Level Up Ventures

Level Up Ventures is proud to partner with amazing founders on their startup journey. In a venture capital landscape that often overlooks Black and Latino entrepreneurs, we're working hard to rewrite the narrative by investing capital as well as invaluable resources, networks, and guidance. 🤝💰 Hear directly from some of our incredible portfolio company founders as they share the impact of partnering with Hearst Level Up Ventures. 💼💡 We are actively investing in high growth, pre-seed and seed tech startups led by Black/Latino entrepreneurs. Please review our investment criteria to see if you are a good fit and submit your startup today! https://lnkd.in/e7QXd3pP Courtney Caldwell, MBA Dr. Tye Caldwell, DPB. ShearShare, Inc. Derrick L. Johnson Encounter AI Constanza Gomez Agustina Mir Sortile Osvaldo Montelongo Tornu Prynce Bob Lee III ConnectCare LLC Morgan Hewett Kyle Pierce Options MD Natalia Micheletti Tim Hylton Pryze App #VentureWithPurpose #EmpoweringEntrepreneurs #SuccessStories

Congratulations to Level Up Ventures' latest Portfolio Company, BoxedUp, Inc., for closing on a $2.8M raise! BoxedUp is a cloud-based e-commerce platform for B2B rental companies and referred to as "the Shopify for rentals" by CEO Donald Boone. “Our platform helps legacy rental industries like portable storage, dumpster, and welding automate their manual processes to further scale their organizations, using e-commerce as a wedge to scale in the $300 billion B2B equipment rental industry,” Be sure to check out the rest of the article and share with your networks. https://lnkd.in/evpMrjTr

📢 Check out our Level Up Ventures Startup Spotlight Series, ✨ where we feature interviews with the inspiring entrepreneurs behind our portfolio companies. Encounter AI has developed an advanced artificial intelligence ordering assistant, "Mai," specifically designed for restaurant drive-thrus. This cutting-edge technology significantly enhances accuracy, service, and speed, ensuring a seamless and efficient experience for both customers and restaurants. With impressive metrics, Encounter AI boasts a remarkable 93% pure AI accuracy in drive-thru orders with sub 400 millisecond latency response time, surpassing the current industry standard by 66.7%. Their relentless dedication to innovation has earned them a feature in Popular Mechanics Magazine, underscoring the transformative potential of their technology. By the way, Encounter AI is currently fundraising and we're happy to make any intros or provide additional info upon request. 🤝 About Level Up Ventures: Level Up Ventures is a Hearst-backed investment vehicle launched in 2021 with a mission to help close the racial wealth gap. We invest in early-stage, tech-enabled startups led by Black and Latino founders, providing them with capital and the support of our Level Up Scout network, comprising professionals from across Hearst’s global businesses. Level Up Ventures is currently investing—please visit our website to check out our investment criteria and recommend a great startup today! 📺 Watch the full interview and be sure to share with your networks! #fastfoodrestaurants #drivethrutechnology #AIordering #ArtificialIntelligence

🎉 A huge congratulations to Shashi Srikantan of Level Up Ventures, for being included in the Forum Ventures’ List of the top NYC Founder-First Investors. Incredibly grateful to our Portfolio Company founders for the recognition. Level Up is honored to be a part of your entrepreneurial journey. "Level Up Ventures has truly walked by our side since investing in our round. They have opened up business opportunity doors for us and are always finding ways to help us without even asking." Congratulations to all 25 investors nominated on the list and special shout outs to Lisa Burton O'Toole, PhD, Richard Odior, Jeremy Kagan, and Rachel ten Brink

Congratulations to Constanza Gomez and Agustina Mir, Cofounders of Sortile, for being selected as one of the 20 Startups for the Google for Startups Black and Latino Founders Fund!

📢 Welcome to the Level Up Ventures Startup Spotlight Series, ✨ where we feature interviews with the inspiring entrepreneurs behind our portfolio companies. First up is Options MD, a groundbreaking telehealth platform that's changing the game for individuals battling severe and treatment-resistant mental illnesses. Their AI-powered tool, Thalamus MD, developed by psychiatric researchers at Harvard, UCSF, and Carnegie Mellon Universities, offers personalized treatment recommendations and diagnostic suggestions. We're excited about the difference Options MD is making with an impressive 88% rebooking rate and a 27% patient remission rate which is 2x higher than industry average for treatment-resistant depression. By the way, Options MD is currently fundraising and we're happy to make any intros or provide additional info upon request. 🤝 About Level Up Ventures: Level Up Ventures is a Hearst-backed investment vehicle launched in 2021 with a mission to help close the racial wealth gap. We invest in early-stage, tech-enabled startups led by Black and Latino founders, providing them with capital and the support of our Level Up Scout network, comprising professionals from across Hearst’s global businesses. Level Up Ventures is currently investing—please visit our website to check out our investment criteria and recommend a great startup today! 📺 Watch the full interview and be sure to share with your networks! #InvestInTheFuture #BlackAndLatinoFounders #Telehealth Morgan Hewett Kyle Pierce

📢 Welcome to the Level Up Ventures Startup Spotlight Series, ✨ where we feature interviews with the inspiring entrepreneurs behind our portfolio companies. First up is Options MD, a groundbreaking telehealth platform that's changing the game for individuals battling severe and treatment-resistant mental illnesses. Their AI-powered tool, Thalamus MD, developed by psychiatric researchers at Harvard, UCSF, and Carnegie Mellon Universities, offers personalized treatment recommendations and diagnostic suggestions. We're excited about the difference Options MD is making with an impressive 88% rebooking rate and a 27% patient remission rate which is 2x higher than industry average for treatment-resistant depression. By the way, Options MD is currently fundraising and we're happy to make any intros or provide additional info upon request. 🤝 About Level Up Ventures: Level Up Ventures is a Hearst-backed investment vehicle launched in 2021 with a mission to help close the racial wealth gap. We invest in early-stage, tech-enabled startups led by Black and Latino founders, providing them with capital and the support of our Level Up Scout network, comprising professionals from across Hearst’s global businesses. Level Up Ventures is currently investing—please visit our website to check out our investment criteria and recommend a great startup today! 📺 Watch the full interview and be sure to share with your networks! #InvestInTheFuture #BlackAndLatinoFounders #Telehealth https://lnkd.in/e6TRVyjf

📢 If you're in the Chicago area on May 22nd, check out Level Up Ventures Portfolio Company Encounter AI, and others pitch at the Food Foundry Demo Day!

Exciting news! 🌟 I'll be joining Darrel Frater ✝️ this Friday for the Get Funded! Office Hours on X/Twitter Spaces. I'll be sharing insights as Senior Venture Analyst at Level Up Ventures. Plus, make sure to catch the interview with Dana L. Wilson, MBA, Founder of CHIP (Changing How Individuals Prosper), on Linkedin Live beforehand. Don't miss out! #GetFunded #VentureCapital"

🌍 Happy Earth Day! 🌿 Today, we're excited to share Hearst’s 2024 Sustainability Report, which outlines Hearst's strategic pillars for making a positive impact on our planet. Level Up Ventures is proud to be a part of the Hearst commitment to environmental stewardship and to invest in amazing tech startups that are leading the charge in sustainability solutions. For example, Level Up Ventures Portfolio company Sortile, is empowering the textile recycling industry with technology that enables the identification, sorting and traceability of textiles. A huge thank you to Fitch’s sustainability employee resource group, Fitch Green Wave, for hosting an informative virtual conversation earlier this year with Constanza Gomez, co-founder of Sortile, on textile recycling. Check out the Hearst 2024 Sustainability Report here: https://bit.ly/3JwFLGy