Lorine Pendleton is a seasoned venture capital investor and former media and entertainment attorney with deep expertise across sports, media, entertainment, and technology. She has been an angel and VC investor for over a decade, investing in over 40 companies.
She is the Founding Partner of 125 Ventures, a VC fund investing in sports (with a particular focus on women’s sports), media, and entertainment at the intersection of tech. Key investment areas include AI and data analytics, the creator economy, college athletics and NIL, and live and stadium tech. Previously, she was a Partner at Portfolia, where she co-launched the Rising America Fund I in 2020, targeting high-growth sectors such as sports, media, fintech, and health, and Rising America Fund II in 2022. Her notable investments include Oura (valued at $5.3B, up from $200M at entry), Canela Media (66M monthly viewers), Maven Clinic (first $1B+ women’s health company), Curastory, Goalsetter, and Rhode Island Football Club and its Centreville Bank Stadium.
She began her career in media and entertainment, working at William Morris Agency (WME) and at a leading entertainment law firm representing artists including Prince, Chaka Khan, Stevie Wonder, and the Estate of The Notorious B.I.G. She also held business development roles at startups that successfully exited to Interactive One and Oracle.
She is the host of the business podcast “The Conversation Lounge,” which interviews innovators, trailblazers, and changemakers who are shaping what’s next.
Lorine has been recognized by SportsTechX, Private Equity International, Worth, and Marie Claire. She is a member of the President’s Advisory Council for Entrepreneurship at Brown, and serves as a Special Committee Member of the University of Buffalo Foundation and a Member of the Investment Committee for New York State’s Empire State Venture Fund.
