Washing Pond Ventures

Washing Pond Ventures is a Chicago-based early-stage venture and operator family-office founded in 2008 that bridges internal incubation and external investment in technology-enabled consumer and B2B businesses. Several aggregators list a secondary Palm Beach, Florida footprint, consistent with the Cannon family's split US presence. The firm's investment areas are software and SaaS across both consumer and B2B web and mobile, social-enterprise companies, and the events and conferences economy. Washing Pond Ventures operates with a small three-person team, including Principal Alicia Cannon Mullen and Creative Director William Cannon, keeping decision-making tight and operator-led, and it generally invests as a co-investor. Across 48 disclosed portfolio companies and a geographic footprint that extends into India and Canada, the firm has produced one unicorn, two IPOs and sixteen acquisitions. Marquee exits include Home Chef, acquired by Kroger in 2018 for roughly $200M plus earn-out, parking marketplace SpotHero, the unicorn acquired by Uber in February 2026, and consumer chat and social platform BeMe. Investment pace has slowed materially in the recent vintage, with the most recent disclosed new investment per Pitchbook a January 2023 round into Catch Co., a fishing-tackle subscription and recreational-goods company, but the firm remains active in portfolio management and downstream liquidity events. By bridging internal incubation with external investment and operating with a tight, operator-led team, Washing Pond Ventures backs technology-enabled consumer and B2B founders and has built a track record featuring a unicorn, multiple IPOs and numerous acquisitions.