CompanyFirst

What is CompanyFirst?

Consumer Ventures, formerly known as CompanyFirst, is a venture capital firm based in Chicago with a focus on investing in and building the next generation of great consumer brands, products, retailers, and technologies that enable the consumer experience. They target US-based companies with less than $10 million in revenue, opting not to invest in pre-revenue companies. Specializing in Seed, Series A, and Series B investment stages, Consumer Ventures is committed to investing in emerging consumer products across a variety of industries including food, beverage, personal care, apparel, kids products, and pet products.

Their approach is to partner with passionate entrepreneurs, asking 'How can we help?' to assist in building a more valuable company. With a typical investment range between $50,000 and $500,000, they may invest up to $1 million in companies they believe in, often starting with Series A rounds, and continuing to invest across multiple rounds for successful portfolio companies. They co-invest with partners to bring the best resources to their investments.

Consumer Ventures maintains a strong value system based on Midwestern values such as integrity, humility, and empowerment, favoring the creation of great businesses over hunting for unicorns.

Their strategic expertise is supported by a hands-on, cross-functional team and a network of advisors, partners, and industry experts. The team's experience spans finance, strategy, marketing, and operations, and they are dedicated to driving growth, supporting working capital needs, and seizing market opportunities. They focus on product, brand, and channel development, along with improving operations to create capital efficiency.

Consumer Ventures proudly invests in and empowers underrepresented industries, regions, and people, reporting on the diverse impact of their investments.

What they say:

We invest in emerging consumer products and brands (e.g. food, beverage, personal care, apparel, pet products, etc.) along with tech-enablement of the consumer buying process (e.g. DTC/e-commerce, retail, and supply chain innovation, etc.). We invest in US-based companies with less than $10M of revenue (we do not have a "minimum revenue" but do not invest in pre-revenue companies).