Vice Ventures

Vice Ventures is an early-stage venture capital fund focused on investing in companies operating within industries that carry social stigmas but demonstrate strong potential for superior financial returns. Founded in 2018 by Catharine Dockery, the fund targets startups and emerging businesses across a range of non-traditional verticals, including alcohol, cannabis, energy, nicotine, psychedelics, sex tech and wellness, skill-based betting, sports betting, and pharmaceutical-adjacent categories such as MDMA and ketamine therapies, as well as other emerging vice-adjacent markets. The fund's investment thesis is built on the premise that stigma-driven market inefficiencies create outsized opportunities for disciplined, forward-thinking investors willing to engage with sectors that mainstream capital often avoids. Vice Ventures made its initial investments through several special purpose vehicles (SPVs) before completing the first close of Fund I in 2019. The firm is headquartered in New York and operates with a concentrated, high-conviction approach to early-stage investing. Catharine Dockery, the fund's founder and General Partner, brings a multidisciplinary background to the role, having previously worked in retail mergers and acquisitions on Walmart's digitally native vertical brands team, as well as in equity trading and high-yield credit research. Her academic background combines neuroscience and finance from NYU's Gallatin School of Independent Study, giving the fund a distinctive analytical lens when evaluating consumer behavior, regulatory landscapes, and brand development within its target sectors. Dockery was recognized as a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree in 2020, reflecting the fund's early prominence in the alternative investment space. Vice Ventures positions itself as a partner to founders building quality brands in overlooked or misunderstood categories, with a focus on identifying pockets of genuine market opportunity beneath the surface of reputational risk. The fund's portfolio spans a broad range of consumer and B2B businesses tied to adult-use products and emerging therapeutic or recreational modalities, making it a distinctive player in the venture capital landscape.