# Essence Ventures LLC

> Essence Ventures LLC is a VC fund backing E-Commerce. See 5 investments, check sizes, portfolio and contact details. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: VC Fund
- Location: New York, United States
- Total investments: 5
- Last investment: Jul 2026
- Lead investor: 40%
- Last updated: Aug 2026

Essence Ventures LLC is a VC fund in New York focused on E-Commerce and Information Technology. Essence Ventures is an independent African-American owned company that focuses on merging content, community, and commerce to meet the evolving cultural and lifestyle needs of women of color. The company began in 2017 and is chaired by its founder – entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist Richelieu Dennis.

## Contacts

5 contacts available for Essence Ventures LLC. Shizune tracks 1 team members at Essence Ventures LLC. Sign up free to unlock them: https://app.shizune.co/sign-up/investor-profiles/find-team-emails/essence-ventures-llc?utm_source=investor_profile

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| E-Commerce | 2 | 40% |
| Information Technology | 2 | 40% |
| Beauty | 1 | 20% |
| Mobile | 1 | 20% |
| Retail | 1 | 20% |

10 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Seed | 2 | 40% |
| Series A | 1 | 20% |
| Series B | 1 | 20% |
| Venture - Series Unknown | 1 | 20% |

## Team

| Name | Title | Investments | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Richelieu Dennis | CEO | 5 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/richelieu-dennis |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Offscript Worldwide | Offscript Worldwide is a production and distribution company for broadcast media. |  | Venture - Series Unknown | Jul 30, 2026 |  |
| Keycard | Keycard is on a mission to reimagine machine identity for the Internet, assisting developers in seamlessly connecting people, agents, and services across networks, clouds, and apps. | $30M | Series A | Oct 21, 2025 |  |
| Kite AI | Kite AI is a purpose-built, EVM-compatible L1 designed to power the AI economy. | $15M | Seed | Aug 01, 2023 |  |
| The Prospective Co. | The Prospective Co. provides fast, interactive analytics & data visualization product for large datasets. | $6M | Seed | Jul 18, 2023 |  |
| Mayvenn | Mayvenn enables Stylists to sell products directly to their clients without the upfront costs and burdens of holding inventory.At Mayvenn, they are creating the future of salon retail - one hairstylist at a time. Their mission is to empower hairstylists and salon professionals while changing the way people purchase hair extensions and interactwith hair companies. They've experienced tremendous growth since their founding in 2013. oTheir platform has grown into a nationwide movement of over 50,000+ stylists, hundreds of thousands of customers, and millions of dollars invested back into salons across the country. | $23M | Series B | Nov 07, 2018 |  |

5 of 5 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [General Catalyst](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/general-catalyst-partners) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Acrew Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/acrew-capital) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Exceptional Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/exceptional-capital) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- Giant Machines — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [GSR](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/gsr) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Hashed](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/hashed-f96b) — VC Fund, 1 deal together

## Similar investors

### Similar stage
- [Antler](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/antler-be9c) — VC Fund
- [Alumni Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/alumni-ventures-group) — VC Fund
- [Right Side Capital Management](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/right-side-capital-management) — VC Fund

## FAQ

### What does Essence Ventures LLC invest in?

Essence Ventures LLC invests primarily in E-Commerce, Information Technology and Beauty startups, most often at Seed and Series A stage. Most of the 5 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 Essence Ventures LLC?

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.

### Who are the partners at Essence Ventures LLC?

The team at Essence Ventures LLC includes Richelieu Dennis (CEO). The Team section lists each member with their title, investment count and links.

### 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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