Nicole Quinn

Managing Partner & Co-Founder at connect-ventures-caa-nea

Reviewed Updated Jul 25, 2026

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Location Los Angeles, CA
Check Size $3M–$20M (per Signal by NFX)
Last Verified Investment Connect Ventures (fund launch) (Managing Partner appointment) — Jan 26, 2026
Social LinkedIn
Stage Focus
seed series-a
Sector Focus
consumer media-entertainment sports gaming health-wellness ecommerce marketplaces

Background

Nicole Quinn is Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Connect Ventures, a venture firm originating as a joint venture between talent agency CAA and New Enterprise Associates (NEA), where she and Michael Blank were installed as co-heads in January 2026 12. The firm invests at seed and Series A in tech-enabled consumer businesses across media & entertainment, sports, gaming, health & wellness, and e-commerce & marketplaces 1.

Quinn joined Connect Ventures after 10 years at Lightspeed Venture Partners, where she most recently co-led the Consumer team 1. At Lightspeed her disclosed portfolio included beehiiv, Calm, Cameo, Character AI, Daily Harvest, Girlboss, Goop, and Zola 1. Before venture, she spent a decade at Morgan Stanley covering retail and internet, working on the IPOs of Facebook, Groupon, Prada, and Pandora 3. She holds an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business and a BSc in Mathematics and Economics from the University of York 3.

Stated Thesis

Connect Ventures publicly frames its edge as a platform advantage: culture-side distribution via CAA plus institutional capital and governance via NEA. Quinn’s joint statement with co-founder Michael Blank at launch:

“We believe Connect’s platform gives us a unique advantage to add significant value to generational change companies. CAA unlocks cultural reach and insights, and NEA provides us with institutional best practices as we aim to help our companies achieve breakout velocity.” 1

Her personal stated approach at Lightspeed emphasized being “more than just capital… your thought partner, your hiring partner, your strategy partner” 4.

Inferred Thesis

Based on Quinn’s disclosed portfolio at Lightspeed and Connect Ventures deals to date, the pattern is consistent and specific:

  • Sector: Predominantly consumer — creator economy (beehiiv, Cameo, Jomboy Media), lifestyle/wellness brands (Calm, Daily Harvest, Goop, Girlboss, Zola), sports (TMRW Sports, Jomboy Media), and consumer AI (Character AI) 125. Connect Ventures adds crypto/marketplaces (OpenSea) and fintech (Slash) to the mix 2.
  • Stage: Signal by NFX classifies her primary stage as Series A with participation at seed and Series B 5; Connect Ventures’ stated mandate is seed and Series A 1.
  • Check size: Signal lists a range of $3M–$20M with a $15M sweet spot 5 — sized for a growth-stage consumer firm with LP capital rather than a small seed check.
  • Decision style: Quinn describes her early-stage evaluation as intuition-driven and personal — she has credited investing in Girlboss to spending hours with founder Sophia Amoruso 4.

Sample size for Connect Ventures alone is small (4 disclosed portfolio names at time of research); the sector pattern is drawn primarily from her Lightspeed history 5.

Portfolio

Company Year Stage Source
TMRW Sports 2026 Connect Ventures 2
OpenSea 2026 Connect Ventures 2
Slash 2026 Connect Ventures 2
Jomboy Media 2026 Connect Ventures 2
beehiiv ~2022 Series A (Lightspeed) 1
Calm ~2018 Growth (Lightspeed) 1
Cameo ~2018 Growth (Lightspeed) 1
Character AI ~2023 Growth (Lightspeed) 1
Daily Harvest ~2017 Growth (Lightspeed) 1
Girlboss ~2016 Series A (Lightspeed) 4
Goop ~2018 Series C (Lightspeed) 1
Zola ~2016 Growth (Lightspeed) 1
Lightyear ~2023 Early (Lightspeed) 5
Fizz ~2023 Early (Lightspeed) 5
Daybreak Health ~2023 Early (Lightspeed) 5
Anatomy Financial ~2023 Early (Lightspeed) 5

In Their Own Words

On early-stage decision-making (Career Contessa interview):

“when you’re looking at a seed, or Series A company, it’s all about your gut.” 4

On pitch craft:

“Maximize the ‘wow’ moment, but minimize the ‘drop’ moment.” 4

On what she offers founders (Career Contessa):

“We want to be more than just capital. We want to be your thought partner, your hiring partner, your strategy partner.” 4

On the Connect Ventures platform edge (with Michael Blank, January 2026):

“CAA unlocks cultural reach and insights, and NEA provides us with institutional best practices as we aim to help our companies achieve breakout velocity.” 1

What Founders Say

No independently sourced founder testimonials located at the time of research.

Sources

  1. Business Wire, “Nicole Quinn and Michael Blank to Lead Connect Ventures,” January 26, 2026. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260126959791/en/Nicole-Quinn-and-Michael-Blank-to-Lead-Connect-Ventures↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩

  2. Georg Szalai, “CAA’s VC Firm Connect Ventures Bolsters Leadership,” The Hollywood Reporter, January 2026. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/caas-vc-firm-connect-ventures-1236485050/↩↩↩↩↩↩↩

  3. Startup Intros, “Nicole Quinn: Profile, Experience & Investments,” accessed July 2026. https://startupintros.com/people/nicole-quinn↩↩

  4. Career Contessa, “A Venture Capitalist Just Told Us How To Make The Perfect Pitch — Nicole Quinn, Lightspeed,” accessed July 2026. https://www.careercontessa.com/interviews/Nicole-Quinn-Lightspeed↩↩↩↩↩↩

  5. Signal by NFX, “Nicole Quinn’s Investing Profile — Lightspeed Venture Partners General Partner,” accessed July 2026. https://signal.nfx.com/investors/nicole-quinn↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