Founders Circle Capital

Founders Circle Capital is a growth-stage investment firm that focuses on investing in people.

ActiveVenture Capital

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Updated: Feb 17, 2026 ·

Financial History

Total Raised

N/A

Valuation

N/A

Investments Made

Date	Company	Round	Lead Investor(s)	Co-Investor(s)
Jul 1, 2021	Manzana verde	$2.0M Seed	—	Bessemer Venture Partners, Roble Ventures
May 1, 2021	Poliglota	$3.0M Seed	—	Bam Ventures, BoxGroup, Chemistry VC, Curie.Bio, Galaxy Digital, Goat Capital, Lionheart Ventures, Lobby Capital, Operator Partners, Polychain Capital, RRE Ventures, Slow Ventures, Uncork Capital, Vast Ventures, Vayner RSE, Wayra Hispam, Aaron Harris, Emmett Shear, Josh Abramson, Mark Pincus
Oct 1, 2020	Eagle Eye Networks	$40.0M Series E	—	Accel, Canvas Ventures, Ann Winblad
Sep 1, 2020	Fulcrum	$3.0M Seed	—	Audacious Ventures, Bain Capital Ventures, B Capital Group, Bessemer Venture Partners, Bread and Butter Ventures, Cultivation Capital, Founders' Co-op, Innovation Works, IrishAngels, Ironspring Ventures, JetBlue Technology Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital, M25, Matchstick Ventures, MATH Venture Partners, Momenta Ventures, Motivate Ventures, Nonlinear, Pareto Holdings, QVentures, Rally Ventures, RET Ventures, Schematic Ventures, Sixty8 Capital, Social Starts, Stormbreaker, Techstars, Vitalize Venture Group, Doug Berg, Esther Dyson, Hiro Tamura, Joseph Aamidor - Aamidor Consulting, Marc Lasry, Matt Mazzeo
Sep 1, 2020	Logpoint	$30.0M Series B	—	.406 Ventures, Accomplice VC, Ballistic Ventures, Evolution Equity Partners, Highland Capital Partners, Sequoia Capital, Top Tier Capital Partners
Mar 1, 2020	Kyash	$43.0M Series C	—	Accel, AngelPad, Atman Capital, Brighter Capital, Broadhaven Capital Partners, Canaan Partners, Conductive Ventures, CRV, DST Global, Flex Capital, Global Founders Capital, Global Innovation Fund, Goodwater Capital, Khosla Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, Lobby Capital, Norte Ventures, Origin Ventures, Partech Ventures, Pear VC, Quona Capital, Rainfall Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Softbank Group, Streamlined Ventures, Tekton Ventures, Valor Capital Group, WGI Group, Y Combinator, Anthony Soohoo, Ariel Lambrecht, Guilherme Bonifacio, Jared Kopf, Justin Mateen, Kamiar Kordari, Michael Abramson
Feb 1, 2020	Reddit	$370.0M Series E	—	Partners Resolute, Serena Ventures, Carmelo Anthony (Melo7 Tech Partners), Abstract Ventures, Alumni Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, Atomic, CRV, DFJ Growth, DST Global, Eric Ries, General Catalyst, Global Innovation Fund, Jeffrey Lee, Khosla Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, Marc Benioff, Menlo Ventures, Othman Laraki, Pear VC, Quiet Capital, Sequoia Capital, Softbank Group, Streamlined Ventures, Y Combinator, ZhenFund
