Investments
531Portfolio Exits
83Funds
5About Social Starts
Social Starts is a venture capital partnership focused on the emerging science of individual health and, through health, the delivery of happiness. The firm's family of funds includes Social Starts A (2016), Social Starts 3 (2014), Social Starts 2 (2013), Social Starts 1 (2012), and Joyance Partners US & Europe (2016). Social Start's mission is to find the best technologists and scientists worldwide in the most powerful markets and support them from the earliest stages of their quest toward making the world a healthier and happier place. With breakthroughs across health, biotech, and therapeutics, powerful new tech pushing medical care toward prevention and personalization, and dramatic leaps in AI to capture and predict what people need, the firm believes health and happiness science is the most robust early-stage investment opportunity in decades. Social Start's worldwide team of PhDs, MDs, and deep tech investors are supported by a proprietary methodology for identifying the strongest venture segments and AI tools that uncover new startups at birth.

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Latest Social Starts News
Apr 24, 2023
Cure – a functional hydration brand – announced $5.6 million in Series A funding and retail expansion to 15,000 stores nationwide, further cementing the brand as a key player in the $10 billion functional drink mix market. This funding round was led by Lerer Hippeau with additional participation from new and existing investors including Valedor Partners, Simple Food Ventures, Great Oaks Venture Capital, Joyance Partners, Silas Capital, Kim Clijsters, and others. Cure will utilize the funding to accelerate retail expansion, grow its leadership team, enhance customer awareness, and develop new products. Since launching in 2019, Cure has grown an average of 230% every year and expanded its retail footprint to include new retail partners like Sprouts, Albertsons, Kroger, Stop & Shop, Wegmans and HEB, joining existing accounts including CVS and Walgreens. In the past 12 weeks, Cure had grown 316% in the Natural channel compared to the overall category growing at 19.5%, making Cure the fastest-growing natural hydration brand, according to SPINS. Known as the only female-founded electrolyte brand – which is also majority women operated and has an all-female medical and nutritional advisory board – Cure is also the recipient of a 2022 Fitness Award from Women’s Health magazine, and counts Gwyneth Paltrow, Ashley Graham, Brooklyn Decker, and Miranda Kerr among its many celebrity fans. Cure – which is on a mission to empower others to live better and healthier lives – is uniquely positioned to capture a major portion of the $10 billion functional drink mix market by creating science-backed wellness products with clean, effective ingredients at affordable prices. And its plant-based electrolyte powders are based on the World Health Organization’s ORS formula, but unlike other ORS formulas, its ingredients are non-GMO, sustainably sourced, and have no added sugar or erythritol. Plus Cure also launched new electrolyte flavors earlier this year including Lemonade and Strawberry Kiwi, and introduced a new bulk jar format. Cure is continuing to add industry veterans to its leadership team, announcing recently that the company has brought on Laura Kendrick as their Chief Marketing Officer, formerly at Highline Wellness and SmartyPants Vitamins, and Stacey Gillespie as their VP of Innovation, formerly Ora Organic and Gaia Herbs. Cure is backed by a medical advisory board that includes Dr. Roshini Raj, Dr. Dana Cohen, and Brooke Alpert and is FSA/HSA Eligible. And in just over 4 years, Cure has expanded to over 15,000 retail stores nationwide including CVS, Walgreens, Albertsons, and Sprouts. KEY QUOTES: “In the past four years, Cure has seen explosive growth as consumers look for better-for-you functional beverages that really work and aren’t full of added sugar. Cure is on a mission to create healthy and effective products that provide the ultimate foundation for health and well-being.” Lauren Picasso, CEO and founder at Cure Hydration “We are excited to partner with Cure, an omnichannel hydration company we believe is poised for breakout growth in the $10 billion functional drink mix market. After only launching in 2019, the brand has quickly gained traction online and in over 15,000 doors. We believe Cure’s high performance is attributable to its outstanding team, especially CEO and Founder Lauren Picasso whose drive, magnetism and experience bode well for Cure’s future success. We can’t wait to see what Cure accomplishes in the coming years.” Valedor Partners’ Barbara Palmquist “We continue to invest in Cure because the team has proved that they can scale beyond direct-to-consumer to become an omnichannel brand with a national footprint. We are excited to see Cure’s continued retail distribution and disruption of the hydration category.” Caitlin Strandberg, Partner at Lerer Hippeau Trending on Pulse 2.0
Social Starts Investments
531 Investments
Social Starts has made 531 investments. Their latest investment was in Cure Hydration as part of their Series A on April 4, 2023.

