Key Takeaways
- • Wellth Ventures has launched as a venture capital firm targeting early-stage companies in "Better-for-You and Your Planet" consumer products and hospitality-focused proptech, according to a Business Wire release from Austin, Texas.
- • Founding Partners Allie Hope, formerly Chief Development Officer of Virgin Hotels, and Suzie Baleson, founder of Wellth Collective, lead the firm.
- • Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group, has made a financial commitment to support Wellth Ventures' activities.
- • Wellth Ventures has begun deploying capital and says it launches with an "unmatched pipeline" in consumer goods and hospitality.
- • Wellth Collective, Baleson's marketing and strategy agency, is the strategic agency partner of Wellth Ventures and will support its portfolio companies.
Summary
Wellth Ventures has launched as a venture capital investment firm in Austin, Texas, according to a Business Wire announcement dated January 24, 2022. The firm will focus on early-stage opportunities in what it describes as the "Better-for-You and Your Planet" consumer product sector and in hospitality-focused proptech, with a stated aim of building a healthier, more sustainable and more connected world. The release does not disclose fund size or specific capital commitments beyond stating that the firm has begun deploying capital.
The firm is led by Founding Partners Allie Hope and Suzie Baleson. Ms. Hope was until recently Chief Development Officer of Virgin Hotels, where she was a senior executive from the brand's inception and led its growth for over a decade; she will retain an advisory role with the brand. Per the release, she joined Virgin Hotels in 2010 as its second employee, helped open its flagship location in 2015, and led development of five additional hotels, with five more under construction. Earlier, she worked at Sunstone Hotel Investors, a publicly traded REIT. Ms. Baleson founded Wellth Collective, a wellness and hospitality-focused marketing and strategy agency. Wellth Collective is the strategic agency partner of Wellth Ventures and will support portfolio companies as they grow. The agency's client list, as described in the release, includes Virgin Hotels, Marriott, Highgate Hotels, Under Armour, and Lululemon. Ms. Baleson previously worked as a partner in a $350 million Las Vegas-based development fund.
Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group, has made a financial commitment to support Wellth Ventures' activities, and praised Ms. Hope's contribution to Virgin Hotels from its early start-up days through its expansion across the US and UK. The release does not specify the size of Branson's commitment. Ms. Hope described leaving Virgin Hotels as "extremely difficult," and Ms. Baleson said the partners' combined experience gives Wellth Ventures "exceptional insights" into its target sectors.
The firm is led by Founding Partners Allie Hope and Suzie Baleson. Ms. Hope was until recently Chief Development Officer of Virgin Hotels, where she was a senior executive from the brand's inception and led its growth for over a decade; she will retain an advisory role with the brand. Per the release, she joined Virgin Hotels in 2010 as its second employee, helped open its flagship location in 2015, and led development of five additional hotels, with five more under construction. Earlier, she worked at Sunstone Hotel Investors, a publicly traded REIT. Ms. Baleson founded Wellth Collective, a wellness and hospitality-focused marketing and strategy agency. Wellth Collective is the strategic agency partner of Wellth Ventures and will support portfolio companies as they grow. The agency's client list, as described in the release, includes Virgin Hotels, Marriott, Highgate Hotels, Under Armour, and Lululemon. Ms. Baleson previously worked as a partner in a $350 million Las Vegas-based development fund.
Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group, has made a financial commitment to support Wellth Ventures' activities, and praised Ms. Hope's contribution to Virgin Hotels from its early start-up days through its expansion across the US and UK. The release does not specify the size of Branson's commitment. Ms. Hope described leaving Virgin Hotels as "extremely difficult," and Ms. Baleson said the partners' combined experience gives Wellth Ventures "exceptional insights" into its target sectors.
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