Bluestein Ventures

We are excited to announce that Bluestein Ventures has been recognized as a Fire Starter by Chicago Inno as part of the 2024 Fire Awards! This award celebrates the top 50 innovators shaping the Chicago tech scene.

Big congratulations to Alex ❄️☕️ French and Andrew Healy of Bizzy who were honored as the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2024 for the Heartland region! We’re inspired by your leadership and glad to see this well-deserved recognition.

Our Co-Managing Partners Andrew Bluestein and Ashley Hartman were featured on The Consumer VC podcast. Tune in for a great discussion on the future of food - in addition to some hot takes on Starbucks and plant-based meat. Let us know what you think in the comments! Thank you to Mike Gelb for hosting and facilitating the thoughtful conversation. Listen to the podcast here: https://lnkd.in/gaeW-6zG

Our Managing Partner Andrew Bluestein recently spoke on the "Allocation Strategies and Insights" panel at the Sutton Capital Allocator's Summit in SF! Thank you to the emcees McKeever (Mac) Conwell,II RareBreed Ventures and Sonia El-Sherif JLL Spark Global Ventures for leading the event, and Sutton Capital for organizing the conference! Vishal Tripathi Next Legacy Partners, Youngrok Kim GREE LP Fund, Josh Porter First Look Capital, Ian Park Primer Sazze Partners, Joel Palathinkal, Ph.D Sutton Capital, Sherry Lin CYMI Holdings, Emma Norchet Leo Capital, Ankit Agarwal A7 Ventures

Earlier this week, we teamed up with Cooley LLP and J.P. Morgan to host an investor dinner after the Future Food-Tech Alternative Proteins conference! It was great to gather so many investors actively deploying in foodtech. Thank you to Alya Adamany Woods, the rest of the Cooley LLP team, and J.P. Morgan for co-hosting with us, and Rethink Events for organizing the conference.

Our Vice President Amira Khatib will be judging a virtual pitch competition for female-founded CPG brands next Tuesday, June 18 from 5-7pm CT! Thank you to Brandjectory and PitchForce for organizing the event. Hope to ‘see’ you there! https://lnkd.in/gQBqCRUq

Check out our latest Future of Food Series recorded webinar! Our Venture Partner Lindsay Levin interviewed Melinda Ring, MD, FACP, Dipl.ABOIM, CNS, Dipl.ABLM, IFMCP, Director of the Osher Center for Integrative Health at Northwestern University, and Belinda Tan MD PhD, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of People Science. The conversation covered all things women’s health, including the critical role of nutrition, the need for more data to realize better outcomes (and how you can help!), and innovation driving the space forward. Watch the recorded conversation below and subscribe to our YouTube channel to stay up-to-date with all of our conversations on the Future of Food! https://lnkd.in/gwwB2cBd You can also sign up for 2 groundbreaking research studies People Science has launched aimed at enhancing women’s health and wellbeing. Participation in both studies is virtual via their proprietary CHLOE mobile app. See the full details and study eligibility below. Nix Alcohol for Sleep: https://lnkd.in/gK_j3Gfe Breathwork for Stress Relief: https://lnkd.in/gZrHEEVA

A few weeks ago, we teamed up with Cooley LLP to host a Women’s Breakfast as part of the 2024 Future-of-Food Week by World Business Chicago programming! The energy was incredible, and it was inspiring to see so many women in the investing & food ecosystem connect. We’re so grateful to Alya Adamany Woods and the whole Cooley LLP team for co-hosting with us and World Business Chicago for planning Future of Food Week. 

Check out Joan Zhang, Co-Founder and CEO of our portfolio company Arise, on the Brydge Club podcast! Arise is building a virtual care platform to change the way eating disorders are treated. Thank you to Ruffin Mitchener for featuring Joan Zhang and highlighting her incredible story. Listen to the podcast here: https://lnkd.in/gnQvKxp9

Reminder to join us for our next Future of Food live webinar next Wed, June 5th at 10am CT / 11am ET! Our Venture Partner Lindsay Levin will be speaking with Belinda Tan MD PhD, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of People Science, and Melinda Ring, MD, FACP, Dipl.ABOIM, CNS, Dipl.ABLM, IFMCP, Director of the Osher Center for Integrative Health at Northwestern University. The conversation will cover all things women’s health, including the critical role of nutrition, the need for more data to realize better outcomes (and how you can help!), and innovation driving the space forward. Register below! https://lnkd.in/eM7XXy9X