Updated:
Imaginary Ventures
Imaginary Ventures, co-founded by Net-a-Porter's Natalie Massenet, invests in consumer tech from New York and London.
Imaginary Ventures
Imaginary Ventures was formed in 2017 by Net-a-Porter founder Natalie Massenet and venture investor Nick Brown. Brown previously sourced early-stage deals at 14W Venture Partners, where he backed Massenet's e-commerce pioneer. The fund draws its initial anchor commitment from Tom Chapman, co-founder of MatchesFashion, linking its genesis directly to fashion-tech liquidity events. The firm deploys primarily at Seed to Series B, focusing on commerce, digital-native consumer brands, and platforms that reshape retail. Its portfolio spans prestige beauty (confirmed positions in Glossier and Beauty Pie), food-tech (Daily Harvest), resale infrastructure (Depop), and healthcare (his/hers telehealth brand Hims). Geographically, Imaginary invests across North America and Western Europe, with growing deal flow from the UK and Nordic regions. The firm typically leads or co-leads rounds, often reserving significant allocation for follow-on capital in breakout portfolio companies. Imaginary works from New York and London, with a lean investment team built around a network of creative- and retail-industry operators. Unlike broader thematic consumer funds, the firm does not chase every digital-commerce idea — it exploits a specific insight gap where brand identity meets distribution innovation. The partnership structure pairs Massenet's global brand-building experience with Brown's venture underwriting discipline, an architecture that gives portfolio companies direct access to creative-strategy resources rarely found in traditional VC. A structural differentiator is the firm's embedded relationship with luxury-fashion founders. Anchor LP Chapman, like Massenet, exited a high-end retail platform, creating a capital base that speaks the same language as the companies it backs. This founder-to-founder capital model shapes how Imaginary sources deals — often through direct introductions from fashion and beauty insiders — and influences how it governs, emphasizing brand equity preservation alongside cash-on-cash returns.
General information
Firm type
Venture Capital
Year founded
2017
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
New York
Corporate office
New York, NY, United States
Additional offices
London, United Kingdom
Principals
Natalie Massenet
Co-Founder & Managing Partner
Nick Brown
Co-Founder & Managing Partner
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at 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.
How does Imaginary Ventures source its proprietary deal flow?
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.
Is Imaginary Ventures structured as a single family office or a traditional venture firm?
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.
How is Imaginary Ventures connected to Net-a-Porter and MatchesFashion?
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.
What investment stages does Imaginary Ventures target?
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.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
Need institutional-grade insight on venture capital firms?
Altss delivers:
Prefer a guided tour?
We’ll walk you through: