Steven Gwozdz

Helping founders grow their consumer businesses

📍 United States🔄 Updated September 2026💼 9 investments📅 14 years investing🗓 Last invested May 2025
VC🌍 United States
9
Total investments
4
Early stage
2
Mid stage
3
Late stage
14y
Years active

Portfolio

9 investments · sorted by recency
All investments
Early stage
Mid stage
Late stage
Angel Investor
May 2025
Cheddr is reimagining sports gaming with a more accessible, social, and rewarding experience. Designed for all types of fans, we simplify the game by removing the usual complexity and making it easy to jump in and play. With fast, interactive mechanics and exciting moments, Cheddr is legal in 47 states and offers a seamless way to enjoy sports—whether playing for free or with real rewards.
Angel Investor
Oct 2023
Bringing delicious and innovative Craft Cocktail mixers to consumers and on-premise foodservice in the form of a single, complete solution. Options include SEVEN delicious flavors to chose from that make a multitude of recipes; both classic and creative, alcoholic and non-alcoholic,. Packaged in 16oz and 64oz bottles, with direct-to-consumer availability on our website and national and regional wholesale refrigerated distribution via Sysco, Performance Food Group, US Foods, and more.
Angel Investor
Oct 2023
Reinventing how beverage products are made through creative flavor extraction.
Angel Investor
Jun 2022
At Hoplark we brew tea like a craft beer, with the sophisticated flavor of hops but without the alcohol or calories. Hoplark was born during to a trip to a local brewpub in 2016 that, we admit, was probably a bad idea. Dean took his best friend, Andrew to try a great new beer he had found. The problem was that Dean had 5 days left on his first round with the Whole30 diet. After years of trying, Dean had finally found a diet that worked. He was 50 pounds overweight and desperate for a solution, so he did not order a beer that day. The hoppy aroma of Andrew’s double IPA made him realize how much Dean missed that sophisticated flavor of a great beer that really didn’t exist without the alcohol and calories. It was tough, but he stuck to his commitment. We immediately started talking about how to add delicious hop flavors to something low calorie and healthy like tea. It took about 18 months and hundreds of admittedly terrible HopTea batches before we made a product that we were proud of. It was important to us to brew it with actual organic tea leaves and use real hops, not extracts. HopTea also had to not rely on sugar to cover up off flavors, it had to let the hops shine. We launched in May of 2018 at a farmer’s market in Denver, Colorado. To our first-time customers, HopTea is completely unexpected, but yet surprisingly familiar, with connections to craft beer, tea and sparkling beverages. Our customers showed us that HopTea is much more than a beer replacement, it is an experience in its own right. Due to the many fans that keep on buying our product at grocery stores, restaurants and farmers markets we decided to build our own Hoplark brewery and taproom in Boulder, Colorado. We will open our doors to the public in early 2019. We are committed to creating innovative, healthy beverages made the right way and hope you will join us in this journey. Cheers, Andrew and Dean
Angel Investor
2021
MileIQ provides automatic mileage tracking for deductions and expenses. Whether youre a self-employed worker looking for a mileage deduction or a large company that wants to get a handle on mileage expenses reports, MileIQ is automatic, easy and accurate. MileIQ is mileage tracking the way you need it to work. We’d love to hear from you: • Website: http://www.mileiq.com • Twitter: twitter.com/mileiq • Facebook: www.facebook.com/mileiq • Email: support@mileiq.com
Angel Investor
2019
Drop Water is a new way to distribute and sell bottled drinks. Our method is designed from the ground up to be healthy for our customers and eco-friendly for our planet.
Advisor and Angel Investor
Jan 2018
As you sip this sparkling Wave Soda, enjoy the happy notion that the world now has a better-for-you alternative to the not-so-natural soda. With its natural ingredients and just a fraction of the sugar than the other guys, consider it a gentle boost to get you where you want to go.
mid stageManufacturing
Principal and Angel Investor
Jun 2012
Laurel Heights Equity Partners invests in emerging brands across consumer finance, consumer software, consumer packaged goods, and packaged goods technology.
