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Connect Ventures, originally a partnership between CAA and New Enterprise Associates and now a full-fledged venture capital firm, has tapped investor Nicole Quinn and CAA alum Michael Blank to lead the outfit.
Founded in 2020, Connect Ventures took stakes in about 30 companies, among them TMRW Sports, OpenSea, Slash, and Jomboy Media. The newly constituted entity is focused on seed and Series A rounds for tech-driven consumer businesses across consumer sectors like media & entertainment, sports, gaming, health & wellness, and e-commerce.
Quinn and Blank have been named managing partners and co-founders. CAA’s Adam Friedman has been tapped as venture partner, serving as the day-to-day CAA lead for Connect Ventures.
Prior to her new role, Quinn spent 10 years with Lightspeed Venture Partners, co-leading its consumer team and working with companies like beehiiv, Calm, Cameo, Character AI and many more. Her portfolio included Haus Labs, a beauty brand incubated by multi-hyphenate Lady Gaga, CAA and Lightspeed. Before joining Lightspeed, Quinn worked for a decade at Morgan Stanley, covering retail and internet businesses and working on the IPOs of Facebook, Groupon, Prada, and Pandora.
Blank departed CAA in October 2025 after holding various leadership posts during a 15-year run. He most recently was head of consumer investments, leading a team of agents and executives and guiding CAA’s involvement in the initial investment partnership with NEA. Blank also helped launch CAA’s mobile division, spearheading apps and games for clients. He co-founded Caravan, a Vancouver-based startup studio for which he has served as a board director.
Connect Ventures’ portfolio includes investments in TMRW Sports and Music.AI. Blank sits on the board of both companies.
Friedman, who joined CAA in 2012, played a key role in the CAA-NEA partnership, where he serves as a board director for Jomboy Media and GHIA. He also sourced and led the investments in B.J. Novak’s Chain and OpenSea.
“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,” Quinn and Blank said in a joint statement.
CAA President Jim Burtson, a board member at Connect Ventures, saluted the new iteration of the firm as an “exciting next step.” He said Quinn’s “exceptional investment insight will be instrumental in driving the success of the firm and complements Mike’s deep experience.”
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