M – $5M

itVenture

itVenture is a venture investment fund focused on IT projects, seeking talented early- and seed-stage teams with potential to scale beyond Russia.

$50K – $500K

Simsan Ventures

Simsan Ventures is an early-stage venture firm focused on democratising access to capital for overlooked and underrepresented founders, investing across Europe, India and South Korea.