Interlace Ventures

Interlace Ventures Research

Investment Thesis

Interlace Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2019, dedicated to investing in founders reimagining commerce. The firm believes that the future of commerce will be shaped by innovative technology companies that transform retail and e-commerce infrastructure. With deep roots in commerce operations and retail expertise, Interlace partners with founders who are building the next generation of commerce-enabling technologies.

The fund's core mission centers on supporting entrepreneurs who understand the pain points of modern retail and e-commerce businesses, providing not just capital but operational support and strategic access to global retail brands and enterprise partners.

Sector and Market Focus

Interlace Ventures invests exclusively in the commerce and retail technology sector, spanning the entire commerce value chain including:

• E-Commerce Infrastructure: Payment processing, fulfillment optimization, integration platforms
• Retail Technology: Point-of-sale systems, inventory management, store operations
• Commerce Enablement: Analytics, pricing, merchandising, marketplace platforms
• Supply Chain & Logistics: Fulfillment automation, supply chain optimization
• Consumer Experience: Personalization, loyalty programs, customer engagement
• Web3 & Commerce: Blockchain-based commerce solutions, NFTs for commerce
• Retail As A Service: New retail formats and operations models

The firm explicitly focuses on early-stage technology companies that enable or transform commerce, not consumer-facing retail brands themselves.

Stage Focus and Check Size

Interlace targets pre-seed and seed-stage companies:

Preferred Stages:

• Pre-seed: Early validation with founding team and product concepts
• Seed: Initial product-market traction with early customers
• Series A: Growth stage (selective follow-on investments)

Check Size Range:

• Minimum: $100K
• Maximum: $5M
• Typical seed investment: $500K - $2M

The fund is not a lead-focused investor; they prefer to co-invest alongside other venture capital firms and maintain a collaborative investment approach.

Fund and Investment Activity

Fund Details:

• First fund closed in June 2021 with $14M in capital
• Backed by major institutional LPs including PayPal, Bain Capital, and Carta
• Actively deploying capital as of late 2025
• Total portfolio: 51+ companies as of July 2025

Recent Investment Activity (2024-2025):

• July 2025: Augmodo ($37.5M Series A, co-investor)
• May 2025: Flyp (AI-powered fashion resale platform)
• Ongoing: Active deployment of capital with approximately 1 new investment per quarter

Portfolio Performance:

• 7 exits to date, including acquisitions and strategic sales
• Notable exits:
  • Goodeed: Acquired by La Banque Postale (charitable commerce platform)
  • OTO: Acquired by Unity (audio chat analysis for commerce)
  • PresenceAI: Acquired by Groupon (AI-powered messaging for commerce)
  • Hyphen: Acquired by Betterworks (employee engagement platform)

Investment Portfolio Overview

Interlace's portfolio spans the entire commerce value chain with 51+ active companies including:

Notable Portfolio Companies:

Integration & Operations:

• Alloy Automation: ERP/CRM/commerce integration platform
• Commerce.js: Flexible commerce engine
• Rabot: Fulfillment center optimization
• Ravacan: Supplier collaboration platform

Analytics & Optimization:

• Promoted.ai: Unified search and feed optimization (customers: Gopuff, Outschool, TeachersPayTeachers)
• Algopix: Cross-channel pricing and demand analysis
• Singuli: AI-driven analytics for brands and retailers
• Invisible Commerce: Retail margin optimization

Retail & Brand Solutions:

• Darkstore: Global product accessibility and fulfillment
• Flyp: AI-powered fashion resale and circular commerce
• Stour: Editorial feed to retail conversion
• Olive (formerly Oyster): Sustainable packaging solutions
• Vendora: Online selling tools for independent grocers

Emerging Commerce Models:

• B8ta: Retail-as-a-service platform
• Indie: Local retail modernization
• Salted: Platform for restaurant brand growth
• Zing: Dynamic suburban commerce
• Queenly: Secondhand marketplace for women's formalwear
• Treet: Recommerce platform

Technology & Infrastructure:

• Augmodo: AR capabilities for retail workforce efficiency
• Bounty: Floor staff retention and rewards platform
• StayTuned: Shopify app marketplace aggregation
• Arkive: Decentralized cultural museum (emerging commerce model)
• Passage Protocol: Web3 memberships

Marketing & Discovery:

• Beam Impact: Charity-linked consumer purchasing
• Selfmade: Growth-oriented marketing solutions

Team and Leadership

Founding Team:

• Vincent Diallo, Founder & General Partner: Retail and commerce expert with deep operational experience in the retail sector. Co-founded Interlace in January 2019.
• Joseph Sartre, Founder & General Partner (1986-2022): Remembered fondly by the firm, contributed to founding vision during early years.

