Corigin Ventures, a founder-focused early-stage venture capital firm, has held the final closing of its second fund with total equity commitments of USD36.05 million. The firm is also pleased to announce that Aubrie Pagano, an experienced founder and early-stage investor, has joined as Partner. In this role and as a member of the firm’s Investment Committee, Aubrie will be heavily involved in advancing Corigin’s proven investment strategy including sourcing new opportunities and working closely with founders to unlock their businesses’ potential. In conjunction with Aubrie’s hire, the firm also announced the promotions of Daniel Fetner to Principal and Eric Schoenbach to Associate.
Corigin Ventures will use the fund to continue making lead investments in seed-stage high-growth startups that are layering innovative technology over daily life experiences, helping to enhance how people live and businesses operate. The firm’s value creation strategy is predicated on working closely with founders to provide actionable insights, dedicated support and honest feedback to fuel long-term growth. The fund attracted capital from a mix of institutional investors, family offices and respected entrepreneurs, and is currently making USD500,000 to USD1,000,000 investments in promising young companies.
“The final closing of our second fund, the growing and increasingly diversified makeup of our investor base, and the addition of an exceptional person and investor in Aubrie reflect the progressive evolution of our differentiated firm,” says Corigin Ventures’ General Partner Ryan Freedman. “We are at the forefront of identifying areas in the physical world that can be enhanced by digital technology, and look forward to using our fresh capital and talent to fund companies that are creating these efficiencies and generating real value.”
A successful entrepreneur and early-stage investor with a track record of recognising and capitalising on market opportunities, Aubrie brings to Corigin Ventures a wealth of knowledge and a vast network of relationships. She cofounded Bow & Drape, the first online platform for custom fashion, in 2012 and sold it to WIN Brands Group in late 2019. While scaling Bow & Drape, Aubrie invested as a partner alongside a group of female operators at XFactor Ventures, a micro-fund that makes early-stage investments in companies with billion-dollar market opportunities that have at least one female founder. In this role, she led XFactor Ventures’ investments in Tinted, Choosy, Court Buddy, Maude, Steward and Balloon.
David Goldberg, General Partner at Corigin Ventures, says: “Aubrie is a proven talent who seamlessly blends a founder’s mentality and energy with the sophistication and poise of a seasoned investor. It is this rare combination of attributes that we seek in all our partners, because it enables us to offer startups the type of counsel and support that is highly conducive to building sustainable businesses. As we continue to put capital from our second fund to work, Aubrie’s perspectives, diligence and relationships should prove to be powerful.”
Pagano says: “Relationships and reputation matter, and the firm is widely recognised among the growing founder community as assiduous thinkers, good actors, honest contributors and true partners. Ryan and David were both founders as well, so they know how to assess and support talented entrepreneurs. Moreover, we share common values grounded in doing what’s right for our partners, the environment and the community at large.”
