Carter Cast
Venture Partner @ Pritzker Group Venture Capital
Wilmette, United States
Carter Cast is a Series A investor at Pritzker Group Venture Capital in Wilmette focused on Software and Facility Management. Carter received his early training in the restaurant division of PepsiCo, Inc. (Pizza Hut International and Taco Bell) from 1986-1990 and then at Frito-Lay from 1992-1997, where he became Director of Marketing, managing the $1.5 billion tortilla chip category and launching Tostitos salsas and dips. Carter then served as vice president of productmarketing and marketing communications at Electronic Arts, launching products like SimCity 3000 and The Sims. He left to become a member of the start-up team for Blue Nile Inc., a Kleiner-Perkins and Trinity Ventures backed company, which became the leading online retailer of diamonds and fine jewelry, selling in excess of $250 million after seven years in existence. Carter was Blue Nile’s senior vice president of marketing, merchandising and site when the company was named one of the forty best e-commerce sites by Forbes magazine. Carter developed the brand and site identity, as well as the marketing communication and product assortment strategy. Carter left Blue Nile to be part of the launch team at Walmart.com, a division of Walmart Stores, Inc. He served as the vice president of marketing from 2000-2002 and the senior vice president of marketing, merchandising, creative and site from 2002-2005. In 2005 Carter was promoted to President of Walmart.com and to CEO in February of 2006. He led Walmart’s e-commerce division to profitability on its way to becoming the third highest volume e-tail site behind eBay and Amazon.com. Carter left Walmart to join Netshops.com, a privately-held ecommerce company funded by Sequoia Capital and Insight Venture Partners, as President and CEO. In 2009, Netshops rebranded and redesigned its site, becoming Hayneedle. Internet Retailer named it as one of America’s Hot 100 Retail sites in December of 2009. In 2011, Carter joined the faculty of Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, where he is a clinical professor, teaching entrepreneurship and marketing. In addition to teaching, Carter joined New World Ventures in 2012, where he is a venture partner, advising NWV’s portfolio companies. Carter sits on the board of SMS Assist, a New World Venture portfolio company and is also a member of the advisory board of Northwestern University’s Kellogg Innovation Network. Carter graduated from Stanford University in 1985 and the Kellogg Graduate School of Management in 1992.
- Total investments:
- 3
- Last investment:
- Lead investor:
- 67%
Last updated:
For AI agents: llms.txt
Industries Carter Cast invests in
Stages Carter Cast invests in
Countries Carter Cast invests in
Contacts
| Type | Contact | Validation |
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| Work email | ||
| Personal email | ||
| Work phone | ||
| Personal phone | ||
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Investment Focus
Industry
- Software 1 (33%)
- Facility Management 1 (33%)
- Property Management 1 (33%)
Stage
- Series A 1 (33%)
- Series B 1 (33%)
- Series C 1 (33%)
Investments
| Company | Description | Round | Links |
|---|---|---|---|
| SMS Assist provides business services to deliver unprecedented transparency and control within the facilities maintenance industry. Most large multi-location chains rely heavily on local subcontractors to provide their facility maintenance services, like electrical, plumbing, carpentry, and mechanical repairs, floor and window cleaning,landscaping, snow removal, parking lot maintenance, and dozens of other services. Management responsibility for these services is often delegated to the operating units, and as a result, significant opportunities to leverage technology, economies of scale, and subject matter expertise are lost. As a national integrator with over 40,000 unique customer sites under contract, SMS Assist helps customers reduce spend on facilities services by an average of 20 percent while maintaining or improving quality and providing radical transparency. | $45M / Series C / May 05, 2015 | ||
| SMS Assist provides business services to deliver unprecedented transparency and control within the facilities maintenance industry. Most large multi-location chains rely heavily on local subcontractors to provide their facility maintenance services, like electrical, plumbing, carpentry, and mechanical repairs, floor and window cleaning,landscaping, snow removal, parking lot maintenance, and dozens of other services. Management responsibility for these services is often delegated to the operating units, and as a result, significant opportunities to leverage technology, economies of scale, and subject matter expertise are lost. As a national integrator with over 40,000 unique customer sites under contract, SMS Assist helps customers reduce spend on facilities services by an average of 20 percent while maintaining or improving quality and providing radical transparency. | $45M / Series B / Oct 22, 2013 | ||
| SMS Assist provides business services to deliver unprecedented transparency and control within the facilities maintenance industry. Most large multi-location chains rely heavily on local subcontractors to provide their facility maintenance services, like electrical, plumbing, carpentry, and mechanical repairs, floor and window cleaning,landscaping, snow removal, parking lot maintenance, and dozens of other services. Management responsibility for these services is often delegated to the operating units, and as a result, significant opportunities to leverage technology, economies of scale, and subject matter expertise are lost. As a national integrator with over 40,000 unique customer sites under contract, SMS Assist helps customers reduce spend on facilities services by an average of 20 percent while maintaining or improving quality and providing radical transparency. | $15M / Series A / Jun 22, 2011 |
Co-Investors
Pritzker Group Venture Capital helps entrepreneurs build market-leading technology companies at every stage of their growth. Since its founding in 1996, the firm has worked side-by-side with entrepreneurs at more than 100 companies, building partnerships based on trust and integrity. Its proprietary capital structure allows for tremendousflexibility, and our experienced team of investment professionals and entrepreneurs offers companies a vast network of strategic relationships and guidance.Successful exits in recent years include Fleetmatics (NYSE: FLTX), SinglePlatform (acquired by Constant Contact), Zinch (acquired by Chegg), Playdom (acquired by Disney), LeftHand Networks (acquired by Hewlett-Packard), and TicketsNow (acquired by Ticketmaster).
Pritzker Group Venture Capital Contacts
| Name | Phone | Socials | |
|---|---|---|---|
Chris Girgenti
Managing Partner
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Craig Wortmann
Operating Partner
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David Schonthal
Venture Partner
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Adam Koopersmith
Partner
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Carter Cast
Venture Partner
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FAQ
What does Carter Cast invest in?
Carter Cast invests primarily in Software, Facility Management and Property Management startups, most often at Series A and Series B stage. Most of the 3 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in United States. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.
How do I contact Carter Cast?
Public channels for Carter Cast include LinkedIn. For a verified work email and phone number, create a free Shizune account — contact data is searched across 20+ sources and validated before delivery, so your outreach lands in the right inbox.
When did Carter Cast last invest?
The most recent investment recorded for Carter Cast closed in May 2015. Shizune tracks 3 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 Oct 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.
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