Fundraising Fox
Refinery Venture
Venture capitalCincinnati · Seed–Growth · 6 people tracked
Also known as REFINERY VENTURES MANAGEMENT, LLC
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Investment thesis
Refinery positions itself as an entrepreneur-led venture capital firm that partners with founders transitioning from early traction to hypergrowth. It emphasizes hands-on operational support, helping companies define a category, build efficient customer acquisition, develop forecasting and team objectives, and create a high-performance culture and recruiting capability. The firm is drawn to founders with unique insights into hard, world-changing problems and explicitly welcomes companies located outside Silicon Valley, highlighting that innovation can emerge in smaller, unexpected places. It provides investment and support during the critical scaling stage, including Series A funding, across sectors such as healthcare, human capital, media, and marketing.
Source: firm website, verified Sep 29, 2026.
Team · 6 people
from the firm's website & curated & public directoriesFounder mafia
2 people who came through Refinery Venture went on to found or lead other companies.
What they invest in
from 17 of 27 portfolio companiesSaaS ×9AI & Machine Learning ×7Data & Infrastructure ×5Enterprise Software ×4Marketing Tech ×4Creator Economy ×3Logistics & Supply Chain ×3Media & Entertainment ×3
HQs:United States×15Canada×1
Who they back
founder profiles across 10 portfolio companiesFounding team size:solo founder×52 founders×44+ founders×1
Where their founders studiedfrom 13 founders with education data
AngelPad ×2University of Cincinnati ×2
What their founders studiedfrom 13 founders with field-of-study data
Business & Management ×6Engineering ×5Finance & Accounting ×4Computer Science ×3
Where their founders worked beforefrom 13 founders with career history
Uber ×2
Investments · 27 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathBy year:2024 · 22023 · 12022 · 42021 · 22020 · 12019 · 12018 · 12017 · 12015 · 114 dated
Livegistics provides a digital platform that replaces paper tickets with digital workflows, using AI to capture and structure ticket data (signatures, GPS, photos, timestamps) for ticketing, compliance, and logistics management across job sites.
AI & Machine LearningLogistics & Supply ChainSaaSDetroit, US
Justin Turk(Executive Officer, Director)inAndre Davis(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardShijiro Orchibat(Director)
Board seatTim Schigel· per SEC Form D
Co-investorsCintrifuse CapitalDraper Goren BlockchainMichigan RiseReinventure CapitalTappan Hill VenturesBlack Operator+1 more
ShareThis collects and analyzes consumer behavioral data from over three million global websites to provide insights, targeting, activation, and data enrichment services.
AdTechData & InfrastructureMarketing TechSaaSPalo Alto, US
Dana C. Hayes, Jr.(Chief Executive Officer)Myha Trieu(Chief People Officer)Chad Burns(Chief Financial Officer)inHuanjin Chen(Chief Technology Officer)Michael Gorman(Chief Product Officer)Paul Lentz(Executive Officer)
Board seatTim Schigel· per SEC Form D · $1.7M raise · filed Oct 2015
Co-investorsMercury FundIllinois VenturesMultiplier CapitalRealization Capital PartnersRunway Growth CapitalThreshold Ventures+2 more
Hardware privacy company; member testimonial from founder Richard Stokes.
Chicago, US
RICHARD STOKES(Executive Officer, Director)in
Board seatTim Schigel· per SEC Form D
Co-investorsmHUBConnetic VenturesFounder EquityM25New Stack Ventures
Astronomer provides Astro, a platform for running Apache Airflow, the open-source data orchestration tool used by enterprises to manage AI, ML, and analytics pipelines at scale.
AI & Machine LearningCloud ComputingData & InfrastructureDeveloper ToolsCincinnati, US
Ry Walker(Founder)inViraj Parekh(Founder)inJoe Otto(Founder)inGreg NeiheiselTim Brunk(Executive Officer, Director)inRyan Walker(Executive Officer, Director)
Co-investors500 GlobalAngelPadBain Capital VenturesBosch VenturesCincyTechConnetic Ventures+12 more
Portfolio company; CEO & Co-Founder Samantha Citro Alexander gave testimonial about Mudita's collaborative support.
Denver, US
Samantha Alexander(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)Chris Fanucchi(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)
BoardTimothy Schigel(Director)Thomas Rudy(Director)
Co-investorsLEADleAD SportsMGV CapitalMudita VentureService Provider CapitalAccess Capital+1 more
Edgybees develops augmented reality software that overlays contextual data onto live video feeds from drones and other aerial platforms.
