# Brian Bustamante-Nicholson

> Brian Bustamante-Nicholson is a Series A investor at Sonoma Brands Capital backing E-Commerce. See 12 investments, check sizes, portfolio. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: Angel Investor
- Fund: [Sonoma Brands Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/sonoma-brands)
- Location: San Francisco, United States
- Total investments: 12
- Last investment: May 2026
- Lead investor: 33%
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-nicholson-a813372
- X (Twitter): http://twitter.com/bjnicholson2482
- Website: https://x.com/bjnicholson2482

Brian Bustamante-Nicholson is a Series A investor at Sonoma Brands Capital in San Francisco focused on E-Commerce and Wellness. Brian joined Sonoma Brands in 2018 as a Principal, bringing eight years of experience as a growth investor in leading eCommerce, Digital Media and Direct-to-Consumer businesses. At Sonoma Brands, Brian is focused on sourcing, executing and leading growth-stage investments in emerging consumer brands. He originated investments in Versed, Merit,Avaline, Mixlab, Beekeeper's Naturals, Bachan's, Yumble and Made by Nacho. Prior to joining Sonoma Brian spent over 5 years at Stripes Group, a leading growth equity firm in New York City, where he directly sourced and led growth investments in companies including Refinery29, Reformation, The Black Tux and Pond5. With these investments, Brian served as a Board Director or Observer and supported management in areas such as teambuilding, business development and strategic planning. Additionally, Brian has helped lead growth investments in disruptive consumer brands like Daily Harvest and ClassPass.Previously, Brian founded a direct-to-consumer apparel brand and spent several years in the Technology Investment Banking Group at JMP Securities in San Francisco. Brian received a B.A. (Honors) from Brown University.

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| E-Commerce | 4 | 33% |
| Wellness | 2 | 17% |
| Health Care | 2 | 17% |
| Consumer Goods | 2 | 17% |
| Food and Beverage | 2 | 17% |

14 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Series A | 5 | 42% |
| Seed | 3 | 25% |
| Series B | 1 | 8% |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Jesse & Ben’s | Ben and Jesse think that people should be able to enjoy their favorite cuisine without the junk. Despite being the fastest-growing french fry brand in the nation, Jesse & Ben's still has a long way to go | $10M | Series A | May 07, 2026 |  |
| Novel | A no-code platform for NFT commerce. | $6M | Seed | Apr 05, 2022 |  |
| Mixlab | Mixlab is a modern pet pharmacy for veterinarians and pet parents. Our technology and customer experience greatly enhance veterinarian processes and ensure that pet parents receive personalized care that delights them. | $20M | Series A | Aug 02, 2021 |  |
| Mixlab | Mixlab is a modern pet pharmacy for veterinarians and pet parents. Our technology and customer experience greatly enhance veterinarian processes and ensure that pet parents receive personalized care that delights them. |  | Series A | Apr 03, 2021 |  |
| Made by Nacho | Made by Nacho is an e-commerce company that delivers cat-crafted, feline-only cat food with natural vitamins and minerals. The company was founded in 2019 and is based in New York, United States. |  | Seed | Mar 03, 2021 |  |
| Made by Nacho | Made by Nacho is an e-commerce company that delivers cat-crafted, feline-only cat food with natural vitamins and minerals. The company was founded in 2019 and is based in New York, United States. |  | Seed | Jan 01, 2021 |  |
| AVALINE | Avaline makes clean, delicious wines. Full of natural goodness, free of unwanted extras. |  | Seed | Jan 01, 2020 |  |
| Versed | Versed is a cosmetic company that offers a clean skincare brand in retail and direct-to-consumer channels. The company combines community-powered development with retail know-how to incubate and scale the next generation of vertical beauty brands. They offer affordably priced, clean skincare brands in retail and direct-to-consumer channels.Versedwas founded in 2018 and is based in West Hollywood, California, United States. |  | Series A | Sep 04, 2019 |  |
| Yumble | Yumble is a weekly subscription that delivers healthy, delicious and fully cooked meals specifically designed for kids. The company aims to make mealtime stress-free for parents and super fun for kids. Currently, they offer plenty of options for dinner, lunch, breakfast, and snacks.Founded in 2016, the company is headquartered in New York, NewYork, United States. |  | Series A | Oct 01, 2018 |  |
| Yumble | Yumble is a weekly subscription that delivers healthy, delicious and fully cooked meals specifically designed for kids. The company aims to make mealtime stress-free for parents and super fun for kids. Currently, they offer plenty of options for dinner, lunch, breakfast, and snacks.Founded in 2016, the company is headquartered in New York, NewYork, United States. | $7M | Series A | Sep 20, 2018 |  |

10 of 12 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [Apple Core](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/apple-core) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Brand Foundry Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/brand-foundry-ventures) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Costanoa Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/costanoaventures) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Cue Ball](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/cue-ball) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Danone Manifesto Venture](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/danone-manifesto-venture) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [GRT SHT Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/grt-sht-ventures) — VC Fund, 1 deal together

## About Sonoma Brands Capital

VC Fund · Sonoma, United States

Sonoma Brands is a private equity firm focused on the growth sectors of the consumer economy. We aim to partner with bold, innovative founders on their way to building the world’s next enduring brands across the physical and digital landscape.

5 contacts available at Sonoma Brands Capital.

| Name | Title | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Brian Bustamante-Nicholson | Managing Director | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/brian-nicholson |
| Jonathan Sebastiani | Founder & CEO | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/jonathan-sebastiani |
| Jon Sebastiani | Founder | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/jon-sebastiani |
| Katherine Power | Operating Partner | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/katherine-power |
| Kevin Murphy | Managing Director | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/kevin-murphy-4e20 |

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## FAQ

### What does Brian Bustamante-Nicholson invest in?

Brian Bustamante-Nicholson invests primarily in E-Commerce, Wellness and Health Care startups, most often at Series A and Seed stage. Most of the 12 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in United States. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### When did Brian Bustamante-Nicholson last invest?

The most recent investment recorded for Brian Bustamante-Nicholson closed in May 2026. Shizune tracks 12 investments in total for this profile, including round sizes, stages and portfolio companies, all sourced from confirmed public funding rounds and refreshed monthly.

### Is Shizune's investor data accurate?

Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.

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