Where Media Meets Venture Capital
Showcasing the most innovative venture-backed startups — powered by storytelling, culture, and distribution.
About The Venture Reel
Our Mission
The Venture Reel bridges media and venture capital to spotlight the most innovative early-stage startups shaping culture and industry. We combine storytelling, distribution, and strategic investing to give founders and investors an edge in a world where attention drives opportunity.
Our Advantage
TheVentureReel was created with a clear vision: to build the next great venture firm rooted in distribution, storytelling, and cultural relevance. In an era where capital is abundant but attention is scarce, we believe the firms that win won’t be the ones with the biggest checkbooks—but the ones with the biggest cultural reach.
Eyeballs aren’t just power—they’re the new currency. The most valuable form of leverage in modern venture capital. In today’s venture ecosystem, visibility drives access, influence, and velocity. If no one sees what you're doing, you’re irrelevant—no matter how sharp your thesis is. Media isn’t just branding. It’s distribution, sourcing, narrative control, and trust—all rolled into one.
By building a media engine alongside our fund, we give ourselves—and our founders—real asymmetric advantage. It allows us to accelerate awareness, drive cultural relevance, and create outsized influence in competitive markets. This infrastructure doesn’t just amplify—it helps us hedge. When we back a company, we don’t just sit back and hope. We actively shape how the world sees them, giving them (and us) a greater shot at breakout success.
But TheVentureReel Fund is more than a strategy—it’s a culture. One built around conviction, creative energy, and high standards. We want every LP, every founder, and every teammate to feel like they’re part of something bigger than a fund. A movement that values substance over noise. A shared belief that storytelling, pressure, and clarity are tools for building iconic companies.
We are building a media-first venture fund. One that’s distribution-powered, founder-obsessed, and built for the world we actually live in: fast, transparent, and storytelling-driven.
This is not just a fund. It’s a platform to influence the future of venture—one that combines capital, culture, and community.
Traditional venture was built behind closed doors. We’re building in public.
Investment Thesis
We invest primarily in Seed to Series A companies across Tech, Wellness, Biotech, CPG, and AI — but remain industry agnostic. Our focus is simple: we back founders where we can add value beyond capital through media, storytelling, and cultural distribution.
About Mitchell Harounian
Founder, The Venture Reel
New York, NY
Mitchell Harounian is the founder of The Venture Reel, a media-driven venture platform that bridges storytelling and venture capital to spotlight the most innovative early-stage startups. Before launching The Venture Reel Syndicates, Mitchell served as a Principal at Talent Resources Ventures (TRVentures), where he managed a portfolio of 60+ companies and raised capital across Tech, CPG, and Biotech through SPVs.
Mitchell completed the Venture Capital & Private Equity Program at Columbia Business School and earned his Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Florida. He’s also an alumnus of Venture University, one of the world’s leading investor accelerators.
He currently serves as a Board Member at Genetica and Serve AI, and an Advisor to several early-stage startups across consumer and technology sectors.
Blending media, venture capital, and cultural storytelling, Mitchell is redefining how investors and founders connect in today’s attention economy.
Outside of venture, you’ll find him playing Settlers of Catan, watching the Knicks, listening to Drake, and tracking the stock and New York real estate markets.
Portfolio
Biter
Biter is a social food discovery app created by @how.kev.eats (5M+ followers) that lets users organize restaurant hit lists and explore top recommendations from friends and food influencers. It turns dining into a shared experience—making it easy to see where to eat next, anywhere in the world.
Contraline
Contraline is a clinical-stage biotech company developing ADAM™, a non-hormonal, reversible hydrogel implant that blocks sperm flow in the vas deferens—aimed at giving men a long-lasting contraceptive option without affecting sensation or ejaculation.
EarthGrid
EarthGrid is revolutionizing infrastructure with patented plasma-powered tunnel-boring tech that’s up to 100× faster and 98% cheaper than traditional methods. They’re building a resilient “SuperGrid” to modernize power, telecom, water, transportation, and more — all while reducing costs, emissions, and systemic risk.
FanUp
FanUp is a gamified sports + pop-culture contest platform where fans enter season-long and daily challenges—with no complex rules, waivers, or salary caps—and compete for cash prizes, VIP experiences, and branded rewards. It blends fandom, community, and competition into a fresh, inclusive way to play across sports, entertainment, and culture.
FUZE Technology
FUZE Technology is an IoT-powered platform blending hardware and software to create connected experiences for consumers and brands. They deploy solutions like chargeFUZE (mobile charging) and adFUZE (CTV + DOOH advertising) to capture first-party data and drive meaningful engagement.
Going Public
Going Public is an interactive investment media series where audience members can watch founders pitch and actually invest in the companies featured. It breaks down barriers — no gatekeepers, no locked doors — offering direct access to early-stage deals with raw, behind-the-scenes insight.
Halfday
Halfday crafts gut-friendly iced teas that blend nostalgic flavors with modern health benefits — 3–5 g sugar, 6 g prebiotic fiber, and natural ingredients. Born from a personal health journey, it’s a refreshingly smart alternative in the beverage space.
JAMS
Jams (getjams.com) is a next-gen snack brand reinventing peanut butter and jam with better nutrition — 10g of protein, no seed oils, real fruit ingredients — all wrapped in bold flavor and modern branding.
Neural Earth
Neural Earth is an AI-powered geospatial intelligence platform built for property owners, insurers, and real estate professionals — delivering precise risk scores, climate exposure analytics, and predictions to mitigate vulnerability and optimize portfolios.
Through advanced analytics and rich datasets, it helps clients stay ahead of evolving climate threats and make smarter coverage, underwriting, and investment decisions.
Roots by Genetic Arts
Developed and executed a successful social media campaign for a fitness brand. The campaign resulted in increased brand awareness and engagement.
Serve.AI
Serve.AI
Serve AI (ServeItUp.ai) is an AI-powered operational intelligence platform for restaurants and hospitality. It connects to POS, reviews, staffing and financial systems to surface real-time alerts, trends, and hidden opportunities — enabling operators to act faster and smarter.