Co-investorsNFXSeraphim Space8VCOurCrowdVerizon Ventures
Folio Photonics develops optical storage media using multi-layer read/write materials science to provide enterprise-scale, immutable active archive storage.
Data & InfrastructureDeep TechNew MaterialsSolon, US
Kenneth D. Singer(Executive Officer, Director)Steven J. Santamaria(Executive Officer, Director)inRonald B. Richard(Director)Robert D. Pavey(Director)Felix Brueck(Director)
Co-investorsCWRU Technology VenturesJobsOhio VenturesMaterial ImpactForte Ventures
Fooji operates a platform focused on customer engagement experiences.
E-commerceLogistics & Supply ChainMarketing TechSaaSLexington, US
Gregg A. Morton, Jr.(Founder)inThomas Martin(Director)Erik Zamudio(Executive Officer, Director)inGregg Morton(Executive Officer, Director)
Co-investorsDundee Venture CapitalKeyhorse Capital
Frayt operates a logistics technology platform designed to build an innovative ecosystem for the logistics industry.
B2B MarketplacesLogistics & Supply ChainSaaSUnited States, US
Luke Denny(Executive Officer, Director)inTimothy Yarbrough(Director)Clancy Boyer(Director)Joshua McCord(Director)
Co-investorsCapital Midwest Fundgener8torJobsOhio Ventures
Kelp is a liquid restaking protocol that issues rsETH, a liquid restaking token, in exchange for deposits of ETH and major liquid staking tokens.
Crypto & Web3
Co-investorsHTX Ventures (ex Huobi Ventures)LongHash VenturesAccelCintrifuse CapitalSV AngelY Combinator
Kernel provides infrastructure built on unikernels that enables AI agents to access and interact with the internet through web browsers, featuring fast startup times, stealth capabilities, session persistence, and comprehensive logging for developers.
AI & Machine LearningCloud ComputingData & InfrastructureDeveloper ToolsEnterprise SoftwareSan Francisco, US
Catherine Jue(Co-Founder & CEO)inRafael Garcia(Co-founder & CTO)in
Co-investorsAccelJetstreamY CombinatorACE & CompanyCintrifuse CapitalSV Angel
Picture Health develops AI tools that analyze routine radiology and pathology images to quantify biological properties of tumors for precision oncology.
AI & Machine LearningBiotechHealthtech
Co-investorsCintrifuse CapitalCWRU Technology VenturesJobsOhio Ventures
Portal26 provides enterprise AI management solutions that enable organizations to deploy and govern artificial intelligence systems.
AI & Machine LearningCybersecurityEnterprise SoftwareSaaS
Arti Arora Raman(Founder)in
Co-investorsFusionShasta Ventures
RedCircle runs host-read podcast advertising campaigns for brands, matching them with podcasters and managing booking, delivery, reporting, and performance analysis.
AdTechCreator EconomyMedia & EntertainmentSan Francisco, US
Jeremy Lermitte(Founder)inMike Kadin(Founder)in
Co-investorsEPIC VENTURESRackhouse Venture Management LpSignalFireBloomberg BetaMathCapital
Redi Health builds patient access and affordability programs that connect pharmaceutical manufacturers to patients through targeted approaches designed to increase medication adoption and sustained use.
Digital HealthHealthtechSaaS
Luke Buchanan(Founder)inJaimin Gandhi(Founder)in
Co-investorsMutual Capital PartnersBlue Heron CapitalM25Rev1 Ventures
The page presents insights tools for evaluating story and character appeal in media production, highlighting cost savings across development, reshoot, production, and marketing phases.
AI & Machine LearningCreator EconomyMarketing TechMedia & EntertainmentAustin, US
Monica Landers(CEO)in
Co-investorsAlumni VenturesFf Venture CapitalTechstarsBDMICollective Capital Ventures
StoryTap is a video platform that helps brands collect and share authentic video stories to build trust and engagement with audiences.
Creator EconomyMarketing TechMedia & EntertainmentSaaSPort Coquitlam, CA
Bernadette ButlerinSean Braacxin
Co-investorsStand Up VenturesTechstarsStandUp Ventures
Supplier.io (Tealbook) provides a supplier diversity and intelligence platform that helps procurement teams discover, vet, and source from new, local, small, and diverse suppliers using a database of over 20 million suppliers.
