We invest in categories before anyone has a name for them.

Bedrock Venture Partners backs the operators building what comes next in sports, media and food. We find the passionate founder, put the money behind them, and build toward the buyer who'll need it most.

The thesis

Category creation, in four panels

It's the same playbook every time. Only the category changes.

I. Spot

“There’s nothing out there.”
“Exactly.”

Find the audience that already exists and the format that doesn't yet.

II. Back

“I don’t cook. I just know who should.”

Passion can't be hired. We finance the operator and stay out of the kitchen.

III. Build

“Same playbook. Different sauce.”

Distribution, programming and unit economics, whatever the category turns out to be.

IV. Sell

“We could have built this ourselves.”
“You could have.”

Become the asset a strategic buyer can't build alone.

Track record

We've drawn this one before

McDonald's commercials, record years at Six Flags, two networks sold to strategic buyers, the strategy behind YES, the first big sports stream, social TV data, and a pizza brand on two coasts and a mountain.

“My parents wanted a doctor. I got a Bachelor of Hamburgerology.”

Hamburger UniversityAd writer, Chicago · McDonald's commercials

“Disneyland has a castle. We have this.”

Six FlagsTime Warner Enterprises · Marketing · Record attendance

“Reruns? Darling, these are classics.”

Classic Sports NetworkCo-founded 1995 · Sold to ESPN, 1997

“What if the team owned the channel?”

YES NetworkMedia strategy with Allen & Company · Launched 2002

“Finally, somebody cares about the lacrosse score.”

CSTVCo-founded 2003 · Sold to CBS, 2006

“Spreadsheet. Definitely a spreadsheet.”

March Madness on DemandCSTV · Streaming the NCAA tournament · The Boss Button

“Everybody’s talking about the show. Somebody should be listening.”

Bluefin LabsBoard · Acquired by Twitter, 2013

“Your table is ready. Mulberry Street, the Hamptons, or the mountain?”

RubirosaNew York · East Hampton · Aspen

Our position on AI

AI is the greatest collaborator a creator has ever had, if they know what to do with it.

“You paint. I’ll clean the brushes, mix the colors and answer your email.”

Every new tool gets the same review. The camera was going to end painting. The sampler was going to end music. Cable was going to ruin television. Each one handed creators more room, and the people who used it best built whole new categories.

AI is the next one. Used properly, it takes the grind off the work and hands the hours back to the person with the idea. Taste, voice and knowing what to make next still belong to the creator. AI makes them worth more.

The breakthroughs won't come from people trying to wish it away. They'll come from people who know exactly what to do with it. Those are the people we back.

The creator stays in the chair. AI widens what one person can make.
Use it properly. Respect the source, keep the voice your own. Craft still counts.
New tools open new categories. That's where we like to be early.

“If I don’t look at it, maybe it’ll go away.”

Building something?

Come knock on the rock.

If you're creating a new category in sports, media or food, and you know what to do with the tools in front of you, we'd like to hear from you.

“Come on in. We’ve been here a while.”