Dec 1, 2019	Embrace	$8.0M Series A	—	01 Advisors, 20VC, 9Yards Capital, Kevin Hartz, Accomplice VC, Act One Ventures, Addition, Adverb Ventures, Altaclub VC, Altimeter Capital, Alumni Ventures, Amplify.LA, Andreessen Horowitz, Chloe Sladden, Jana Messerschmidt, Anorak Ventures, Antler, AV8 Ventures, Ballistic Ventures, Bam Ventures, Battery Ventures, B Capital Group, Benchmark, Bessemer Venture Partners, Bonfire Ventures, Boston Seed Capital, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, C2 Investment, Craft Ventures, Dynamo Ventures, ENIAC Ventures, Euclid Ventures, Fika Ventures, FundersClub, Global Founders Capital, Goat Capital, Golden Ventures, Greycroft, Greylock, iNovia Capital, Ironspring Ventures, IVP, Kohala Ventures, KW Angel Fund, Left Lane Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Liquid 2 Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital, Makers Fund, Menlo Ventures, Moxxie Ventures, Aaron Jacobson, Blake Wu, NextGen Venture Partners, Jeff Richards, Oyster Ventures, Pathbreaker Ventures, Pitbull Ventures, Polaris Partners, Rebel Fund, Roosh Ventures, S28 Capital, Sequoia Capital, SignalFire, SoftBank Investment Advisers, Soma Capital, Sunset Ventures, Susa Ventures, Techstars, Unusual Ventures, Village Global, VitalStage Ventures, Willow Growth Partners LP, Y Combinator, Zintinus, Aaron Levie, Adrian Aoun, Allen Gannett, Balaji Srinivasan, Bobby Lo, Brad Garlinghouse, Clark Landry, Colin Carrier, Dan Wright, David Cancel, David Chang, Elad Gil, Eric Wu, Gokul Rajaram, Indrek Kasela, Jason Robins, Jennifer Lum, Jon Runyan, Joshua Reeves, Julia Hartz, Karl Mehta, Kevin Weil, Kyle Porter, Mark Cuban, Matt Mazzeo, Merlin Kauffman, Peter Kazanjy, Ralph Gootee, Ric Fulop, Ryan Carlson, Ryan Chan, Tom Monahan, Tom Williams, Tracy Young, Trevor Wright, Wayne Chang, William Hockey
Dec 1, 2019	Alchemy	$15.0M Series A	—	A* Capital (A Star Capital), ACME Capital, AIX Ventures, Alpine Ventures, Alumni Ventures, AME Cloud Ventures, Amity Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, Angelic Ventures, Jana Messerschmidt, Benchmark, Bond, C2 Investment, Catapult Capital, Coinbase Ventures, Cross Culture Ventures, DCVC (Data Collective), Dell Technologies Capital, Dreamers VC, First Round Capital, FJ Labs, Flybridge Capital Partners, Footwork, Founder Collective, Founders Fund, Foundry Group, General Catalyst, Goodwater Capital, Greylock, Hardware Club, Humba Ventures, Index Ventures, Intel Capital, Investus Capital Partners, IVP, Shawn Modarresi, K2 Global, Kapor Capital, Klossy, Lead Edge Capital, Lytical Ventures, Marcy Venture Partners, Maven Ventures, Mayfield, Next Play Ventures, NextView Ventures, Hans Tung, OMERS Ventures, Operator Collective, Otherwise Fund, Outcast Ventures, Owl Rock Capital Partners, Pace Capital, Pantera Capital, Plaid, Prefix Capital, QueensBridge Venture Partners, Quiet Capital, RX3 Growth Partners, SciFi VC, Scribble Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Seven Seven Six, SNR, Soma Capital, South Park Commons, SV Angel, TCV, The Hit Forge, The House Fund, Thirty Five Ventures, Tribe Capital, Trust Ventures, Uncork Capital, Vertex Ventures, Work-Bench, XFactor Ventures, Y Combinator, Adam D'Angelo, Adam Gross, Adam Guild, Andrew Mullinger, Anthony Saleh, Ben Silbermann, Christopher Gabrieli, Cristóbal Conde, David Jeske, Diego Berdakin, Dustin Moskovitz, Eric Ries, Georges Harik, Harris Barton, Jay Z, Jed Stremel, Julia Hartz, Justin Rosenstein, Justin Timberlake, Kat Cole, Kevin Lee, Kevin Morrill, Louis Beryl, Matt Brezina, Michael Stoppelman, Neil Parikh, Odell Beckham Jr., Pau Gasol, Robyn Rihanna Fenty, Roger McNamee, Sam Altman, Shervin Pishevar, Tikhon Bernstam, Tim Kendall, Tony Xu, Trevor Noah, Troy Carter, Varsha Rao, Wayne Chang
