Lorine Pendleton
Managing Partner at 125 Ventures
Lorine Pendleton
Managing Partner at 125 Ventures
New York, New York
Overview
Work Experience
Founder & Managing Partner
2023 - Current
Investing in early-stage companies in sports, media, and entertainment at the intersection of tech. • In the sports sector, the fund focuses on women's sports, which is experiencing unprecedented growth and is projected to grow 300% through 2030. Women's sports will generate the biggest alpha in the near future. • Previous investments in these sectors: Rhode Island Football Club & Tidewater Stadium (pro soccer team and new stadium), Oura Ring (popular wearable sleep & fitness device), Canela Media (popular Latinx streaming service), Scout (1st digital family office for college athletes), Curastory (2-way marketplace for content creators & brands), CEEK (VR/AR music and sports platform), and Whetstone (media company dedicated to food & culture).
Lead Investment Partner
2019
VC and Lead Investment Partner of Rising America Fund I and Rising America Fund II (fully deployed). Funds invest in early and growth stage companies in the US led by underrepresented founders. It is the first fund of its kind to be led by a team of world-class partners who are all Latinx or African-American women. Fund I made investments in 16 companies in the fintech, edtech, consumer, media/entertainment and health tech sectors. It is Portfolia's best performing fund out of 15 other funds. Notable investments include: Madison Reed (I led), Canela Media (significant valuation increase since our Seed investment), Maven Health (a unicorn/$1B+ valuation after our investment), MoCaFi (I led), Goalsetter (I led), Rares (I led), Suma Wealth, Encantos, Ceek, Zero Point Therapeutics. Our Fund II is currently investing and has made 11 investments to date, with the same thesis as Fund II. These investments include: Curastory (I led), Rares (I led), ShearShare (I led), Rebundled, Whetstone Media, Scout, Canela Media (follow-on investment), Madison Reed (follow-on investment) and Caban Systems.
Limited Partner
2016
VC and Investment Partner of Portfolia's Rising America Fund I and II, which invests in early-stage and growth companies in the U.S. led by people of color or LGBTQ founders. It is the first fund of its kind to be led by world-class lead investors who are Latinx or African-American women. Investments: Madison Reed, Maven Health, MoCaFi, Kanarys, Goalsetter, Canela Media, Encantos and Suma Wealth. Portfolia designs investment funds for women to back innovative companies for returns and impact. Combining a venture fund's professional management and diversification with the engaging and accessible experience of angel investing, Portfolia focuses on opportunities in high-growth segments that are routinely undervalued or poorly understood by traditional venture capital. Each fund is diversified across up to 10 - 12 entrepreneurial companies. Portfolia’s thirteen venture funds have made 100 investments in 90 companies and have had three significant exits since its initial fund founding in December 2015. Portfolia is now ranked in the top quartile of all venture funds in the U.S.
New York Chair
2017
• Facilitator and connector of ultra high-net-worth and wealth creators to grow their business and personal network by providing a platform to discuss issues such as wealth preservation, family dynamics, philanthropy and investment opportunities in a confidential environment. • TIGER 21 is the most exclusive brand in the peer-to-peer learning sector, with chapters in the US, Canada, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, and its 1,400+ members collectively manage $100B in aggregate investable assets. • Recruit members, facilitate and curate monthly group member meetings to harness the varied expertise and collective intelligence of their peers in confidential, feedback-rich learning conversations.
Board Advisor and Audit & Compensation Committee Member
2020
Advisor and co-head of Audit Committee. Also member of the Compensation Committe. Storj is disrupting cloud storage by utilizing blockchain technology offering enterprise-grade cloud storage. Storj is the company behind the STORJ token, a cryptocurrency on the Etherum blockchain powering digital storage and data retrieval on its cloud storage platform. It raised $30 million in its token sale.
Investor & Advisory Board Member
2020
An Investor and Advisory Board Member at Mobility Capital Finance (MoCaFi), a fintech mobile-based banking platform with features and services designed to address the financial inequality for the under and unbanked (an 88 million US addressable market). Products include the MoCaFi Mobility Bank Account with the MoCaFi Mobility Debit Mastercard which provides access to no charge ATM withdrawals and options on how to load funds, in addition to Tap & Go contactless payments, mobile wallet functionality and advanced security features such as Mastercard ID Theft Protection.
Member
2013
Graduate and member of Pipeline Angels which trains women to become angel investors through education, mentoring, and practice. Fellows commit to invest in a woman-led for-profit social venture in exchange for equity and a board seat. (www.pipelineangels.com). We are now 500+ members with a growing network of seasoned women investors with over 120 investments in women-led companies and over $8 million in capital invested.
Entrepreneur In Residence
2021 - 2022
Serve as a mentor and resource for current students at Brown University pursuing entrepreneurial endeavors. I host regular office hours and events throughout the academic year.
Board Member
2018 - 2021
Member of the Board of Directors of the ACA, the largest angel investor professional development and trade organization in the world, which offers education, best practices, data, public policy advocacy, and significant benefits and resources to its membership of more than 13K+ accredited angel investors, 260 angel groups, family offices and investment platforms with 90K+ companies in ACA member portfolios. Served on Partners & Sponsorships and Marketing and Membership Committees.
US Director of Business Development
2013 - 2017
• Head of US business development for the Litigation, Intellectual Property (IP) & Technology, Insurance and Healthcare Practices (700 US attorneys) at the world's largest law firm with 8,000 attorneys globally. • Worked with US Leadership (Chairman, CEO and US Managing Partner) on various key initiatives to grow revenue and increase brand awareness. • Developed and implemented US and global strategic plans with the Practice Group Leaders to identify market opportunities with existing and prospective clients and execute strategies for the successful pursuit. • Managed US and global practice and sector group marketing and business development budgets. • Worked with the Communication, Digital and Brand teams to develop campaigns targeting clients and prospects. • Prepared customized request for proposals (RFPs) for key legal preferred provider appointments in the US and globally. • Established and managed key client program to improve relationships, identify and create new opportunities and develop systems for client retention and value-added services. • Developed client-facing programs to position the firm as a thought-leader and subject-matter experts with in-house CLE programs, events, blogs and seminars. • Liaised with Nextlaw Labs (innovation platform and Dentons investee) to develop and deploy new technologies targeting the legal sector. • Led a team of 15 business development professionals across the US providing ongoing people management including talent attraction, retention and development, performance management, staff budgeting and mentoring of direct-line reports to develop and maintain service level standards and processes. • Served as a brand ambassador for the firm speaking at various events where I network with C-level and key decision-makers to make connections and generate revenue for the firm.
Director of Business Development - Litigation Practice
2010 - 2013
• Led and managed marketing and business development operations for the Litigation Practice. • Engaged with partners in business development activities to expand and enhance relationships with clients. • Developed strategic initiatives and plans to increase business for the Litigation Practice. These initiatives and plans related to industry sectors and geographic market opportunities. • Provided competitive intelligence and market analysis on prospective and current clients. • Monitored trends and best practices in legal and professional services industries. • Led the firm's 2014 American Lawyer Litigation Department of the Year General submission and Specialty Practice: Antitrust submission in August 2013. Simpson Thacher was selected winner of the 2014 Antitrust Litigation Department of the Year as a result of my efforts.