Refinery Venture
Venture capitalCincinnati · Seed–Growth · 4 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 3, 2026.
Team · 4 people
from the firm's websiteWhat they invest in
from 7 of 20 portfolio companiesData & Infrastructure ×3SaaS ×3AI & Machine Learning ×2Hardware ×2Marketing Tech ×2AdTech ×1B2B Marketplaces ×1Cloud Computing ×1
HQs:United States×7Canada×1
Investments · 20 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathCharleston, US
Joe Otto(Director)Maan Hamdan(Director)Timothy Yates(Director)Tim Schigel(Director)Joseph Hanna(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)
Board seatTim Schigel· per SEC Form D · $3M raise · filed Feb 2018
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)Tim Schigel(Director)
Board seatTim Schigel· per SEC Form D · $1.7M raise · filed Oct 2015
Chicago, US
RICHARD STOKES(Executive Officer, Director)
Board seatTim Schigel· per SEC Form D · $3.5M raise · filed Jan 2020
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 Tools
Ry Walker(Founder)
Folio Photonics develops enterprise-scale immutable active archive storage solutions using photonic materials science to reduce cost and improve security for long-term data retention.
Data & InfrastructureDeep TechHardwareSolon, US
Steven J. Santamaria(Executive Officer, Director)Ronald B. Richard(Director)Robert D. Pavey(Director)Kenneth D. Singer(Executive Officer, Director)Felix Brueck(Director)
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)
Detroit, US
JUSTIN TURK(Executive Officer, Director)ANDRE DAVIS(Executive Officer, Director)
Picture Health develops AI tools that analyze medical imaging to generate quantified biological biomarkers for cancer diagnosis and treatment monitoring.
AI & Machine LearningDigital HealthMedical Devices
Vantage Robotics develops flying camera drones, focusing on safety and performance.
HardwareIoTRoboticsSan Francisco, US
Tobin Fisher(Executive Officer, Director)
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.
Frequently asked questions
- 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.
Images
Co-investors · 11
Alumni Ventures (AV) is a venture firm that gives accredited individual investors access to professionally managed, diversified venture portfolios by co-investing alongside leading lead VC firms. It offers annual funds, syndicate deal-by-deal investing, and various investor clubs.
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).
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.
State of Mind Ventures (SOMV) is a seed-stage venture capital fund that partners early with ambitious founding teams, supporting them as they build their vision, teams, and growth.
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 a venture capital firm that backs founders outside traditional Silicon Valley networks, investing at the angel, pre-seed, and seed stages.
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.
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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