| Date | Title | Description |
| 21.03.2022 | Introducing CompanyFirst | I am very excited to announce today the launch of CompanyFirst. I am extremely proud of the many great people that I’ve had the opportunity to work with over the years, and CompanyFirst embodies the culmination of the lessons that I have le... |
| 21.03.2022 | CompanyFirst Mentors New Venture Challenge Winner | The finals were held for the 2017 Chicago Booth New Venture Challenge (the nationally recognized start-up incubator at the University of Chicago) and the results are in. Congrats to ALL the participants and winners of this year’s competitio... |
| 21.03.2022 | CompanyFirst Summer 2021 Newsletter | Did you get a copy of the CompanyFirst Summer 2021 Newsletter? If you did not receive our newsletter, fear not! You can view an archive of the full newsletter and sign up for future editions via the links below: |
| 21.03.2022 | CompanyFirst Judge at ACG Food Conference | CompanyFirst will be attending and serving as a judge in the “Food Startup Pitch Slam” at the 10th Annual ACG Chicago Food Industry Conference. |
| 21.03.2022 | CompanyFirst Winter 2021 Newsletter | Did you get a copy of the CompanyFirst Winter 2021 Newsletter? Among the topics covered in the newsletter: |
| 21.03.2022 | CompanyFirst Invests in Murphy’s Naturals | We are proud to announce that CompanyFirst has made an investment in Murphy’s Naturals. Murphy’s Naturals creates earth-friendly personal care products which are made from natural, responsibly sourced ingredients. For example, Murphy’s mosq... |
| 21.03.2022 | CompanyFirst Office Buildout | Home stretch of office buildout of the new CompanyFirst offices at the Industrial Council of Nearwest Chicago (ICNC). Great team effort to get everything done (yes, we did it all ourselves!) |
| 21.03.2022 | CompanyFirst Holds Initial Close of Fund | In June CompanyFirst held an initial close on its new fund, CompanyFirst Capital Fund I LP (the “Fund”). This first close will enable CompanyFirst to pursue equity investments in emerging consumer brands where we see a strong foundation for... |
| 21.03.2022 | CompanyFirst Summer 2020 Newsletter | Did you get a copy of the CompanyFirst Summer 2020 Newsletter? Among the topics covered in the newsletter: |
| 21.03.2022 | Polsky Center Panel and Food Navigator Interview | CompanyFirst recently had an opportunity to sit down with Mary Ellen Shoup from Food Navigator while at the University of Chicago for the Polsky Entrepreneurial Outlook 2020: Retail and Food Panel. Thank you to the University of Chicago for... |
| 21.03.2022 | New CompanyFirst Office Space | New pictures of the CompanyFirst office space in the ICNC as it begins to take shape. The team is hard at working building furniture and getting everything ready to help emerging consumer brands grow and thrive! |
| 16.01.2022 | Quevos Shark Tank Update | Great article in Chicago Inno, “Why the founder of KIND Snacks doubled down on his Quevos investment after Shark Tank“. Nick and Zach gave an update on Quevos during the January 14, 2021 episode of Shark Tank, including announcing additiona... |
| 09.11.2021 | CompanyFirst Invests in Betr Remedies | CompanyFirst is proud to announce an investment in Betr Remedies founded by Livio Bisterzo, Jennifer Simone Hoffman, and Ellen Pompeo. Manufactured in the USA, Betr Remedies contain the exact same FDA-authorized ingredients as leading brand... |
| 07.07.2021 | CompanyFirst Invests in Pacha Soap Co. | CompanyFirst is proud to announce an investment in Pacha Soap Co. founded by Andrew and Abi Vrbas. Pacha creates artisan personal care products crafted to help you feel good, so you can do good. Pacha Soap proves you can change the world fr... |
| 06.04.2021 | CompanyFirst Invests in Yishi Foods | CompanyFirst is proud to announce an investment in Yishi Foods (formerly Crave Natural), a purposeful food company founded by Lin Jiang. Inspired by traditional Eastern food wisdom, Yishi is a functional breakfast brand that meets the nutri... |
| 12.12.2020 | CompanyFirst Invests in Huron | CompanyFirst is excited to announce an investment in Huron! |
| 12.12.2020 | CompanyFirst Invests in Huron | CompanyFirst is excited to announce an investment in Huron! |
| 11.12.2020 | CompanyFirst Invests in Baboon to the Moon | CompanyFirst is proud to announce an investment in Baboon to the Moon. |
| 11.12.2020 | CompanyFirst Invests in Baboon to the Moon | CompanyFirst is proud to announce an investment in Baboon to the Moon. |
| 09.12.2020 | CompanyFirst Invests in O’MY Foods | CompanyFirst is excited to announce an investment in O’MY Foods. O’MY creates deliciously creamy, simply made treats that the whole family can enjoy (e.g. allergen free, low-calorie). Proud to support co-founders Allison Monette and Julie B... |
