# Upstage Ventures

> Upstage Ventures is a VC fund in Ardsley backing Mobile and Software. See 32 investments, check sizes, portfolio and contact details. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Ardsley, United States
- Total investments: 32
- Last investment: Aug 2019
- Lead investor: 0%
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- Website: http://www.upstageventures.com

Upstage Ventures is a firm that advises and invests in consumer Internet and interactive marketing companies. The portfolio businesses of the company include SeatGeek, YouNow, Veritonic, TVision, Bedly, Vengo, OrderGroove, and Rally. Upstage Ventures is a U.S.-based company that was founded by Mark Wachen.

## Contacts

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

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Mobile | 7 | 22% |
| Software | 6 | 19% |
| Apps | 5 | 16% |
| Internet | 5 | 16% |
| Mobile Apps | 5 | 16% |

70 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Seed | 15 | 47% |
| Funding Round | 9 | 28% |
| Series A | 3 | 9% |
| Series B | 3 | 9% |
| Debt Financing | 1 | 3% |

## Team

| Name | Title | Investments | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Mark Wachen | Founder and Managing Director | 15 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/mark-wachen |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Fantasy Life | Building technology that gives the DFS, fantasy, and betting communities an outsized advantage. Leveling the playing field for the everyday bettor and player with free tools, and a robust community focused on sports betting, fantasy and DFS. |  | Series A | Aug 02, 2019 |  |
| Livekick | Livekick is a live virtual mindful movement platform bringing the world’s greatest teachers to your home | $3M | Series B | May 01, 2019 |  |
| IVY | IVY is poised to be the global 21st century version of a top University, with a decentralized lifelong member-base across 50 hub cities. We will disrupt the $4 trillion global education market as the leading platform mobilizing passionate individuals towards entrepreneurship, arts, social impact, policy, and wellness. The average IVY member is aninfluential high income millennial who is 31 years old. Our vision is to establish a lifelong membership spanning from adolescence to late adulthood.IVY has more than 20,000 members across 7 US cities and is hosting 1,000+ gatherings with foremost thought-leaders, cultural institutions, venues, and brands in 2017. It is the number one community that mobilizes the next generation towards entrepreneurship, art, philanthropy, policy and wellness. Founded by Harvard Business School classmates Beri Meric and Philipp Triebel, IVY is currently based across New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington D.C., Boston, Chicago and Miami, with upcoming international expansions scheduled for London, Hong Kong, and Dubai. |  |  | May 01, 2019 |  |
| Vengo | Vengo is a software and media company that engages consumers and collects data by combining interactive digital media with point-of-purchase. Selected from 270 companies as "NYC Next Idea 2012," Vengo's next-generation vending machines enable brands such as Trident, Snapple, Dentyne, and Sour Patch Kids to re-engage consumers whilegenerating attractive unit economics (expect six-month payback on new units). Vengo already has established partnerships with Mondelez (one of the largest snack food companies), Snapple, Verizon, CC Vending (second-largest NYC vending machine provider), and Creative Mobile Technologies (NYC taxis). Vengo was founded in 2012 and headquartered in Long Island City, New York. | $7M | Series B | Jan 03, 2019 |  |
| Transfr | TRANSFR VR’s core technology is a dialogue system between the trainee and our virtual coach. This unique VR apprenticeship model lets trainees move at their own pace and provides strategic, specific feedback to help them learn from their mistakes and master the skills they need to successfully perform their job. |  | Seed | May 29, 2018 |  |
| Clothes Horse | ClothesHorse solves the problem of "what clothes will fit me?" when shopping online. At the point of sale on third party e-commerce websites, shoppers are told what size will fit them based on their own unique body. At our destination website, ClothesHor.se, shoppers can discover new brands that will fit them based on their body andcurrent favorite brands, akin to Pandora for clothing. Our data-driven platform is licensed by online apparel retailers and enables them to increase conversion rates and decrease return rates. |  |  | Jan 01, 2018 |  |
| Braavo Capital | Braavo provides revenue-based financing to mobile app and game developers worldwide. Whether you're a an early-stage health and fitness app or a multi-million dollar mobile gaming publisher, Braavo is your partner for flexible, affordable and on-demand financing.Founded in 2015, Braavo is headquartered in New York City. The company hasfunded nearly half a billion dollars to the top app companies in the world and is backed by investors including e.ventures, SWS Venture Capital, SV Angel, BoxGroup, Upper90, and a number of successful angels and entrepreneurs from the fintech and mobile community. | $935K | Seed | Dec 01, 2017 |  |
| PROPS | PROPS is a new cryptocurrency that grants access to features, content and status across media apps that share a currency and identity layer, and whose users benefit from the PROPS rewards pool. | $25M |  | Nov 29, 2017 |  |
| WinWin (Acquired) | WinWin has been acquired and repurposed. | $1.6M | Seed | Nov 17, 2017 |  |
| Braavo Capital | Braavo provides revenue-based financing to mobile app and game developers worldwide. Whether you're a an early-stage health and fitness app or a multi-million dollar mobile gaming publisher, Braavo is your partner for flexible, affordable and on-demand financing.Founded in 2015, Braavo is headquartered in New York City. The company hasfunded nearly half a billion dollars to the top app companies in the world and is backed by investors including e.ventures, SWS Venture Capital, SV Angel, BoxGroup, Upper90, and a number of successful angels and entrepreneurs from the fintech and mobile community. |  |  | Oct 10, 2017 |  |

10 of 32 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [BoxGroup](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/boxgroup) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Zelkova Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/zelkova-ventures) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Accomplice](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/accomplice-atlas-venture) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Archetype Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/archetype-ventures) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Bay Street Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/bay-street-ventures) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Colle Capital Partners](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/colle-capital-partners) — VC Fund, 1 deal together

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## FAQ

### What does Upstage Ventures invest in?

Upstage Ventures invests primarily in Mobile, Software and Apps startups, most often at Seed and Funding Round stage. Most of the 32 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 Upstage Ventures?

Public channels for Upstage Ventures include 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 Upstage Ventures?

The team at Upstage Ventures includes Mark Wachen (Founder and Managing Director). 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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