Social Starts Investments Activity

Date | Round | Company | Amount | New? | Co-Investors | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4/17/2023 | Series A | Cure Hydration | $5.6M | Yes | Great Oaks Venture Capital, Kim Clijsters, Lerer Hippeau, Silas Capital, Simple Food Ventures, Social Starts, Undisclosed Investors, and Valedor Partners | 2 |
4/4/2023 | Seed VC | Nimble Science | $2.01M | Yes | Adara Ventures, Alumni Ventures, Bluesky Equities, BoxOne Ventures, First Spark Ventures, Fusion Fund, Social Starts, Startup TNT, Threshold Impact, TNT Ventures, Undisclosed Angel Investors, and University of Calgary | 1 |
3/28/2023 | Seed VC | Luna Daily | $3.7M | Yes | Redrice Ventures, Social Starts, Undisclosed Angel Investors, and Velocity Juice | 3 |
3/7/2023 | Seed VC | |||||
2/2/2023 | Seed VC |
Date | 4/17/2023 | 4/4/2023 | 3/28/2023 | 3/7/2023 | 2/2/2023 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Round | Series A | Seed VC | Seed VC | Seed VC | Seed VC |
Company | Cure Hydration | Nimble Science | Luna Daily | ||
Amount | $5.6M | $2.01M | $3.7M | ||
New? | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
Co-Investors | Great Oaks Venture Capital, Kim Clijsters, Lerer Hippeau, Silas Capital, Simple Food Ventures, Social Starts, Undisclosed Investors, and Valedor Partners | Adara Ventures, Alumni Ventures, Bluesky Equities, BoxOne Ventures, First Spark Ventures, Fusion Fund, Social Starts, Startup TNT, Threshold Impact, TNT Ventures, Undisclosed Angel Investors, and University of Calgary | Redrice Ventures, Social Starts, Undisclosed Angel Investors, and Velocity Juice | ||
Sources | 2 | 1 | 3 |
Social Starts Portfolio Exits
83 Portfolio Exits
Social Starts has 83 portfolio exits. Their latest portfolio exit was Brand Networks on February 15, 2023.
Date | Exit | Companies | Valuation Valuations are submitted by companies, mined from state filings or news, provided by VentureSource, or based on a comparables valuation model. | Acquirer | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2/15/2023 | Acquired | 8 | |||
12/21/2022 | Acquired | 3 | |||
10/12/2022 | Acquired | 7 | |||
Date | 2/15/2023 | 12/21/2022 | 10/12/2022 | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Exit | Acquired | Acquired | Acquired | ||
Companies | |||||
Valuation | |||||
Acquirer | |||||
Sources | 8 | 3 | 7 |
Social Starts Fund History
5 Fund Histories
Social Starts has 5 funds, including Joyance Partners.
Closing Date | Fund | Fund Type | Status | Amount | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
3/21/2018 | Joyance Partners | $20M | 2 | ||
7/1/2014 | Social Starts III | ||||
12/1/2013 | Social Starts II | ||||
1/1/2012 | Social Starts I | ||||
Social Starts - A |
Closing Date | 3/21/2018 | 7/1/2014 | 12/1/2013 | 1/1/2012 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fund | Joyance Partners | Social Starts III | Social Starts II | Social Starts I | Social Starts - A |
Fund Type | |||||
Status | |||||
Amount | $20M | ||||
Sources | 2 |
Social Starts Team
5 Team Members
Social Starts has 5 team members, including current Investment Partner, Jun Deng.
Name | Work History | Title | Status |
---|---|---|---|
Jun Deng | Singularity University, and University of California | Investment Partner | Current |
Name | Jun Deng | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Work History | Singularity University, and University of California | ||||
Title | Investment Partner | ||||
Status | Current |
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