| 09.12.2020 | CompanyFirst Invests in O’MY Foods | CompanyFirst is excited to announce an investment in O’MY Foods. O’MY creates deliciously creamy, simply made treats that the whole family can enjoy (e.g. allergen free, low-calorie). Proud to support co-founders Allison Monette and Julie B... |
| 25.11.2020 | CompanyFirst Invests in Cool Beans | We are proud to announce that CompanyFirst has made an investment in Cool Beans based in Chicago. Cool Beans brings together mighty nutritious beans with global flavors to create healthy, balanced eating that’s good for you and good karma, ... |
| 25.11.2020 | CompanyFirst Invests in Cool Beans | We are proud to announce that CompanyFirst has made an investment in Cool Beans based in Chicago. Cool Beans brings together mighty nutritious beans with global flavors to create healthy, balanced eating that’s good for you and good karma, ... |
| 15.06.2020 | What We Do at CompanyFirst to be Open, Inclusive, and Impactful | Now more than ever, actions are more important than words. While we can and will continue to look for ways to do more, we wanted to share some ways in which CompanyFirst has strived to be an open, inclusive, and impactful venture capital fi... |
| 15.06.2020 | What We Do at CompanyFirst to be Open, Inclusive, and Impactful | Now more than ever, actions are more important than words. While we can and will continue to look for ways to do more, we wanted to share some ways in which CompanyFirst has strived to be an open, inclusive, and impactful venture capital fi... |
| 23.04.2020 | CompanyFirst Invests in ICONIC Protein | CompanyFirst is proud to announce that we have made an investment in ICONIC Protein. ICONIC Protein is a fast-growing nutrition platform brand that provides a line of clean, low-sugar, low-carb ready-to-drink protein beverages, protein powd... |
| 23.04.2020 | CompanyFirst Invests in ICONIC Protein | CompanyFirst is proud to announce that we have made an investment in ICONIC Protein. ICONIC Protein is a fast-growing nutrition platform brand that provides a line of clean, low-sugar, low-carb ready-to-drink protein beverages, protein powd... |
| 13.04.2020 | CompanyFirst Invests in Sacred Serve | We are proud to announce that CompanyFirst has made an investment in Sacred Serve plant-based gelato. The financing was led by CompanyFirst. |
| 13.04.2020 | CompanyFirst Invests in Sacred Serve | We are proud to announce that CompanyFirst has made an investment in Sacred Serve plant-based gelato. The financing was led by CompanyFirst. |
| 22.02.2020 | CompanyFirst Invests in Caraway Home | Caraway is all about good looking, clean cooking. |
| 22.02.2020 | CompanyFirst Invests in Caraway Home | Caraway is all about good looking, clean cooking. |
| 27.08.2019 | CompanyFirst Summer 2019 Newsletter | View an archive of the CompanyFirst Summer 2019 Newsletter, which contains the following topics: |
| 27.08.2019 | CompanyFirst Summer 2019 Newsletter | View an archive of the CompanyFirst Summer 2019 Newsletter, which contains the following topics: |
| 01.07.2019 | CompanyFirst Invests in STANTT Apparel | We are proud to announce that CompanyFirst has made an investment in STANTT. STANTT is an innovative, growing company in the apparel industry that is disrupting men’s fashion by combining the fit of customized shirts with “off the rack” eas... |
| 01.07.2019 | CompanyFirst Invests in STANTT Apparel | We are proud to announce that CompanyFirst has made an investment in STANTT. STANTT is an innovative, growing company in the apparel industry that is disrupting men’s fashion by combining the fit of customized shirts with “off the rack” eas... |
| 01.06.2019 | Elisabeth McKenna Joins CompanyFirst Team | We would like to welcome Elisabeth McKenna to the CompanyFirst team! Elisabeth has extensive experience within the consumer goods, food & beverage, and retail sectors stemming from her background in corporate & investment banking. |
| 01.06.2019 | Elisabeth McKenna Joins CompanyFirst Team | We would like to welcome Elisabeth McKenna to the CompanyFirst team! Elisabeth has extensive experience within the consumer goods, food & beverage, and retail sectors stemming from her background in corporate & investment banking. |
| 25.03.2019 | CompanyFirst Participates in Undergrad Accelerator | PODU, the first Arabic podcast platform, won $15,000 at the 2019 College New Venture Challenge, the undergraduate entrepreneurship accelerator at the University of Chicago. CompanyFirst participated as a judge in the program. |
| 25.03.2019 | CompanyFirst Participates in Undergrad Accelerator | PODU, the first Arabic podcast platform, won $15,000 at the 2019 College New Venture Challenge, the undergraduate entrepreneurship accelerator at the University of Chicago. CompanyFirst participated as a judge in the program. |
