Welcome to the Refinery Ventures Newsletter! We’re excited to bring to you a recap of our recent events, a preview of what’s coming up, and updates on our portfolio companies. Enjoy this month’s edition!
Team Updates
On March 20th, Tim was one of the speakers at the DC Finance East Coast Family Office Conference in NYC. He was able to discuss hypergrowth leadership with attendees and had the chance to meet other Midwesterners at the event! Check out Tim’s LinkedIn for more details.
Tim and Peter traveled to Indianapolis to meet with our first portfolio company of Fund III, Champion, and to host a X15 Community Dinner, they even had the chance to stop by the Colts’ training center!
On April 4th, Peter spoke at the second annual Student Venture Capital Summit at Hotel Covington where he was able to connect with students and discuss startup valuations with real world scenarios.
Where We’re Going
Our team has a busy month of travel ahead! Check out the dates below and reach out to Tim (tim@refinery.com) if you are interested in connecting in any of these cities.
X15 Dinner in Indianapolis
“It’s not about the acceleration, it’s about the application of the brake.”
This was a powerful quote shared by Maureen West at our X15 Dinner in Indianapolis on March 26th. CEO of Champion, Jeff Reekers, was our keynote speaker, sharing hypergrowth insights and his journey of scaling Aircall from $0-$100M.
Our conversations reinforced that culture is everything, leadership requires transparency, and true success comes from empowering human potential and pushing the boundaries of what is possible. Huge thanks to Karah Ruczynski, Shawn Herring, Connor Kelley, Courtney Crispin, Maureen West, and Bobby MacKinnon for a great evening!
News Across the Portfolio
Northern Trust Utilizing Apache Airflow
Northern Trust discusses how they replaced its internal financial data warehouse with Apache Airflow to optimize their operations.
Featured in Food Navigator
The article highlights how Kroger’s partnership with Bitewell increases accuracy, efficiency, and access to healthy food shopping.
New Dashboard Feature
Champion announced early-access to their new dashboard which is designed to help customer marketing teams track, report, and act on revenue-driving advocacy.
Created a Campaign for The Bachelor
Partnering with ABC, Fooji created a campaign for the premiere of The Bachelor Season 29 to engage fans with free dinners, flowers, and more.
Dr. Anant Madabhushi Elected as a 2025 AAAS Fellow
Picture Health’s co-founder and CSO, Dr. Anant Madabhushi was elected as a 2025 Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, one of the highest honors in the scientific community.
Tobin Fisher Featured on theCUBE
Co-founder and CEO, Tobin Fisher, joins theCUBE during theCUBE + NYSE Wired Robotics & AI Media Week.
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