Current Team:

• Sydney Werber, Venture Partner: Extensive commerce operations background, hands-on investor
• Ruchika Julapalli, Venture Partner: Commerce and retail technology specialist

Advisory Board:

• Doug Stephens: Retail Futurist and thought leader
• Philippe Cases: Former GP at Partech & Sofinnova (deep European tech expertise)
• Ken Fenyo: CMO of Grabango (retail technology)
• Matt Kaness: CEO & entrepreneur with public company and consumer tech experience
• Anil Benard-Dende: Director General, KEDGE Business School
• Catherine Barba: Founder, funder, and independent board member

The team has extensive commerce experience as founders, operators, and investors, bringing hands-on retail and e-commerce expertise to portfolio companies.

Investment Process and Decision-Making

Decision Process:

• Partnership model with collaborative decision-making among general partners
• Co-investment approach: Prefers to build syndicates with other investors
• Typically not sole lead investors

Decision Timeline:

• 2-4 weeks typical for seed investments
• Quick evaluation for companies addressing clear commerce pain points
• Hands-on due diligence given operational backgrounds

Value-Add Strategy:

• Operational support from ex-operators in global retail
• Strategic introductions to retail brands and enterprise customers
• Access to Interlace Platform: Connection to global retailers and brands seeking innovation
• Advisory support from world-class advisors with deep retail expertise

Warm Introduction Requirements

Warm introductions are highly valued but not absolutely required. The firm accepts inbound pitches and is responsive to:

• Referrals from portfolio companies
• Introductions from their advisory network
• Direct outreach from founders with clear commerce pain points

Investment Focus Areas

Geographic Focus:

• Global, with emphasis on US (particularly New York and West Coast)
• Some European portfolio companies
• Open to international commerce technology founders

Founder Profile:

• Technical founders with domain expertise in commerce or retail
• Operators with experience in large retail organizations
• First-time founders with deep commerce understanding
• Strong preference for teams with complementary skills

Problem-Solving Criteria:

• Real, quantifiable problems in commerce/retail operations
• Scalable solutions that benefit multiple commerce participants
• Technology that addresses global commerce challenges
• Business models that create value for retail partners

Competitive Positioning

Interlace differentiates itself from other early-stage VCs through:

1. Commerce Expertise: Team and advisors with deep operational retail and e-commerce experience
2. Retail Network: Direct relationships with global brands and retailers through their Platform
3. Portfolio Synergies: Ability to introduce portfolio companies to each other for partnerships
4. Hands-On Support: Ex-operators who understand commerce challenges intimately
5. Strategic Value-Add: Beyond capital, providing customer development and strategic partnerships

As one portfolio founder noted: "Interlace is one of the few funds that truly understands the commerce infrastructure landscape. Their network of partners and founders is exceptional and includes some of the top minds in the industry." (James Kawas, CEO & Co-founder, Flyp)

Fund Status and Outlook

Current Status (as of late 2025):

• Actively deploying capital
• 51+ investments across portfolio
• Approximately 1 new investment per quarter
• Focus on supporting existing portfolio through growth phases
• Platform connecting portfolio companies to retail brands is core value-add

Market Positioning:

• Positioned as the go-to early-stage fund for commerce technology
• Strong reputation in commerce and retail tech ecosystem
• Active in both traditional e-commerce and emerging commerce models (Web3, sustainable retail, etc.)

Investment Characteristics

• Lead Tendency: Rarely leads, prefers to co-invest
• Follow Tendency: Actively follows successful portfolio companies into Series A
• Board Participation: Typically observer or advisor role
• Portfolio Support: Hands-on operational support and strategic introductions

Summary

Interlace Ventures is a specialized early-stage venture capital fund with deep expertise in commerce and retail technology. Founded in 2019 by Vincent Diallo and Joseph Sartre, the firm has built a strong reputation for understanding commerce infrastructure and supporting founders who are reimagining how commerce operates at scale. With $14M in initial capital and 51+ portfolio companies, the fund takes a partnership approach to investing, leveraging its network of retail brands and commerce operators to create value beyond capital. The team's operational backgrounds and advisory board of commerce experts position the firm uniquely to support early-stage commerce technology founders.