VMG Partners Research
Investment Thesis
VMG Partners ("Velocity Made Good") is a San Francisco-based investment firm founded in 2005 that has spent two decades backing brands and technologies that shape the future of consumer. The firm runs two distinct but connected strategies: VMG Consumer, which buys into and grows category-defining consumer brands across food & beverage, beauty & personal care, pet, and wellness & fitness; and VMG Technology, which takes meaningful minority positions in B2B software that serves the consumer, retail, and manufacturing ecosystem (martech, adtech, supply chain, CFO tech, payments, merchandising, loyalty, marketplaces, vertical AI, and CX tech). The firm's stated philosophy is "Velocity Made Good" — growth with direction, not just momentum — and it markets itself on operational support (leadership recruiting, CXO communities, GTM matchmaking) rather than passive capital.
Stage Focus
VMG Consumer targets growth-stage consumer brands with at least $10M in revenue. VMG Technology invests from early stage through Series C, typically once a company has initial customers and demonstrated traction. Combined, the firm covers everything from early Series A/B software rounds to large consumer growth-equity and buyout-style deals.
Check Size
VMG Consumer typically invests $10M-$200M per deal. VMG Technology typically invests $4M-$40M per deal. Across both strategies, check size ranges roughly $4M-$200M depending on stage and strategy.
Lead Tendency
Mixed by strategy. VMG Technology explicitly invests "meaningful minority positions," implying a follow/co-investor posture. VMG Consumer, by contrast, has historically taken large, often control-oriented growth-equity stakes in consumer brands (it is characterized as a private equity firm by outlets like Private Equity International), consistent with a lead or co-lead role in most Consumer deals.
Recent Activity
The firm closed roughly $850M-$1B for a new growth fund in 2025, pushing total AUM from ~$3.4B (per an RIA filing cited by the WSJ, end of 2024) to an estimated $4B+. Recent Consumer investments/announcements include Scotch (June 2026), Stars + Honey's Target nationwide rollout (June 2026), Brami Protein Pasta's $33M Series B (May 2026), and Rowan's first California store (May 2026). On the Technology side, VMG backed Gradial (enterprise marketing "system of work," $65M Series C, June 2026), Fermàt Commerce's $45M Series B (June 2025), Zitcha's $10M round (2024), and Claim's $12M round (2024). Robin Tsai was elevated to Managing Partner in January 2026 to co-lead the firm alongside longtime Managing Partner Mike Mauzé.
Portfolio Highlights
VMG's realized exits include K18 Biomimetic Hairscience (acquired by Unilever, Dec 2023), Nutpods (acquired by MPearlRock/Kroger-backed JV, Jan 2024), Drunk Elephant, Sun Bum, Spindrift, Kind, Quest Nutrition, Daily Harvest, Hello Bello, The Honey Pot Company, Goli, and Musely. Notable current holdings span Attentive (SMS marketing, Deloitte Fast 500 four years running), Weee! (ethnic e-grocery marketplace, celebrated 10 years in 2025), Boulevard (salon/med-spa software, raised $80M in 2025), Afresh (grocery AI, expanded platform in 2026), Bobbie (infant formula, Fast Company Most Innovative four years running), Kosas, Danessa Myricks Beauty, solidcore, and Rinsed.
Team
- Mike Mauzé — Managing Partner, Consumer & Technology (co-leads the firm)
- Robin Tsai — Managing Partner, Consumer & Technology (elevated Jan 2026 to co-lead alongside Mauzé)
- Indy Guha — General Partner, Technology (former Signifyd exec)
- Carle Stenmark — General Partner, Technology
- Alisa (Williams) Carmichael — Partner, Consumer (featured in WSJ Pro "Women to Watch," April 2026)
- Broader team of ~35 investment and operating professionals split across Consumer, Technology, Ecosystem, and Firm Operations functions
Decision Process
VMG operates as a multi-partner partnership with co-Managing Partners (Mauzé and Tsai) overseeing both strategies, and dedicated General Partners (Guha, Stenmark) leading Technology. This points to a partnership-style decision process rather than a solo-GP or pure investment-committee model.
Founder Preferences
VMG favors founder-led teams building durable, culturally resonant consumer brands (food & beverage, beauty, pet, wellness) or technical/operating founders building B2B software that serves the consumer/retail ecosystem. Portfolio commentary emphasizes "founder-driven, passionate" teams and long-term partnership over transactional capital.
Geographic Focus
Primarily United States-based investments, with the firm noting in 2025 that it is expanding its LP base into Europe while maintaining its core focus on the US consumer market. Some Technology portfolio companies (e.g., Nuvemshop, ParcelLab) have Latin American/European operations.