Listen Ventures

General contacts

Investor type

PE / VC

Founded

2010

AUM

$130 M

Location

Chicago, Illinois, United States

Investment Ticket

$10-50 m

Investment Stage

Seed Series A

Region of investment

North America

Investor profile last updated: 16 August, 2026

Profile

Listen Ventures is a venture capital firm based in Chicago, Illinois, founded in 2010. The firm is known for its consumer-focused investment strategy, partnering with entrepreneurs to build brands at the tipping point of consumer behavior shifts. The team consists of 5 professionals, including key figures like Jeff Cantalupo and Rick Desai, who bring a wealth of experience in brand and marketing expertise.

The firm primarily invests in early-stage companies within the consumer goods sector, with a focus on areas such as consumer products, CPG/D2C, health, food and agriculture, and education. Listen Ventures typically writes checks ranging from $1 million to $10 million and participates in Seed and Series A rounds. The firm manages several funds, including Listen Ventures III with $62 million in assets under management.

Notable investments by Listen Ventures include companies like Go Brewing - a beverage company, Good Bacteria - a pharmaceuticals firm, Cafeteria - a business productivity software provider, iAsk.Ai - an internet software company, and Sigo Seguros - an automotive insurance provider.

Industry

Media and Entertainment Foodtech Food and Beverage Financial Services Telecommunications Software Marketing and Advertising Fintech Fashion/Beauty Education Consumer Products Healthcare Services SaaS Robotics Security

Listen Ventures Funds

Name	Type	Industry	Stage	Region	Size	AUM	Launch date
Separate Fund	Venture Capital (VC)	Financial Services Fintech Food and Beverage Foodtech Marketing and Advertising Media and Entertainment SaaS Software Telecommunications	Pre-seed Seed	North America	$5-10 m	$30 M	January 2022
Listen Ventures III	Venture Capital (VC)	Education Fashion/Beauty Financial Services Fintech Food and Beverage Foodtech Robotics Security Telecommunications	Pre-seed Seed	North America	$5-10 m	$62 M	January 2022

Contacts

Name

Title

Social Networks

Rick Desai Managing Partner

Managing Partner

r•••@•••

Jeff Cantalupo Founder, Managing Partner

Founder, Managing Partner

j•••@•••

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Investment-team contacts for Listen Ventures — including verified work emails and LinkedIn profiles — are available to Private Equity List subscribers.
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Contacts sourced from the firm's website and LinkedIn, re-verified on a rolling cycle. Spot a stale contact, or none at all? Report it — we re-run that firm within 48h and get back to you.

FAQs about Listen Ventures

Is Listen Ventures a venture capital or private equity firm?

Listen Ventures is a venture capital and private equity firm. It backs companies at Seed and Series A, writing tickets of $10-50 m.

Where is Listen Ventures located?

Listen Ventures is located in Chicago, Illinois, United States.

When was Listen Ventures founded?

Listen Ventures was founded in 2010.

What sectors and industries does Listen Ventures invest in?

Listen Ventures invests in companies and startups in Media and Entertainment, Foodtech, Food and Beverage, Financial Services, Telecommunications, Software, Marketing and Advertising, Fintech, Fashion/Beauty, Education, Consumer Products, Healthcare Services, SaaS, Robotics, Security.

What is Listen Ventures geographical focus of investments?

Listen Ventures invests in companies and startups in North America.

At what stages of companies and startups does Listen Ventures typically invest in?

Listen Ventures invests in companies and startups at Seed, Series A.

What is the usual amount of Listen Ventures investment?

Listen Ventures usually invests $10-50 m on average.

What is the amount of assets of under management (AUM) for Listen Ventures?

Listen Ventures has around $130m assets under management.

When was Listen Ventures last fund created?

Listen Ventures last fund was created/launched in 2022-01-12

What are the contacts of Listen Ventures?

Listen Ventures can be reached through its website listen.co, its LinkedIn page and its X account. Its general enquiries address is [email protected]. Cold-mailing a general inbox rarely reaches a partner, so Private Equity List also lists the investment-team contacts for Listen Ventures — names, roles, verified work emails and LinkedIn profiles — available on a Pro plan from $129/month (see pricing). Contacts are sourced from the firm's website and LinkedIn and re-verified on a rolling cycle. Spot a stale contact, or none at all? Report it — we re-run that firm within 48h and get back to you.

Can I access Listen Ventures data via API or MCP?

Yes. Every field on this page — profile, funds, investment criteria, portfolio and investment-team contacts — is available programmatically through the Private Equity List REST API and MCP server, so AI assistants such as Claude and ChatGPT can query Listen Ventures directly instead of scraping this page. One subscription covers both the web app and machine access — see API & MCP.

When was the Listen Ventures profile last updated?

Private Equity List re-verifies investor profiles on a rolling cycle, pulling from the firm's own website and LinkedIn rather than a one-off import. This profile was last updated on 16 August, 2026. Something out of date here? Report it — we re-run that firm within 48h and get back to you.