# The Brandery

> The Brandery is a VC fund in Cincinnati backing Software and Apps. See 81 investments, check sizes, portfolio and contact details. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Cincinnati, United States
- Total investments: 81
- Last investment: May 2020
- Lead investor: 5%
- Fund size: $100M
- Last fund: Oct 2012
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/the-brandery
- X (Twitter): http://twitter.com/Brandery
- Website: http://brandery.org
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Brandery

The Brandery is a seed-stage startup accelerator nationally ranked as one of the top ten programs in the United States.The Brandery is a seed stage startup accelerator that leverages the expertise of the Cincinnati region, namely branding, marketing and design. We believe that building your brand-- and not just a product-- is a way startups canbe more resource efficient and increase their probability of success. In addition to an elite mentor list, startups will be paired with world-class creative agencies and have access to some of the biggest companies in the world, including Procter & Gamble, dunnhumby, and Kroger. The Brandery runs one, four-month accelerator program a year for 10-12 companies. We receive a 6% equity stake in each startup in exchange for $50k, a year of free office space, and over $200k in additional benefits.

## Contacts

5 contacts available for The Brandery. Shizune tracks 6 team members at The Brandery. Sign up free to unlock them: https://app.shizune.co/sign-up/investor-profiles/find-team-emails/the-brandery?utm_source=investor_profile

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Software | 12 | 15% |
| Apps | 10 | 12% |
| Internet | 8 | 10% |
| Social Media | 8 | 10% |
| Mobile | 7 | 9% |

129 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Seed | 47 | 58% |
| Pre-Seed | 8 | 10% |
| Series A | 7 | 9% |
| Grant | 3 | 4% |
| Angel | 1 | 1% |

9 stages tracked in total.

### Country

| Country | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| United States | 55 | 68% |
| Canada | 1 | 1% |
| Germany | 1 | 1% |
| United Kingdom | 1 | 1% |
| The Netherlands | 1 | 1% |

## Team

| Name | Title | Investments | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| J.B. Kropp | Co-Founder | 13 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/j-b-kropp |
| Jeff Boeh | Managing Director | 2 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/jeff-boeh |
| Matt Lenahan | Member and Mentor | 0 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/matt-lenahan |
| Sarah Kubala | Chief Financial Officer | 0 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/sarah-kubala |
| Sean McCosh | Mentor | 0 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/sean-mccosh |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Curie | Imagine if you arrived at a furniture store only to find pictures instead of products on display. That’s what shopping online is like today. 3D replicates a live product experience, but retailers aren't setup like game studios. Curie powers 3D to be anywhere with the largest library of 3D content, supplying e-commerce, AI-training, and theMetaverse. We use AI to generate 3D from 2D photos on the Web, digitizing entire stores and products at scale. | $100K | Pre-Seed | May 15, 2020 |  |
| Bright Breaks | Bright Breaks offers a workplace wellness solution to boost employee wellness, connection, and productivity with 7-minute live micro-breaks. Bright Breaks' wellness platform is designed to provide users with maximum benefits while requiring the least amount of effort. It only takes a few minutes per day to reduce stress and improve well-being. | $100K | Pre-Seed | May 15, 2020 |  |
| Ad Badger | Ad Badger uses intelligent automation to help Amazon sellers dramatically improve their Amazon PPC campaigns. Its quick customization abilities save sellers tons of time managing paid traffic campaigns and produces superior results compared to manually managing campaigns. | $100K | Pre-Seed | Mar 26, 2019 |  |
| Brandefy | Brandefy is a Developer of a personal care product reviewing platform designed to offer reviews and information about those products. The company's platform shows shoppers how store brand and name brand products stack up against each other utilizing honest, straightforward consumer feedback and it also offers its own reviews encompassingingredient analyses, it's own experiences with the product and chemical analyses when necessary, enabling customers to discover unknown information about the products before actually purchasing or using it. | $101.5K | Pre-Seed | Dec 15, 2018 |  |
| Natalus Inc. | Natalus is mapping solution, providing real-time data of the occupancy of any space or place, creating better experiences and seamless automation.The solution uses advanced imaging technologies, like LiDAR, to capture and analyze any indoor/outdoor environment. Its sensor tackles the issue at the source and allows them to track the space andassets inside. From there, its A.I. analyzes and displays key insights and data points on an easy-to-use client dashboard.Vincent Cevasco, Ryan Jordan, and Matthew Terry established it in Newport, Kentucky in 2017. | $30K | Grant | Oct 09, 2018 |  |
| PopBase | Our patented platform will change what it means to watch a show, play a game and buy a product. Our codeless storytelling platform gives users simple templates to create immersive content that has: the distribution speed of social media, the interactivity and immersion of open-world videogames, and the long-form format of TV Programming. PopBasewill do for 3D interactive content design what CANVA does for 2D graphic design. | $720K | Pre-Seed | Jun 05, 2018 |  |
| Obe | Obe’s digital wellness platform makes it easier for veterinarians and pet parents to keep their dogs and cats healthier and happier, for longer. Real-time, accurate consumption data allows better health and nutrition decisions to help with preventative care and early diagnosis of potential problems, long before the problems are acute. | $1.3M | Seed | Jun 01, 2018 |  |
| Zimmr | Zimmr’s platform allows enterprises to easily monitor and manage their data science applications in real time. |  |  | May 31, 2018 |  |
| Tame the Beast | At TAME the BEAST® we create men's grooming products with arousing scents and energizing properties. We also know a thing or two about being a man. | $50K | Pre-Seed | Jul 05, 2017 |  |
| DesignMySoap.com | DesignMySoap.com, by Soapy Soap Company, is the world’s first and only personalized bar soap e-commerce platform.Soapy Soap Company is an all-natural body care brand and manufacturer, established in 2012 in Bloomington, Indiana. Their newest offering is DesignMySoap, the world’s first and only personalized bar soap e-commerce platform. Customerschoose their skin type, create custom aromatherapy scent blends, pick exfoliants, and name their soap. Featured on Reply All podcast, ranked #1 organically on Google Search, and were in Oprah’s O Magazine. They are seeking funding to scale their customer acquisition, combine both brands into one cohesive brand, and grow the business. | $50K | Grant | Jun 27, 2017 |  |

10 of 81 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [CincyTech](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/cincytech) — VC Fund, 8 deals together
- [Vine St. Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/vine-st-ventures) — VC Fund, 6 deals together
- [Right Side Capital Management](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/right-side-capital-management) — VC Fund, 4 deals together
- [gbeta](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/gbeta) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [gener8tor](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/gener8tor) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Horizons Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/horizons-ventures) — VC Fund, 2 deals 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 The Brandery invest in?

The Brandery invests primarily in Software, Apps and Internet startups, most often at Seed and Pre-Seed stage. Most of the 81 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 The Brandery?

Public channels for The Brandery 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 The Brandery?

The team at The Brandery includes J.B. Kropp (Co-Founder), Jeff Boeh (Managing Director) and Matt Lenahan (Member and Mentor), among 6 team members tracked by Shizune. 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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