Nov 1, 2019	Riskified	$170.0M Series E	—	ACME Capital, BoxGroup, Collaborative Seed & Growth Partners, CRV, Entrée Capital Ventures, Founder Collective, General Atlantic, Menlo Ventures, Owl Rock Capital Partners, Pillar VC, Sherpa Ventures, Slow Ventures, Stride VC, Rashaun Williams, Shervin Pishevar
Sep 1, 2019	Shape Security	$51.0M Series F	—	Altimeter Capital, Ballistic Ventures, Battery Ventures, Engineering Capital, Greylock, IVP, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Menlo Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners, SoftBank Investment Advisers, Unusual Ventures, Wing Venture Capital, Sohaib Abbasi
Jun 1, 2019	Dstillery	$6.0M Series D	—	Adeyemi Ajao, CoinFund, Fifth Wall, Forerunner Ventures, Renegade Partners, Science, Marco DeMeireles, TCV, White Star Capital, Sean Flynn
Jun 1, 2019	Cobalt	$37.0M Series B	—	CRV, DST Global, Global Innovation Fund, Khosla Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, Pear VC, Sequoia Capital, Softbank Group, Streamlined Ventures, Y Combinator, Michael Abramson
May 1, 2019	Tempo Automation	$45.0M Series C	—	01 Advisors, ACME Capital, Catapult Capital, Dimension Capital, Investus Capital Partners, K2 Global, Mayfield, NextView Ventures, Hans Tung, Owl Rock Capital Partners, The Hit Forge, Uncork Capital, Shervin Pishevar
May 1, 2019	Karat	$28.0M Series B	—	8VC, Altimeter Capital, ARCH Venture Partners, Atomico, Battery Ventures, Broadway Angels, Dig Ventures, Eurazeo, Felicis Ventures, Flybridge Capital Partners, Forerunner Ventures, Founder Collective, Hack VC, Jlabs, Kima Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, Koch Fund, Lux Capital, Scott Gottlieb, Norwest Venture Partners, Notable Capital, Outrun Ventures, Picus Capital, Plug & Play Ventures, #SecretFund, Silicon Valley Connect, Soma Capital, Sunfish Partners, Theory Ventures, Tiger Global Management, TQ Ventures, Unconventional Ventures, Upside Partnership, Rick Lewis, Biz Stone, Chafic Kazoun, Colin Carrier, Craig Newmark, Erik Blachford, Hugh Crean, Ido Leffler, Jean Charles Samuelian, Karim Atiyeh, Kevin Lin, Loic Le Meur, Manish Patel, Mark Cuban, Mark Pincus, Rashaun Williams, Ron Pragides, Roxanne Varza, Sam Shank, Shervin Pishevar, Sunil Paul
May 1, 2019	The Lobby	$4.0M Seed	—	Autotech Ventures, Bam Ventures, BoxGroup, Calibrate Ventures, Curie.Bio, First Round Capital, Floodgate, FusionX Ventures, M.G. Siegler, Klossy, KRM Interests LLC, Next Play Ventures, NextView Ventures, Night Capital, Operator Partners, Pareto Holdings, Point72 Ventures, Root Ventures, RRE Ventures, Slow Ventures, Spark Capital, SV Angel, Tandem, Uncork Capital, Vast Ventures, Vayner RSE, Aaron Harris, Charlie Cheever, Daniel Hoffer, Jeremy Stoppelman, Josh Abramson, MG Siegler, Mike Krieger, Scott Belsky, Spencer Kimball
Apr 1, 2019	Segment	$180.0M Series D	—	Accel, Bain Capital Ventures, DFJ, Felicis Ventures, Great Oaks Venture Capital, Greylock, GV, Index Ventures, Meritech Capital Partners, Sapphire Ventures, Shasta Ventures, Tenaya Capital, Thomvest Ventures, Y Combinator, Anne Wojcicki