Data & InfrastructureEnterprise SoftwareSaaS
Stephany Lapierre(Founder)in
Co-investorsGood FriendsGrand VenturesReciprocal VenturesRTP GlobalStand Up VenturesBDC Capital Corporation+1 more
Torch is a leadership coaching and alignment platform that pairs executive coaches with an AI agent to develop organization-specific leadership capacities aligned to strategic intent.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareFuture of WorkHR TechMarketplacesSaaSSan Francisco, US
Cameron Yarbrough(Founder/CEO)inKeegan Walden(Founder/COO)in
Co-investorsInitialized CapitalKindred VenturesNorwest Venture PartnersObvious VenturesPioneerSoma Capital+11 more
Vantage Robotics designs and manufactures American-made small UAVs (drones), including the pocket-sized Trace nano drone and the Vesper drone, along with a rugged flight controller, for defense, security, and inspection use.
Defense TechHardwareIoTRoboticsSan Francisco, US
Tobin Fisher(Executive Officer, Director)in
Co-investorsACTAI VenturesAlumni VenturesCostella KirschRuvento Ventures Pte Ltd.SQN Venture Partners, LLCSand Hill Angels+1 more
Other
Tracked investments with no reachable website or further public details — typically companies that wound down, renamed, or were absorbed.
JMM Partners DEChampionDoc HaloFoodHealthOffloadRedi.Health
Rows marked “SEC filing” are inferred from directors named on the company's SEC Form D — public regulatory data, not a portfolio list published by the firm.
Exits · 1
1 acquisitionsTealbookacq. by Supplier.io
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companiesPortal26 · thesaasnews.com · Nov 5, 2025
KERNEL · ycombinator.com · Jul 31, 2025
Frequently asked questions
- How many investments has Refinery Venture made?
- Refinery Venture has 27 tracked investments, 1 of which have exited.
- What stage does Refinery Venture invest at?
- Refinery Venture invests at the Seed, Series A, Growth stages.
- What is Refinery Venture's typical check size?
- Refinery Venture typically writes checks of $1M – $2M.
- What sectors does Refinery Venture focus on?
- Refinery Venture focuses on Enterprise Software, Healthtech, HR Tech, Marketing Tech, Media & Entertainment, Sector Agnostic.
- Where is Refinery Venture located?
- Refinery Venture is headquartered in Cincinnati, US.
- Does Refinery Venture lead rounds?
- Refinery Venture has led 4 of the 4 rounds where its role is on record.
- Who does Refinery Venture co-invest with?
- Refinery Venture most often shares deals with JobsOhio Ventures, Cintrifuse Capital, CWRU Technology Ventures, among 48 tracked co-investors.
Images
Co-investors · 12
Alumni Ventures (AV) is a venture capital firm that co-invests alongside lead VCs in startups, backing founders with capital and access to a large investor and operator community.
OurCrowd is an online private markets investment platform that gives accredited and high-net-worth investors access to pre-vetted startup deals, targeted venture funds, and alternative assets such as private equity and private credit.
Reach Capital is an early-stage venture firm that partners with founders building companies in learning, health, and work.
Fusion Fund is an early-stage venture capital firm backing startups with technical or data advantages in healthcare, enterprise AI, and industrial technology.
New Stack Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm that backs founders outside traditional Silicon Valley networks, leading or co-leading pre-seed and seed rounds.
Black Ops VC is an early-stage venture capital firm focused on backing underinvested founders.
Blue Heron Capital is an early-stage growth equity firm based in Richmond, Virginia, with an additional presence in Washington, D.C. It funds companies in healthcare and enterprise technology, pairing its capital with operational support delivered through its network of operating advisors, the OA Collaborative.
Revolution is an investment firm that has backed founders, communities, and ideas for over two decades, spanning venture capital, entrepreneurship advocacy, and real estate and hospitality investments.
High Alpha is a venture firm that creates and funds B2B SaaS companies, partnering with founders to build enterprise software businesses. It operates a venture capital arm (Capital) and a company-building arm (Studio).
State of Mind Ventures is an early-stage venture capital fund that invests in founders and entrepreneurs across various sectors.
In-Q-Tel (IQT) is a not-for-profit strategic investment platform that has operated for over 25 years, backing frontier technology companies to advance the national security and prosperity of the U.S. and its allies.
Huron River Ventures is an early-stage venture fund investing in entrepreneurs building digital and sustainable technology solutions for the global energy industry, with a focus on the Midwest.
Firms observed investing alongside Refinery Venture, from public investor directories. Shared companies are the overlap with Refinery Venture's recorded portfolio.
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