Listen Ventures
VC Fund
Chicago, United States
Listen Ventures is a VC fund in Chicago focused on E-Commerce and Software. Listen (Listen Ventures) is a Chicago-based consumer venture capital firm founded in 2010. Listen invests $250K - $5M at Seed and Series A, typically for 5-20% ownership, in consumer packaged goods and DTC digital health and wellness brands, and prefers to lead. The firm makes roughly 10 core investments per fund and backs each one with in-house creative, consumer research, AI, and platform teams. Portfolio includes Calm, KiwiCo, Rugiet, and Go Brewing. Exits include Factor (HelloFresh), Own Up (Experian), and Black Buffalo (ITG Brands).
- Total investments:
- 60
- Last investment:
- Lead investor:
- 30%
- Fund size:
- $34M
- Last fund:
Last updated:
For AI agents: llms.txt
Industries Listen Ventures invests in
Stages Listen Ventures invests in
Countries Listen Ventures invests in
Round sizes
Contacts
| Name | Phone | Socials | |
|---|---|---|---|
Round size
- Seed
- $750k–$10M
- Series A
- $2.7M–$20M
Investment Focus
Industry
- E-Commerce 12 (20%)
- Software 5 (8%)
- Consumer Goods 5 (8%)
- Retail 4 (7%)
- Internet 4 (7%)
Stage
- Seed 21 (35%)
- Series A 16 (27%)
- Funding Round 5 (8%)
- Series B 4 (7%)
- Venture - Series Unknown 2 (3%)
Country
- United States 33 (55%)
- Canada 1 (2%)
Team
| Name | Title | Investments | Links | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Jeff Cantalupo
Founder, Managing Partner
|
Founder, Managing Partner | Total investments: 22 | Find email | |
Rick Desai
Partner
|
Partner | Total investments: 14 | Find email | |
Andrew Kallick
Investor
|
Investor | Total investments: 0 | Find email | |
|
Brent Fernandez
Partner, Head of Creative
|
Partner, Head of Creative | Total investments: 0 | Find email | |
Shawn Dennis
Venture Partner
|
Venture Partner | Total investments: 0 | Find email |
Investments
| Company | Description | Round | Links |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legato Hearing develops stylish glasses with built-in hearing technology, offering a discreet alternative to traditional hearing aids. | $12M / Seed / Aug 26, 2026 | ||
| Smearcase FroCo is an ice cream brand offering cottage cheese based frozen desserts and spreads. | Seed / May 05, 2026 | ||
| Good Bacteria manufactures and sells probiotic supplements and functional health products. | $3.2M / Seed / Jan 29, 2026 | ||
| Go Brewing is a brewery that offers non-alcoholic and low-alcohol beverages. The company was founded in 2021 and is headquartered in Naperville, Illinois. | Venture - Series Unknown / Jan 29, 2025 | ||
| [cafeteria] allows individuals to influence businesses, get paid for opinions, and develop professional talents. | $3M / Seed / Oct 24, 2024 | ||
| Sigo uses data and automation to provide lower-cost policies for the Latino market. | $10.5M / Series A / Sep 10, 2024 | ||
| iAsk is an AI search engine that delivers the fastest and most accurate responses in seconds, making it an attractive option for users looking for a more intuitive and user-friendly search experience. We are committed to continuous growth and development, striving to become an exciting contender in our field.At iAsk.Ai, the search engine hasadvanced from simple keyword-matching systems to an advanced AI that comprehends users' needs. It delivers relevant information to help users easily address simple or complex questions. | $5.7M / Seed / Feb 28, 2024 | ||
| Sigo uses data and automation to provide lower-cost policies for the Latino market. | $5.1M / Seed / Jul 11, 2023 | ||
| Dame Products is a sexual wellness brand with the purpose of making phenomenal sex toys. The company's mission is to design well-engineered sex toys, to heighten intimacy, and openly empower the sexual experiences of womankind. They create products that fit into your sex life, instead of making your sex life adapt to their toys. Their processis consumer-centric, we spend a lot of time talking to women and sex therapist so they can engineer vibrators that fit the multitude of sexual needs. | $7M / Series A / Sep 21, 2022 | ||
| Fable is a dinnerware company that sells premium tableware made by artisans from recycled clay. Fable believes in simple, timeless, and responsible designs. Fable is motivated by a common vision to create products that are as enjoyable as they are ethical. It intentionally designs pieces to transcend fashionable trends, creating pieces that are astimeless as they are elegant. | $6.6M / Series A / Jul 28, 2022 | ||
| See all 60 investments → | |||
![[cafeteria]](https://img.shizune.co/media/thumb/000064/640849-8729ac9e.webp){kind=small}
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FAQ
What does Listen Ventures invest in?
Listen Ventures invests primarily in E-Commerce, Software and Consumer Goods startups, most often at Seed and Series A stage. Most of the 60 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in United States. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.
What round sizes does Listen Ventures invest in?
Listen Ventures typically joins rounds of $750k–$10M at Seed and $2.7M–$20M at Series A. These are whole funding-round sizes, not Listen Ventures's own check, which is rarely disclosed: the 10th–90th percentile of the confirmed public funding rounds Listen Ventures took part in.
How do I contact Listen Ventures?
Public channels for Listen Ventures include LinkedIn, X (Twitter) and the website linked on this profile. 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 Listen Ventures?
The team at Listen Ventures includes Jeff Cantalupo (Founder, Managing Partner), Rick Desai (Partner) and Andrew Kallick (Investor). 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 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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