Apr 1, 2019	Happy Returns	$11.0M Venture Round	—	Altimeter Capital, Battery Ventures, Bonfire Ventures, Forerunner Ventures, Founder Collective, Koch Fund, M12, Jeff Richards, Point72 Ventures, Qualcomm Ventures, TCG (The Chernin Group), Upside Partnership, U.S. Venture Partners, Erik Blachford, Hugh Crean, Rashaun Williams
Mar 1, 2019	Betterworks	$51.0M Series B	—	Craft Ventures, CRV, DST Global, Fuel Capital, Global Innovation Fund, M.G. Siegler, Index Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, Liquid 2 Ventures, Pear VC, Sequoia Capital, Seven Seven Six, Softbank Group, Sound Ventures, Streamlined Ventures, Y Combinator, MG Siegler, Michael Abramson, Pete Cashmore
Feb 1, 2019	Reddit	$300.0M Series D	—	Abstract Ventures, Alumni Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, Atomic, Baukunst, Craft Ventures, CRV, DFJ Growth, DST Global, Jenny Fielding, Scott Hartley, General Catalyst, Global Innovation Fund, Helium-3 Ventures, Infinite Niches, Javelin Venture Partners, Khosla Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, Lux Capital, Menlo Ventures, Rick Yang, Pear VC, Quiet Capital, Sequoia Capital, Softbank Group, Streamlined Ventures, Y Combinator, ZhenFund, Alex Pattis, David Rogier, Eric Ries, Jeffrey Lee, Marc Benioff, Othman Laraki
Feb 1, 2019	Ionic Security	$40.0M Series E	—	.406 Ventures, Accomplice VC, Ballistic Ventures, Benchmark, Byers Capital, Evolution Equity Partners, Highland Capital Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Ping An Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Shasta Ventures, Tenaya Capital, Top Tier Capital Partners
Jan 1, 2019	Kustomer	$35.0M Series C	—	AngelPad, Battery Ventures, Boldstart Ventures, Bonfire Ventures, Bullpen Capital, Canaan Partners, Citi Ventures, CRV, Dell Technologies Capital, First Round Capital, Flex Capital, Grove Ventures, Lobby Capital, M12, Meritech Capital Partners, Origin Ventures, Outsized Ventures, Partech Ventures, Rainfall Ventures, Sapphire Ventures, Social Leverage, SOSV, Tekton Ventures, Theory Ventures, Triangle Peak Partners, Venture Guides, WGI Group, Anthony Soohoo, Guy Podjarny, Jared Kopf, Kamiar Kordari
Dec 1, 2018	LightStep	$41.0M Series C	—	Accel, Altimeter Capital, Amazon Alexa Fund, Bain Capital Ventures, Ballistic Ventures, Battery Ventures, BoxGroup, Greylock, Harrison Metal, IVP, Khosla Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Menlo Ventures, Redpoint Ventures, SoftBank Investment Advisers, The General Partnership, Unusual Ventures, Upfront Ventures, Valar Ventures, Aaron Levie, Marc Benioff
Dec 1, 2018	Looker	$100.0M Series E	—	Felicis Ventures, First Round Capital, Lobby Capital, Meritech Capital Partners, Sapphire Ventures, Theory Ventures
Oct 1, 2018	Shape Security	$26.0M Series E	—	Altimeter Capital, Ballistic Ventures, Battery Ventures, Engineering Capital, Greylock, IVP, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Menlo Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners, SoftBank Investment Advisers, Unusual Ventures, Wing Venture Capital, Sohaib Abbasi