| 09.03.2019 | CompanyFirst Attends Expo West 2019 | Another great Natural Products Expo West in the books…great to see old friends and make new ones, and lots of exciting new products, brands, and innovation. Never enough time at the show to see everyone and everything…if we missed you at th... |
| 09.03.2019 | CompanyFirst Attends Expo West 2019 | Another great Natural Products Expo West in the books…great to see old friends and make new ones, and lots of exciting new products, brands, and innovation. Never enough time at the show to see everyone and everything…if we missed you at th... |
| 06.03.2019 | CompanyFirst Participates in Springboard Incubator | CompanyFirst had a chance to participate in the demo day for the second class of the KraftHeinz Springboard incubator program: |
| 06.03.2019 | CompanyFirst Participates in Springboard Incubator | CompanyFirst had a chance to participate in the demo day for the second class of the KraftHeinz Springboard incubator program: |
| 01.02.2019 | Matt Ramoundos Joins CompanyFirst Team | We would like to welcome Matt Ramoundos to the CompanyFirst team! Matt joins CompanyFirst as part of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business Private Equity / Venture Capital Lab. |
| 01.02.2019 | Matt Ramoundos Joins CompanyFirst Team | We would like to welcome Matt Ramoundos to the CompanyFirst team! Matt joins CompanyFirst as part of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business Private Equity / Venture Capital Lab. |
| 24.03.2018 | CompanyFirst Presents at ACG Future of Food Conference | CompanyFirst presented at the 9th Annual ACG “Future of Food” conference in Chicago on April 19…thank you to ACG for another great event! |
| 24.03.2018 | CompanyFirst Attends Expo West | Another great Natural Products Expo West in the books! The show just seems to keep getting bigger…but what a great chance to catch up with old friends and meet some fantastic new companies. Fun pic of us stepping in to help Cybele cook up s... |
| 24.03.2018 | CompanyFirst Presents at ACG Future of Food Conference | CompanyFirst presented at the 9th Annual ACG “Future of Food” conference in Chicago on April 19…thank you to ACG for another great event! |
| 24.03.2018 | CompanyFirst Attends Expo West | Another great Natural Products Expo West in the books! The show just seems to keep getting bigger…but what a great chance to catch up with old friends and meet some fantastic new companies. Fun pic of us stepping in to help Cybele cook up s... |
| 02.03.2018 | CompanyFirst Attends FoodBytes San Francisco | CompanyFirst attended the FoodBytes by Rabobank pitch competition in San Francisco. Congrats to the all the winners, with special shout out to the strong showing from Chicago companies I Heart Keenwah and Farmer’s Fridge!!! |
| 02.03.2018 | CompanyFirst Attends FoodBytes San Francisco | CompanyFirst attended the FoodBytes by Rabobank pitch competition in San Francisco. Congrats to the all the winners, with special shout out to the strong showing from Chicago companies I Heart Keenwah and Farmer’s Fridge!!! |
| 08.02.2018 | Kirsta Kellin Joins CompanyFirst Team | We would like to welcome Kirsta Kellin to the CompanyFirst team! Kirsta joins CompanyFirst as part of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business Private Equity / Venture Capital Lab. |
| 08.02.2018 | Kirsta Kellin Joins CompanyFirst Team | We would like to welcome Kirsta Kellin to the CompanyFirst team! Kirsta joins CompanyFirst as part of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business Private Equity / Venture Capital Lab. |
| 26.01.2018 | New Home for CompanyFirst | Proud to announce that CompanyFirst has a new “home” at the Industrial Council of Nearwest Chicago (ICNC) / The Hatchery Chicago…very excited for our new digs and the chance to be closer to / a part of these wonderful organizations that hav... |
| 26.01.2018 | New Home for CompanyFirst | Proud to announce that CompanyFirst has a new “home” at the Industrial Council of Nearwest Chicago (ICNC) / The Hatchery Chicago…very excited for our new digs and the chance to be closer to / a part of these wonderful organizations that hav... |
| 24.10.2017 | CompanyFirst on Chicago Booth SeedCon Panel | We were honored to be on one of the panels at SeedCon, Chicago Booth’s annual entrepreneurship and venture capital conference hosted by the Chicago Booth Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital Student Group (EVC) and the Polsky Center for Ent... |
