43 Capital: Anabel Paksoy Investment Profile
Fund Overview
43 is an earliest-stage venture capital fund founded by Dustin Dolginow, Anabel Paksoy, and Soso Sazesh. The firm specializes in Day 0 pre-product investments, providing $250K-$500K initial checks to founder-obsessed teams before they have launched products or achieved market traction.
Investment Philosophy & Thesis
43's core thesis centers on the founder-first approach: the team invests with conviction in approximately 5 founders per partner per year. Their philosophy emphasizes speed, conviction, and bespoke support rather than batch programs or generic scaling models.
Key thesis elements:
- Founders obsessed with solving a problem (not optimizing for capital)
- Day 0 stage investments, often meeting founders before they've left their jobs
- No product or traction required
- Speed as a competitive advantage (2-4 week process from conversation to funding)
- Hands-on, personalized support from operators with extensive exit experience
Investment Check Sizes & Deployment
- Initial check range: $250K-$500K
- Check size flexibility: Tailored to founder needs and runway requirements
- Deployment pace: ~5 investments per partner annually (15-20 total portfolio per year at 3-person firm)
- Fund status: Actively deploying as of late 2025
Stage Focus
- Primary: Pre-seed/Seed (Day 0, pre-product)
- Secondary: Extended runway founders transitioning out of jobs
- No demo days, batches, or structured cohorts—entirely bespoke relationships
Team & Backgrounds
Dustin Dolginow (Managing Partner)
- Previously at Accomplice and Maiden Lane
- Early-stage investor track record: Roofr, Baseten, Klaviyo, Notion, Vercel, Reside, CodeSignal
- Operational operator with deep network across consumer and SaaS
Anabel Paksoy (Partner)
- Formerly Head of People Operations at Opendoor and Twitter
- Founded The People Design House (people operations advisory)
- Advisors at: Notion, Pave, Syndicate
- Angel investor: Newfront, TRM Labs, Portex
- Brings HR/operations expertise and deep operator network
Soso Sazesh (Partner)
- 2X founder with successful exit
- Operational advisor to growth-stage companies: Instacart, Gusto, Zapier, Klaviyo, and dozens of others
- Brings founder perspective and scaling experience
Portfolio Composition & Revealed Preferences
Analysis of 70+ portfolio companies reveals strong concentration in:
Sector patterns:
- B2B SaaS: FlowFi (accounting), Supademo (product demos), CollabWork (collaboration), Lace (operations)
- AI/ML: Kaiden AI, Flotive (AI aviation), Standard Works (AI), Supercreator (AI content), DataInsight (AI analytics)
- Vertical SaaS: Headcount365 (HR), Secludy (security), Sharebird (sales enablement), PressBox (PR)
- Hardware/Dev Tools: tscircuit (electronics), Nema Systems (systems), Kit Switch
- Healthcare/Healthtech: Insight Health (AI health), Dart Health (healthcare), Harness (insurance)
- Workflow automation: ProjectUs, Time-line, Word Chef, Shipflow AI
- Fintech-adjacent: GiveCard, FlowFi
Support Model & Thesis on Value-Add
43 explicitly rejects batch-model acceleration. Value proposition:
- 1:1 bespoke support: Each partner works closely with ~5 founders annually
- Strategic guidance: No generic advice; tailored to founder's specific challenges
- Network introductions: Access to 43's extended operator network
- Operational support: Leveraging team's deep operational experience in People/Growth/HR
- Fundraising preparation: Help structuring for next institutional round
- Speed advantage: 2-4 week decision timeline, enabling faster market entry
Investment Process & Decision-Making
- Application: No pitch deck required; focus on founder vision and background
- Timeline: 2-4 weeks from initial conversation to funding
- Due diligence: Emphasis on founder conviction and obsession over market validation
- Decision criteria: Problem obsession, founder quality, team chemistry
- Process philosophy: Human judgment and founder relationship over metrics/scoring
Recent Activity & Fund Status
- Active stage: Actively deploying capital (confirmed through 2025 Tracxn data)
- 2023 positioning: 9 investments mentioned in Anabel's Jan 2023 announcement introducing 43
- 2025 activity: Continued investment in Day 0 founders; confirmed by Recast Accelerate participation
- Institutional recognition: Featured in Recast Capital's startup fund accelerator cohort (Sep 2025)
Geographic & Model Preferences
- Geography: Primarily SF Bay Area operators and founders; some national presence
- Model: B2B SaaS dominant, strong AI/ML subset, vertical-specific solutions
- Stage extension: Some follow-on capacity visible; not pure pass-through fund
- International: Minimal (no clear non-US portfolio companies observed)
Partner Availability & Lead Tendency
Given firm size (3 partners) and investment tempo (~5 per partner/year), individual partners can be selective with ~1 new investment every 2-3 months. Primary partner involvement in structured process is typical.
Anti-Thesis
43 explicitly avoids or is less interested in:
- Companies with product-market fit already achieved (more Series A+)
- Teams seeking generic support or batch programs
- Founders not obsessed with their problem
- Pure financial engineering plays
- Batch demo days or cohort-based acceleration
Fund Economics
- Check size: $250K-$500K = ~5-7% ownership typically
- Fund capacity: Small fund size with concentrated portfolio limits deployment
- Follow-on rights: Visible in some portfolio companies; not purely seed-and-exit