Former Universal Music Group digital innovation executive Cristina Pimentel and venture capital veteran Caitlin Glazebrook have launched Duets Network. The online platform connects early-stage startups in sport, entertainment and the creator economy with investors, advice and business resources.
How the platform works
Duets matches pre-seed and seed-stage companies with investors whose investment criteria align with their businesses. It also offers expert guidance, discounted tools and other resources, while an intelligence layer provides business feedback and technology recommendations.
Founders can join without surrendering equity or entering a fixed accelerator program. Pimentel and Glazebrook provide tailored advice through a separate consulting business, and universities and nonprofits can use Duets’ free Ideator tier to help aspiring entrepreneurs develop ideas and plan businesses.
The founders’ backgrounds
Pimentel was Universal Music Group’s first dedicated innovation hire and worked on its Digital Innovation team. She helped develop the company’s early music technology frameworks and strategies, global startup ecosystem and Accelerator Network. She also built its proprietary startup database, contributed to early licensing frameworks and created UMG Connect, the company’s first internal incubation program.
Outside Universal Music Group, Pimentel designed Music Biz’s Women In Music program and startup programming. She also helped shape music entrepreneurship curricula for Berklee College of Music and the Roc Nation School.
Glazebrook has spent more than a decade connecting startups, investors and global innovation communities. Most recently, she spent three years as a partner at Andreessen Horowitz, working with early-stage companies.
“At Universal Music Group, I kept meeting founders with promising businesses who didn’t know where to turn for help. Finding someone who understands your industry and the problem you’re trying to solve, early on, can make a real difference. Caitlin and I are building Duets with this community to make those connections easier than ever,” said Pimentel, Duets’ co-founder and chief executive officer.
