Burst Capital Research Document
Investment Thesis
Burst Capital is an early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2017 by Geoff Donaker, former Chief Operating Officer of Yelp. The firm positions itself as "helpful investors in marketplace, SaaS and related Internet businesses" and explicitly markets itself as being founded by operators who understand how to build and scale technology companies.
The firm's core thesis is that their deep operational experience from scaling Yelp from zero to $1 billion in revenue and through an IPO positions them uniquely to mentor and advise early-stage founders building SaaS and marketplace companies. They describe their value proposition as being investors founders can "call to ask have you seen this before?" — implying pattern recognition and battle-tested advice from the trenches of building a successful internet company.
Sector Focus
Burst Capital invests across several interconnected sectors:
Primary Sectors:
- Marketplaces - Peer-to-peer commerce, service marketplaces, buy/sell platforms
- SaaS - Software-as-a-service businesses across verticals
- Related Internet Businesses - Adjacent to marketplace and SaaS models
Secondary Sectors:
- Fintech - Financial services and fintech startups
- Home Services - Home-related marketplace and services
Their focus on marketplaces and SaaS reflects their Yelp experience, where they built a two-sided marketplace connecting consumers with local businesses.
Stage Focus
Burst Capital is an early-stage specialist focusing on:
Seed: Primary focus area Series A: Active participation Later Stages: Selective follow-on investments
They maintain a "helpful investor" posture at seed stage where operational guidance has highest impact.
Check Size
Based on typical seed and Series A activity:
Seed: $500K-$2M Series A: $1M-$5M
They position as active investors rather than micro-investors, taking meaningful stakes.
Lead Tendency
Burst Capital leads or co-leads their early investments. Their operational involvement and board participation suggest primary investor roles in portfolio companies.
Recent Activity
Burst Capital has maintained active deployment:
Recent Investments:
- October 2025: Ava (Seed)
- 2025: 6 new investments during the year
- Active portfolio: 19 companies as of November 2025
- Total portfolio: 106 investments since founding
- 2025 announced exits: 3+ portfolio companies achieved positive outcomes early in the year
The 6 new investments in 2025 and portfolio exits indicate continued strong deployment and founder success.
Team
General Partners:
- Geoff Donaker, Founder & General Partner - Former Yelp COO (decade tenure), prior startup experience (2 companies - 1 successful, 1 not), eBay experience, Excite background, Stanford graduate
- Mike Ghaffary, General Partner - Former investor at Canvas Ventures, Social Capital, and Summit Partners; Operator experience: SVP Business Development at Yelp, CEO of Eat24, co-founder of Stitcher and BarMax; Harvard MBA and Law degrees; USC graduate
- Wendy Lim, General Partner - Yelp operations leader who scaled revenue operations, customer support, investor relations, and new markets functions; Leadership roles at Bia-Echo Foundation and UC; Cal and HBS graduate
- Rob Krolik, General Partner & CFO - Former Yelp CFO who led company IPO in 2012; Prior CFO roles: Move.com, Shopping.com, eBay Germany, Digital Think; UT Austin graduate; CPA
Advisors:
- Michael Stoppelman - Serial angel and VC investor (50+ startups), Former SVP Engineering at Yelp (scaled team 10→500), Early Google employee
- Rachel Williams - HR and diversity leader at Motley Fool, X, StubHub; Former recruiting head at Yelp and Clearslide; UC Berkeley graduate
The team is exceptionally strong operationally, with all four GPs having founded, built, or scaled significant companies.
Decision Process
Burst operates as a partnership where all GPs participate actively. Given their operational backgrounds, decisions appear collaborative with emphasis on business model validation and founder quality.
Geographic Focus
Primary: San Francisco Bay Area and Palo Alto Secondary: US-based companies (open to non-SF companies)
Founder Preferences
Burst seeks:
- Entrepreneurs building marketplace or SaaS businesses
- Founders open to operational mentorship
- Teams solving real market problems
- Vision and conviction in chosen business model
Fund Status
Burst Capital is actively deploying capital with recent investments in Q4 2025 and demonstrated portfolio exits. They continue to seek investments in their core sectors.