We had a delightful evening at our Bluestein holiday dinner, celebrating the season and reflecting on the year together. As 2024 comes to a close, we’re filled with gratitude and enthusiasm for the year ahead!
Bluestein Ventures
Venture Capital and Private Equity Principals
Chicago, Illinois 4,197 followers
We invest in the future of food.
About us
Bluestein is a venture capital fund that invests in the future of food. We’re looking for game-changing ventures across the food industry that redefine how consumers achieve their health and wellness. Our investments span the entire value chain – both B2C and B2B – with a focus on four areas: high-growth consumer brands, proprietary foodtech, next-gen commerce, and value-add digital technology. We’re laser-focused on preeminent and defensible brands, services, technologies, and platforms that have the potential to transform the industry - and are led by creative entrepreneurs who are adept, innovative, nimble, and uncompromising.
- Website
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http://www.bluesteinventures.com
External link for Bluestein Ventures
- Industry
- Venture Capital and Private Equity Principals
- Company size
- 2-10 employees
- Headquarters
- Chicago, Illinois
- Type
- Privately Held
- Founded
- 2014
Locations
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Primary
Get directions
350 N La Salle Drive
Chicago, Illinois 60654, US
Employees at Bluestein Ventures
Updates
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Our portfolio company BiomeSense was recently featured on CBS Sunday Morning as part of the The National Institutes of Health’s Nutrition for Precision Health study. It’s great to see their GutLab technology highlighted alongside other innovations shaping the future of health science!
Exciting news! Our GutLab technology was featured on CBS Sunday Morning this week as part of the Nutrition for Precision Health study! It’s an honor to support such groundbreaking research and to be showcased alongside other incredible technologies. Together, we’re paving the way to transform our understanding of food, the microbiome, and health. I highly recommend checking out the full episode to learn more about this inspiring research: https://lnkd.in/gcnfgVj2
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Congratulations to our Associate, Aaditi Tamhankar, for being named to Chicago Inno's 2024 Inno Under 25 list! This annual list recognizes Chicago's startup leaders, including founders, investors, and community builders who are 25 years old or younger. It’s fantastic to see Aaditi’s hard work recognized alongside the rest of the 2024 cohort.
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Our Co-Managing Partners Andrew Bluestein and Ashley Hartman were recently featured on the Subscribing to Wellness podcast, hosted by Daniel Faierman and Rachel (Newman) Seshadri. Tune in to hear about our Fund lll investment focus, the importance of IP in investment decisions, the future of microplastics reduction, what makes a successful founder, and more. Thank you to the Subscribing to Wellness team for a great conversation! Listen to the podcast here: https://lnkd.in/e647PUpd
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Our Analyst Aaditi Tamhankar recently joined the November Consumer Brews meetup in NYC, hosted by VHS Ventures and MFD. It was great to connect with consumer brand founders and investors over coffee and conversation. Thanks to Sumeet Shah and James Gilland for putting together the event!
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Last week, our Analyst Aaditi Tamhankar attended TriNet's VC Matchmaking event in Chicago alongside Myneco Ramirez of Chloe Capital, Amit Aysola of Create Health Ventures, Tina Hrabak of LongJump, and Kaitlyn (Howard) Doyle of TechNexus Venture Collaborative. Founders shared pitches in a round-robin format designed to help entrepreneurs make meaningful connections in the world of venture capital. Thank you to Meghan Pichette Sawyer, Melissa Lindwall, Samara Baker, and TriNet for organizing the event!
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Last week, our Analyst Aaditi Tamhankar judged a preliminary round of the VCIC (Venture Capital Investment Competition) at the Kaplan Institute alongside Alex Lambert, Ellie Bahrmasel, Jason Jacobsohn, Keru Omad, and Monika Razdan, as part of the IPRO Genisys class at the Illinois Institute of Technology. Thank you to Nik Rokop and Niharika H. for organizing the event and to everyone who participated!
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Our Managing Partner, Ashley Hartman, recently hosted a Lunch & Learn at the Polsky Center at the University of Chicago, where she shared Bluestein Ventures' mission, investment thesis, and approach to scaling early-stage food startups. A big thank you to Samir Mayekar and the Polsky Center for a fantastic opportunity to connect with your team – and for all that you do for the innovation ecosystem in Chicago.
We were so happy to host my dear friend Ashley Hartman with Bluestein Ventures at the Polsky Center at the University of Chicago for a discussion with our team about Bluestein's investment thesis, approach to deal flow, and engagement with early stage companies shaping the future of the food sector. Bluestein is an early backer of University of Chicago spinout BiomeSense and Ashley focused on food startup best practices from Bluestein's perspective: - Emphasis on go-to-market strategy - Capital efficient business models with right unit economics - Focused execution of an operating plan - Openness to introductions to complimentary network of advisors, service providers, and investors who expand the company's network and reach One of Bluestein's recent major wins was Factor_ with an investment in a $1M seed round which eventually led to a $277M exit to HelloFresh less than 5 years later. Factor became the #1 prepared meal company in the country by following the Bluestein principles above. Thanks to Ashley for joining us in Hyde Park for a great conversation!
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On Monday, we hosted our annual Bluestein Investor Summit in Chicago. It was a fantastic opportunity to connect our community, provide an overview on the fund, and hear directly from some of our founders. We’re thankful to our LPs for their ongoing partnership and support, and to our portfolio companies for their commitment to excellence. A special thank you to the founders who shared their visions at the Summit: Kevin Honaker at BiomeSense, Emily Brown at Attane Health, John Thorp at Aerflo, Mila M. and Lucas Labelle at milamend, Joan Zhang at Arise, and Charles Dykes at Ummino. Shoutout to Cooley LLP as well for their hospitality. Looking forward to building on the momentum and continuing this journey together 🚀!
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Last week we partnered with J.P. Morgan to host Chicago's women venture investors at Lip Lab! Attendees got to connect and support each other while customizing lipsticks together. Thank you to our Analyst Aaditi Tamhankar for organizing, heywell and FUNNY WATER for the beverages, and Ziyaada A. and her team Alkis Theodhori and Izabela Kwietniewski for supporting women in venture.
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