Scooter Braun is having a rough 12 months — and never simply because high-profile clients like Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande and Demi Lovato have reportedly dropped him.
The Hollywood super agent — who has been branded by Taylor Swift as a “manipulative bully” amid years of hard-knuckle disputes over her master recordings — can also be on the outs along with his co-founders at TQ Ventures, an investment fund he helped launch in 2018, On The Money has learned.
One source with direct knowledge said Braun’s co-founders — Andrew Marks, son of investing legend Howard Marks; and Schuster Tanger, heir to the Tanger Outlets mall fortune — have these days told some LPs that Scooter may not be involved in TQ’s future.
Braun, Tanger and Marks each took an equal share on the fund’s inception though Braun was not involved within the day-to-day operations, insiders said.
Initially, Marks and Tanger had been optimistic Braun’s celebrity connections could round out their financial expertise — potentially helping find investments or help their portfolio corporations with marketing, sources said.
![Scooter Braun and Taylor Swift illustration](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/tq-venture-sbraun2.gif?w=600)
Now, nevertheless, Marks and Tanger are reconsidering Braun’s involvement within the fund, claiming he didn’t live as much as their expectations, the insiders added.
It’s unclear if which means Braun’s stake in the subsequent fund might be diminished or eliminated altogether.
Given only 20% of the firm’s most up-to-date fund has been deployed thus far, there’s time to make a final determination.
Sources near Braun counter that TQ relied on his name to lift money and get access to good deals. Now that they’ve established their status, they may forged Braun aside, the sources said.
“That is one time that Scooter was in the proper,” the source said. “Andrew and Schuster knifed him after using him to lift their fund and get into deals.”
Marks began his profession at Blackstone before jumping to Blue Ridge Capital.
Tanger worked at Goldman Sachs then Dan Loeb’s Third Point Capital.
![Scooter Braun](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/NYPICHPDPICT000025161565-2.jpg?w=1024)
It’s unclear how the fund — which is targeted on early stage and growth startups — has performed. It launched pre-COVID as valuations for crypto and consumer packaged goods were skyrocketing.
It launched pre-COVID as valuations for crypto and consumer packaged goods were skyrocketing.
A few of TQ’s investments include popular electrolyte mix Liquid IV, trendy makeup brand Kosas, and men’s health giant Roman.
Other investments TQ mentions on its website, including Clubhouse and BeReal, were wildly popular in the course of the pandemic but have since flamed out.
Braun, meanwhile, has his own business, SB Projects, through which he manages artists.
On a podcast in April, Braun praised his co-founders and revealed they raised $500 million within the last fund.
“The thing I like about those guys… They’re good guys. And the thing I like about them is after they get in there with founders, they’re not only guys who’re like, okay, we’re going to back you with some money. They really understand be there with founders and help them pivot in those tough times,” Braun said within the interview.
But since then, things have soured.
He has also personally invested in Uber, Spotify, Casper, Waze, Dropbox, and Pinterest, in response to his website.
A spokesperson for Braun declined to comment.
A spokesperson for TQ declined to comment.
Braun has faced a long-simmering spat with Swift, who claims he was unwilling to sell her the rights to her own master recordings and as a substitute sold them to personal equity.
Braun disputes the claims.