Mike Maples

Mike Maples is a Founding Partner at Floodgate Fund, an early-stage venture capital firm based in Menlo Park, California. Prior to his career in venture capital, he co-founded the enterprise software firm Motive Communications, which was later acquired by Alcatel, following his engineering studies at Stanford University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. At Floodgate, Maples has directed seed-stage capital into a portfolio of more than 400 technology startups, achieving significant liquidity events through early investments in major industry players such as Twitter, Lyft, Okta, and Affirm. In 2024, his firm successfully raised over $200 million for new investment vehicles dedicated to artificial intelligence and frontier technology markets. His current focus centers on identifying disruptive seed-stage software startups while formalizing his investment frameworks through his published book Pattern Breakers and ongoing educational ecosystem engagements.