Financial History

Total Raised

N/A

Valuation

N/A

Leadership Team

Key people at Founders Circle Capital.

Leadership Team

Key people at Founders Circle Capital.

Deep Dive

High-Level Overview

Founders Circle Capital is a growth-stage investment firm with a mission centered on investing in people—specifically, the leaders and teams building today’s fastest-growing technology and consumer companies. Their investment philosophy emphasizes both flexible capital solutions and community-driven support, believing that empowering executives is the most valuable form of capital. The firm primarily targets companies that have achieved product-market fit and are scaling toward IPO, focusing on sectors like enterprise software, consumer tech, and digital platforms. With over $1.3 billion in assets under management and a portfolio of more than 90 companies—including 21 successful IPOs—Founders Circle has become a significant force in the late-stage venture ecosystem, helping founders and executives navigate the complex journey from scale-up to public market readiness.

Origin Story

Founded in 2012, Founders Circle Capital was established by Mark Dempster, Ken Loveless, and Mike Jung, each bringing deep experience from top-tier venture, banking, and executive roles. Dempster, a former marketing partner at Sequoia Capital, combined his brand strategy expertise with Loveless’s background as a Managing Director at Silicon Valley Bank, where he developed predictive models for identifying high-performing startups. Jung, a founder of a Silicon Valley peer network for CEOs, brought a unique perspective on executive community building. The firm’s focus evolved from traditional venture investing to a dual model: providing tailored financial solutions and fostering a private leadership community. This approach was born from the founders’ shared belief that the most critical factor in scaling a company is the strength and development of its leadership team.

Core Differentiators

Flexible Capital Solutions: Founders Circle offers both primary and secondary financings, liquidity programs for employees and investors, and custom financial structures tailored to the unique needs of growth-stage companies.
The Circle Community: The firm’s private leadership network, The Circle, connects over 600 CEOs and CFOs from top growth-stage companies, enabling peer-driven insights, professional development, and collaboration.
People-First Philosophy: Unlike many venture firms, Founders Circle prioritizes the development of founders and executives, offering mentorship, resources, and community as core value-adds.
Strong Track Record: With 21 IPOs and a portfolio of 93 companies, the firm has a proven ability to help companies scale and exit successfully.
Operating Support: Founders Circle provides hands-on guidance on topics like liquidity planning, executive development, and IPO readiness, going beyond capital to deliver operational value.

Role in the Broader Tech Landscape

Founders Circle Capital is riding the wave of increased demand for growth-stage capital and executive support in an era where scaling companies face unprecedented complexity. As more startups reach maturity and prepare for public markets, the need for flexible financing and leadership development has never been greater. The firm’s community-driven model taps into the growing trend of peer learning and executive networking, which is increasingly seen as essential for navigating the “Scale to IPO” phase. By focusing on both capital and community, Founders Circle is shaping how growth-stage companies are supported, influencing a shift toward more holistic, people-centric venture investing. Their work helps accelerate the maturation of the tech ecosystem, enabling more companies to reach their full potential and contribute to broader innovation.

Quick Take & Future Outlook

Looking ahead, Founders Circle Capital is well-positioned to continue expanding its influence as the growth-stage venture landscape evolves. The firm’s dual focus on flexible capital and executive community is likely to become even more valuable as companies face longer private lifecycles and greater pressure to scale sustainably. Trends like increased secondary market activity, the rise of founder-led networks, and the growing importance of executive development will only amplify Founders Circle’s relevance. As the firm deepens its community and broadens its financial offerings, its impact on the startup ecosystem is poised to grow—reinforcing its founding belief that the most powerful investment is in the people who build the future.

Sources

High-Level Overview

Origin Story

Core Differentiators

Flexible Capital Solutions: Founders Circle offers both primary and secondary financings, liquidity programs for employees and investors, and custom financial structures tailored to the unique needs of growth-stage companies.
The Circle Community: The firm’s private leadership network, The Circle, connects over 600 CEOs and CFOs from top growth-stage companies, enabling peer-driven insights, professional development, and collaboration.
People-First Philosophy: Unlike many venture firms, Founders Circle prioritizes the development of founders and executives, offering mentorship, resources, and community as core value-adds.
Strong Track Record: With 21 IPOs and a portfolio of 93 companies, the firm has a proven ability to help companies scale and exit successfully.
Operating Support: Founders Circle provides hands-on guidance on topics like liquidity planning, executive development, and IPO readiness, going beyond capital to deliver operational value.