E984 Vice Ventures Catharine Dockery is investing $25M in vices: weed, sextech, gambling, alcohol

TL;DR

Katherine Dockery, the founding partner of Vice Ventures, discusses her unique venture capital fund that focuses on investing in startups in taboo industries such as alcohol, gambling, sex tech, and psychedelics, and aims to promote harm reduction.

Transcript

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Key Insights

• 🔬 Vice Ventures invests in taboo industries that most VCs are restricted from investing in due to clauses in their agreements.
• 🙈 The fund focuses on harm reduction and responsible consumption and sees potential in industries like alcohol, gambling, and sex tech.
• 🐕‍🦺 Companies that offer harm reduction solutions in vices are likely to attract interest from potential acquirers.
• 🛢️ Vice Ventures has invested in companies like Bev, Indose, Players' Lounge, and Ten to One Rum.

Questions & Answers

Q: How did Vice Ventures come up with the idea to start a fund based on investing in taboo industries?

Dockery came up with the idea when she pitched a business idea for a canned wine company, which VCs loved but couldn't invest in due to clauses in their agreements. This led her to realize the white space in the market and the need for a fund that specifically focuses on investing in these industries.

Q: How does Vice Ventures navigate the restrictions and challenges of investing in industries such as sex tech and gambling?

Vice Ventures relies on creative strategies to overcome advertising and marketing restrictions, such as partnering with companies that have products that are not directly considered taboo to attract customers to their other offerings. They also focus on harm reduction and consider the potential for investments to be acquired by larger companies like Johnson & Johnson.

Q: What is the investment thesis behind Vice Ventures?

The fund's investment thesis revolves around harm reduction and promoting responsible consumption in taboo industries. They believe in investing in companies that can offer harm reduction solutions, such as Juul for smokers or skill-based betting platforms for gamblers.

Q: How does Vice Ventures view the future of industries like alcohol, gambling, and sex tech?

Vice Ventures sees opportunities for growth and exits in industries like alcohol and sex tech, but views the future of these industries through the lens of harm reduction and responsible consumption. They believe that companies with innovative harm reduction solutions will be attractive to potential acquirers like Johnson & Johnson.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Vice Ventures is a venture capital fund that invests in startups in taboo industries that most VCs are not allowed to invest in due to clauses in their agreements, such as alcohol, gambling, sex tech, and psychedelics.

• The fund aims to promote harm reduction and believes that the future of vices lies in harm reduction strategies, using examples like Juul as a harm reduction tool for smokers.

• Dockery shares that she has invested in companies like Bev (canned wine), Indose (vaporizer), Players' Lounge (skill-based betting platform for esports), and Ten to One Rum, among others.