Angel Investor
2012
SoFi is a values-driven company on a mission to help our members get their money right. We create modern financial products and services that help people borrow, save, spend, invest, and protect their money better, so that they can achieve financial independence and realize their ambitions—from owning a home to saving for retirement, paying off their student loans, and more. CFL #6054612; NMLS #1121636 (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org) Advisory services through SoFi LLC, a registered investment advisor. SoFi Checking and Savings is offered through SoFi Bank, N.A. Member FDIC. SoFi Money™ is offered through SoFi Securities LLC, member FINRA/SIPC.
Experience · 11 entries
All (11)
Investments (9)
2025
Angel Investor
May 2025
Cheddr is reimagining sports gaming with a more accessible, social, and rewarding experience. Designed for all types of fans, we simplify the game by removing the usual complexity and making it easy to jump in and play. With fast, interactive mechanics and exciting moments, Cheddr is legal in 47 states and offers a seamless way to enjoy sports—whether playing for free or with real rewards.
2023
Angel Investor
Oct 2023
Bringing delicious and innovative Craft Cocktail mixers to consumers and on-premise foodservice in the form of a single, complete solution. Options include SEVEN delicious flavors to chose from that make a multitude of recipes; both classic and creative, alcoholic and non-alcoholic,. Packaged in 16oz and 64oz bottles, with direct-to-consumer availability on our website and national and regional wholesale refrigerated distribution via Sysco, Performance Food Group, US Foods, and more.
Angel Investor
Oct 2023
Reinventing how beverage products are made through creative flavor extraction.
2022
Angel Investor
Jun 2022
At Hoplark we brew tea like a craft beer, with the sophisticated flavor of hops but without the alcohol or calories. Hoplark was born during to a trip to a local brewpub in 2016 that, we admit, was probably a bad idea. Dean took his best friend, Andrew to try a great new beer he had found. The problem was that Dean had 5 days left on his first round with the Whole30 diet. After years of trying, Dean had finally found a diet that worked. He was 50 pounds overweight and desperate for a solution, so he did not order a beer that day. The hoppy aroma of Andrew’s double IPA made him realize how much Dean missed that sophisticated flavor of a great beer that really didn’t exist without the alcohol and calories. It was tough, but he stuck to his commitment. We immediately started talking about how to add delicious hop flavors to something low calorie and healthy like tea. It took about 18 months and hundreds of admittedly terrible HopTea batches before we made a product that we were proud of. It was important to us to brew it with actual organic tea leaves and use real hops, not extracts. HopTea also had to not rely on sugar to cover up off flavors, it had to let the hops shine. We launched in May of 2018 at a farmer’s market in Denver, Colorado. To our first-time customers, HopTea is completely unexpected, but yet surprisingly familiar, with connections to craft beer, tea and sparkling beverages. Our customers showed us that HopTea is much more than a beer replacement, it is an experience in its own right. Due to the many fans that keep on buying our product at grocery stores, restaurants and farmers markets we decided to build our own Hoplark brewery and taproom in Boulder, Colorado. We will open our doors to the public in early 2019. We are committed to creating innovative, healthy beverages made the right way and hope you will join us in this journey. Cheers, Andrew and Dean
2021
Angel Investor
2021
MileIQ provides automatic mileage tracking for deductions and expenses. Whether youre a self-employed worker looking for a mileage deduction or a large company that wants to get a handle on mileage expenses reports, MileIQ is automatic, easy and accurate. MileIQ is mileage tracking the way you need it to work. We’d love to hear from you: • Website: http://www.mileiq.com • Twitter: twitter.com/mileiq • Facebook: www.facebook.com/mileiq • Email: support@mileiq.com
Show all 11 entries ↓
Investment activity
2012–2025 · 9 investments
20122201812019120211202212023220251
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