# Rick Hess

> Rick Hess is a seed investor at Evolution Media (Los Angeles) backing News and Internet. See 5 investments, check sizes, portfolio. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: Angel Investor
- Fund: [Evolution Media](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/evolution-media-6b5f)
- Location: Los Angeles, United States
- Total investments: 5
- Last investment: Apr 2024
- Lead investor: 0%
- Last updated: Aug 2026

Rick Hess is a founder and Co-Managing Partner of Evolution Media. Rick oversees global investments in the sports, media, entertainment, and technology sectors for the investment company and he sources, structures, and executes transactions for a variety of advisory clients in the media, sports, and entertainment industries.Prior to foundingEvolution in 2008, Rick led the Film Finance group at CAA. Under his leadership the group packaged, raised financing for, or sold more than 125 feature films, including Academy Award-winning films. Previously, he held executive positions at TriStar Pictures and The William Morris Agency, and was President of Phoenix Pictures and Propaganda Films.Rick is the Chairman of the Board of Inner-City Filmmakers, a non-profit production education program for low income students and that then helps them find jobs in the entertainment industry. He also serves on the Board of Directors for LA’s Promise and Chrysalis and is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.Rick is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania.

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| News | 1 | 20% |
| Internet | 1 | 20% |
| Human Resources | 1 | 20% |
| Video Streaming | 1 | 20% |
| Event Management | 1 | 20% |

7 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Seed | 1 | 20% |
| Series A | 1 | 20% |
| Series B | 1 | 20% |
| Series C | 1 | 20% |
| Funding Round | 1 | 20% |

### Country

| Country | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| United States | 2 | 40% |
| Malaysia | 1 | 20% |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Range Media Partners | Range Media Partners provides artists, directors, writers, professional athletes, and others with management and representation services. |  | Venture - Series Unknown | Apr 22, 2024 |  |
| dot.LA | dot.LA is a digital newsroom covering L.A.'s startup and tech community. dot.LA’s mission is to celebrate and empower the Los Angeles startup and tech community, fueling innovation around the world. | $4M | Seed | Jan 09, 2020 |  |
| iflix | iflix is the world’s leading entertainment service for emerging markets, offering users unlimited access to thousands of TV shows, movies and more. With a vast selection everyone’s favourite comedies, drama, K-drama, Turkish drama, Bollywood, Nollywood, cartoons, movies and more from Hollywood, The UK, Asia, The Middle East and Africa, iflix placesthe entertainment people want at their fingertips to either stream or download.For one low monthly fee, iflix subscribers can watch on their mobile phone, laptop, tablet, TV… wherever, whenever. | $133M | Series C | Aug 07, 2017 |  |
| iflix | iflix is the world’s leading entertainment service for emerging markets, offering users unlimited access to thousands of TV shows, movies and more. With a vast selection everyone’s favourite comedies, drama, K-drama, Turkish drama, Bollywood, Nollywood, cartoons, movies and more from Hollywood, The UK, Asia, The Middle East and Africa, iflix placesthe entertainment people want at their fingertips to either stream or download.For one low monthly fee, iflix subscribers can watch on their mobile phone, laptop, tablet, TV… wherever, whenever. | $90M | Series B | Mar 07, 2017 |  |
| iflix | iflix is the world’s leading entertainment service for emerging markets, offering users unlimited access to thousands of TV shows, movies and more. With a vast selection everyone’s favourite comedies, drama, K-drama, Turkish drama, Bollywood, Nollywood, cartoons, movies and more from Hollywood, The UK, Asia, The Middle East and Africa, iflix placesthe entertainment people want at their fingertips to either stream or download.For one low monthly fee, iflix subscribers can watch on their mobile phone, laptop, tablet, TV… wherever, whenever. | $45M | Series A | Mar 09, 2016 |  |

5 of 5 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [Liberty Global](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/liberty-global) — VC Fund, 3 deals together
- [Catcha Group](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/catcha-group) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Sky UK](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/sky) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Act One Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/act-one-ventures) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [A+E Global Media](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/a-e-television-networks) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Anthos Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/anthos-capital) — VC Fund, 1 deal together

## About Evolution Media

VC Fund · Los Angeles, United States

Evolution Media is a multi-stage investment firm that partners with passionate entrepreneurs who are building the next generation of technology, content, lifestyle, media, and sports businesses. Evolution leverages its global platform and relationships to accelerate the growth of its portfolio companies while helping them reshape and disrupt theirindustries.

3 contacts available at Evolution Media.

| Name | Title | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Bob Stanley | Founder and Managing Partner | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/bob-stanley |
| Rick Hess | Co-Founder and Co-Managing Partner | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/rick-hess-3 |
| Dan Abrams | Partner and Chief Operating Officer | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/dan-abrams-b807 |

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### 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 Rick Hess invest in?

Rick Hess invests primarily in News, Internet and Human Resources 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.

### When did Rick Hess last invest?

The most recent investment recorded for Rick Hess closed in Apr 2024. Shizune tracks 5 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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