Refinery

Tim Schigel, Managing Partner

Tim is a serial entrepreneur and investor with roots in the Midwest, experience in Silicon Valley, and connections around the world. Tim...

Tim is a serial entrepreneur and investor with roots in the Midwest, experience in Silicon Valley, and connections around the world. Tim created ShareThis, a social media pioneer that nearly a billion people use to share online content every month. ShareThis, based in Palo Alto, CA, was one of the fastest growing companies in the country, growing to $50 million in less than four years which earned him the EY Entrepreneur of the Year in his region. Tim also launched and managed Cintrifuse, one of the best performing fund of funds in the country, investing in 15 top-tier early stage funds across the U.S. Tim has been in venture capital since 1998. Prior successes include Advertising.com (AOL), Get2Chip (Cadence), DotLoop (Zillow). Tim grew up in Cleveland as the son of a steelworker and Vietnam veteran. He received his B.S. in electrical engineering from Case Western Reserve University and is a Member of YPO, a global network of chief executives.

Abby Fittes, Director of Operations

Abby keeps the wheels moving and the lights on at Refinery. As the Director of Operations, she is responsible for all daily business...

Abby keeps the wheels moving and the lights on at Refinery. As the Director of Operations, she is responsible for all daily business activities, and coordination of strategic projects and events. Abby works closely with our business partners, providing support to our portfolio companies, limited partners, and the Refinery team. Abby also leads Refinery’s marketing and online presence, managing content creation, and directing podcast production for Fast Frontiers. Before joining Refinery, Abby was supporting C-level finance executives at GE Aviation in Cincinnati. Prior to that, she spent 8 years at Ohio State University in Undergraduate Admissions, with experience in recruiting, events, finance, and external relations. Abby received her BS in Nutrition and Business from Ohio State University.

Peter Schmidt, Senior Associate

Peter is in charge of deal-flow at Refinery and helps manage the firm's investment pipeline from start to finish. He takes an active role...

Peter is in charge of deal-flow at Refinery and helps manage the firm's investment pipeline from start to finish. He takes an active role in sourcing potential portfolio companies, performing due diligence, developing investment theses, researching various markets, and meeting with potential co-investors. Peter also assists with portfolio management, providing support to our portfolio of early scale companies. He is also involved in fund management activities. Before joining Refinery, Peter spent his career in venture capital and private equity. He has invested more than $23 million into a variety of different transactions, including pre-seed through Series B venture investments and a handful of small control investments. Peter received his B.A. from the University of Cincinnati in Finance and Economics, where he graduated top of his class in both disciplines. Peter is a native Cincinnatian and is happy to talk about it to anyone who wants to listen. He is a finance nerd who loves to help startups think through their financial models and writes a newsletter covering all things finance, startups, and venture capital.