| 24.10.2017 | CompanyFirst on Chicago Booth SeedCon Panel | We were honored to be on one of the panels at SeedCon, Chicago Booth’s annual entrepreneurship and venture capital conference hosted by the Chicago Booth Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital Student Group (EVC) and the Polsky Center for Ent... |
| 02.09.2017 | CompanyFirst Participates in Polsky Accelerator | We were honored to be able to participate as a judge for the Chicago Booth 2017 Polsky Accelerator Demo Day…what an awesome group of companies! Congrats to everyone on their amazing progress over the summer…and special congrats to Fronen, K... |
| 02.09.2017 | CompanyFirst Participates in Polsky Accelerator | We were honored to be able to participate as a judge for the Chicago Booth 2017 Polsky Accelerator Demo Day…what an awesome group of companies! Congrats to everyone on their amazing progress over the summer…and special congrats to Fronen, K... |
| 01.06.2017 | Mary Scarpulla Joins CompanyFirst Team | We would like to welcome Mary Scarpulla to the CompanyFirst Team. Mary will be spending the summer with CompanyFirst in between her first and second year at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Mary’s experience spans strateg... |
| 01.06.2017 | Mary Scarpulla Joins CompanyFirst Team | We would like to welcome Mary Scarpulla to the CompanyFirst Team. Mary will be spending the summer with CompanyFirst in between her first and second year at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Mary’s experience spans strateg... |
| - | Life Beyond DTC (Podcast) | We recently had an opportunity to sit down and chat with Matthew Gattozzi on the How to Market Your DTC Brand Podcast to talk about how we think about building brands, channel strategy, and the pros/cons of direct-to-consumer (DTC). |
| - | CompanyFirst Judge at ACG Food Conference | CompanyFirst will be attending and serving as a judge in the “Food Startup Pitch Slam” at the 10th Annual ACG Chicago Food Industry Conference. |
| - | CompanyFirst Summer 2021 Newsletter | Did you get a copy of the CompanyFirst Summer 2021 Newsletter? If you did not receive our newsletter, fear not! You can view an archive of the full newsletter and sign up for future editions via the links below: |
| - | Sign Up for News | - |
| - | CompanyFirst Office Buildout | Home stretch of office buildout of the new CompanyFirst offices at the Industrial Council of Nearwest Chicago (ICNC). Great team effort to get everything done (yes, we did it all ourselves!) |
| - | CompanyFirst Summer 2020 Newsletter | Did you get a copy of the CompanyFirst Summer 2020 Newsletter? Among the topics covered in the newsletter: |
| - | CompanyFirst Invests in Murphy’s Naturals | We are proud to announce that CompanyFirst has made an investment in Murphy’s Naturals. Murphy’s Naturals creates earth-friendly personal care products which are made from natural, responsibly sourced ingredients. For example, Murphy’s mosq... |
| - | New CompanyFirst Office Space | New pictures of the CompanyFirst office space in the ICNC as it begins to take shape. The team is hard at working building furniture and getting everything ready to help emerging consumer brands grow and thrive! |
| - | Introducing CompanyFirst | I am very excited to announce today the launch of CompanyFirst. I am extremely proud of the many great people that I’ve had the opportunity to work with over the years, and CompanyFirst embodies the culmination of the lessons that I have le... |
| - | Polsky Center Panel and Food Navigator Interview | CompanyFirst recently had an opportunity to sit down with Mary Ellen Shoup from Food Navigator while at the University of Chicago for the Polsky Entrepreneurial Outlook 2020: Retail and Food Panel. Thank you to the University of Chicago for... |
| - | CompanyFirst Mentors New Venture Challenge Winner | The finals were held for the 2017 Chicago Booth New Venture Challenge (the nationally recognized start-up incubator at the University of Chicago) and the results are in. Congrats to ALL the participants and winners of this year’s competitio... |
| - | CompanyFirst Winter 2021 Newsletter | Did you get a copy of the CompanyFirst Winter 2021 Newsletter? Among the topics covered in the newsletter: |
| - | Thank You to Our Awesome Associate Interns | CompanyFirst once again participated in the University of Chicago Booth School of Business Private Equity and Venture Capital Lab. The PE/VC Lab (a combination of an internship at a private equity or venture capital firm and an academic cou... |
| - | CompanyFirst Holds Initial Close of Fund | In June CompanyFirst held an initial close on its new fund, CompanyFirst Capital Fund I LP (the “Fund”). This first close will enable CompanyFirst to pursue equity investments in emerging consumer brands where we see a strong foundation for... |