Imaginary Ventures

Co-founders Natalie Massenet and Nick Brown lead the firm as managing partners. Massenet brings operational credibility from building Net-a-Porter into a global luxury e-commerce business, while Brown's background includes venture investing at 14W, where he originally backed Net-a-Porter. Day-to-day investment decisions are made jointly, with the partnership structure allowing both principals to weigh in on every new commitment.

The firm accesses opportunities through a tight nexus of luxury-fashion and consumer-brand founders, many of whom are personal contacts of Massenet from her Net-a-Porter days. Anchor LP Tom Chapman of MatchesFashion extends that network further into European luxury retail. Imaginary rarely competes in broad auction processes, instead receiving early looks at brands emerging from the creative and direct-to-consumer ecosystems where its founders have lifetime relationships.

Imaginary operates as a traditional, SEC-registered venture capital firm with external limited partners. While the anchor capital originated from a single family office (Tom Chapman's MatchesFashion proceeds), the fund has since raised institutional commitments. Its Fund II regulatory filing confirms the firm manages pooled, third-party capital under a standard venture fund structure.

Natalie Massenet founded Net-a-Porter in 2000 and led it until 2015, including through its acquisition by Richemont. Nick Brown was an early-stage investor in the company while at 14W Venture Partners. Separately, Tom Chapman, the anchor limited partner, co-founded MatchesFashion. These companies are historical affiliations, not active portfolio positions of the fund, though the relationships continue to inform Imaginary's deal sourcing and brand-advisory capabilities.

The firm writes initial checks at the Seed through Series B stages. It typically leads or co-leads rounds, targeting meaningful ownership stakes in companies that have demonstrated early product-market fit but require brand-building and distribution expertise to scale. Imaginary reserves material follow-on capital for reserves, allowing it to double down on performers through later rounds without relying solely on pro-rata rights.