Refinery Venture
Venture capitalCincinnati · Seed–Growth · 5 people tracked
Also known as REFINERY VENTURES MANAGEMENT, LLC
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 Aug 25, 2026.
Team · 5 people
from the firm's website & curated
What they invest in
from 12 of 23 portfolio companiesSaaS ×7AI & Machine Learning ×4Data & Infrastructure ×4Enterprise Software ×2Healthtech ×2Logistics & Supply Chain ×2Marketing Tech ×2AdTech ×1
HQs:United States×8Canada×1
Investments · 23 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathBy year:2025 · 12024 · 22022 · 12019 · 12018 · 12015 · 17 dated
Charleston, US
Joseph Hanna(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)
BoardJoe Otto(Director)Maan Hamdan(Director)Timothy Yates(Director)
Board seatTim Schigel· per SEC Form D · $3M raise · filed Feb 2018
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)ANDRE DAVIS(Executive Officer, Director)Justin Turk(Director)Shijiro Orchibat(Director)Andre Davis(Executive Officer, Director)
Board seatTim Schigel· per SEC Form D
Co-investorsCintrifuse CapitalMichigan RiseReinventure CapitalTappan Hill VenturesBlack Operator
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)Huanjin 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 CapitalRunway Growth CapitalThreshold VenturesTunitas Ventures+1 more
Hardware privacy company; member testimonial from founder Richard Stokes.
Chicago, US
RICHARD STOKES(Executive Officer, Director)
Board seatTim Schigel· per SEC Form D · $3.5M raise · filed Jan 2020
Co-investorsmHUB
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)Viraj Parekh(Founder)inJoe Otto(Founder)inGreg NeiheiselTim BrunkTimothy Brunk(Executive Officer, Director)
Co-investors500 GlobalAngelPadBain Capital VenturesBosch VenturesCincyTechConnetic Ventures+10 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)Ronald B. Richard(Director)Robert D. Pavey(Director)Felix Brueck(Director)
Co-investorsCWRU Technology VenturesJobsOhio VenturesMaterial ImpactForte Ventures
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)Timothy Yarbrough(Director)Clancy Boyer(Director)Joshua McCord(Director)
Co-investorsCapital Midwest Fundgener8torJobsOhio Ventures
Kernel is an HR technology platform that lets international companies recruit, manage, and pay employees and freelancers across the 54 countries of Africa without setting up a local subsidiary, while remaining compliant with local labor law.
Future of WorkHR TechSaaS
Andrea G.(Founder)in
Co-investorsNewfund CapitalAccelCintrifuse CapitalSV AngelY Combinator
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 is an AI adoption management platform that gives enterprises visibility into generative and agentic AI usage, enforces security and governance, and measures ROI across the organization.
AI & Machine LearningCybersecurityEnterprise Software
Co-investorsFusionShasta Ventures
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
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
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 VenturesCostella KirschRuvento Ventures Pte Ltd.SQN Venture Partners, LLCSand Hill AngelsVeteran Ventures Capital
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
IPOs and acquisitions across the tracked portfolioTealbookacq. by Supplier.io
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companiesEdgybees · trysignalbase.com · May 12, 2026
Kernel · thesaasnews.com · Mar 12, 2026
Portal26 · fintech.global · Nov 5, 2025
Livegistics · trysignalbase.com · Mar 27, 2025
Frequently asked questions
- How many investments has Refinery Venture made?
- Refinery Venture has 17 tracked investments.
- 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.
- Who does Refinery Venture co-invest with?
- Refinery Venture most often shares deals with JobsOhio Ventures, Cintrifuse Capital, CWRU Technology Ventures, among 34 tracked co-investors.
Images
Co-investors · 12
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.
Fusion Fund is an early-stage venture capital firm backing startups with technical or data advantages in healthcare, enterprise AI, and industrial technology.
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.
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.
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).
Reach Capital is an early-stage venture firm that partners with founders building companies in learning, health, and work.
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 focused on investing in digital and sustainable technology solutions within the global energy industry.
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.
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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