Vice Ventures

viceventures.com

VCMatch tracks Vice Ventures as an investor focused on Consumer, Other, and Energy companies and Pre-Seed and Seed rounds. Upload your deck to compare your startup against the full private matching profile.

Check Size

Not specified

Stages

Pre-Seed, Seed

Focus Areas

Consumer, Other, Energy

Geography

Not specified

Investment Thesis

Vice Ventures pursues a contrarian, mission-driven investment philosophy: it seeks “good companies operating in superficially "bad" industries,” aiming to “conquer stigmas and strive towards superior returns.” The fund targets early-stage opportunities where strong brand quality and underserved pockets of market opportunity exist, leveraging founder experience in retail M&A, trading, and credit research to back differentiated consumer and regulated-sector businesses.

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Investment Focus

Who should take a closer look

Vice Ventures is most relevant for founders raising Pre-Seed and Seed rounds in Consumer, Other, Energy, and Biotech.

Focus statement

Vice Ventures focuses on early-stage startups in non-traditional verticals — explicitly investing in sectors such as alcohol, cannabis, energy, nicotine, psychedelics, sex tech and wellness, skill-based betting, sports betting, MDMA, ketamine and yet-to-be-known vices.

Value Add

Explicit, front-footed focus on stigmatized or regulated sectors ("superficially \"bad\" industries") rather than avoiding them.
Sector breadth across both vice and adjacent categories (alcohol, cannabis, nicotine, psychedelics, sex tech, betting, wellness, energy, etc.) including controlled substances like MDMA and ketamine.
Founder-led credibility and sector-relevant background: Catharine Dockery's experience in retail M&A (Walmart digitally native vertical brands team), equity trading and high-yield credit research and public recognition (Forbes 30 Under 30).
Early-stage approach with SPVs and Fund I (first close in 2019) indicating willingness to lead or participate at seed/early rounds.
Brand-first investing: an explicit emphasis on "top quality brands and pockets of market opportunity."
Willingness to articulate and monetize contrarian theses (not just passive exposure but active pursuit of stigmas as opportunity).