Knoll Ventures

Knoll Ventures Research

Investment Thesis

Knoll Ventures is an Atlanta-based early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2018 by Andrew Dorman, David Dorman, and Richard Fraim. The firm backs "outliers" — creative thinkers and innovators who challenge the status quo and aren't afraid to stand apart. Knoll focuses exclusively on B2B technology-enabled companies at the pre-Series A stage, targeting founders who "see around corners, intimately understand customer pain points," and have a clear vision of outcomes that feel inevitable.

The fund was created specifically to address the funding gap between seed and Series A rounds, particularly in non-coastal markets like the Southeast. Backed by Invest Georgia (a state fund-of-funds) in its inaugural fund, Knoll is one of the few early-stage institutional funds headquartered in Atlanta, GA. The firm aligns incentives so they "win only if the founders win," emphasizing a true partnership model with portfolio companies.

Stage Focus

Knoll invests at the pre-Series A stage with two primary investment categories:

1. Post-seed deals (core focus): B2B technology startups with early traction — an arms-length customer pipeline and a clear growth strategy toward Series A
2. Seed-and-feed deals: Earlier-stage companies with promising founders pursuing significant market opportunities

The firm also participates in follow-on rounds at Series A and occasionally Series B for existing portfolio companies demonstrating strong traction.

Check Size

Knoll leads or co-leads rounds with checks of $500,000 to $3,000,000. Based on tracked investments, the average initial check at seed is approximately $2.37M. The firm reserves capital for follow-on investments, participating in later rounds alongside new investors.

Lead Tendency

Knoll explicitly states it "leads or co-leads" investment rounds — a notable characteristic for a sub-$30M fund. This is a core part of their value proposition, as they actively drive round strategy, develop syndication, and coordinate co-investors rather than passively participating.

Recent Activity

Knoll has been deploying from Fund II (~$21.8M, closed Spring 2022) and has remained actively active in 2024-2026:

2026:

• City Detect (March 2026, Series A follow-on, $13M total round) — Computer vision/AI for urban infrastructure

2025:

• Opine (December 2025, Seed, $5M total round) — AI presales & post-sales automation
• Safer School Solutions (July 2025) — School safety data platform
• Qualytics (June 2025, Series A follow-on, $10M total round) — Data quality management
• Mavvrik (February 2025, Seed, $6.2M total round) — AI and hybrid cloud cost management

2024:

• City Detect (August 2024, Seed, $2M total round) — Initial investment in computer vision/AI for municipalities

Notable exit:

• Infoworks (acquired by Uniphore, December 2024) — Enterprise data platform acquired as part of Uniphore's Zero Data AI Cloud strategy

Portfolio Highlights

Knoll has invested in 37+ companies across Fund I and Fund II. Notable portfolio companies include:

Active (32 companies):

• RepVue (repvue.com) — World's largest sales organization ratings platform; significant scale and brand recognition in sales recruiting
• ConverseNow (conversenow.ai) — Voice AI-powered virtual ordering assistants for restaurant chains; deployed across major QSR operators
• Qualytics (qualytics.co) — Data quality management platform backed by Tech Square and Knoll; closed $10M Series A in 2025
• Lendflow (lendflow.com) — Embedded lending infrastructure and credit marketplace for SaaS companies
• cove.tool (cove.tools) — Sustainable building design software driving decarbonization of the built environment; one of the firm's earliest bets on ClimTech
• Hunt Club (huntclub.com) — Full-service AI-powered recruiting firm leveraging subject matter expert networks
• Filtered (filtered.ai) — AI recruiting co-pilot for smarter technical hiring
• Gridline (gridline.co) — Platform enabling frictionless private markets investing for individual investors
• Barometer (thebarometer.co) — AI for monitoring and enforcing brand suitability at scale for advertisers
• Sonar Software (sonarsoftware.com) — Modern Salesforce data governance for AI success
• Tourial (tourial.com) — Product tour platform for demand generation and product marketing
• City Detect (citydetect.com) — Computer vision and AI for urban environment monitoring and infrastructure management
• Opine (tryopine.com) — AI-native workspace for technical sales teams connecting presales to post-sales
• Mavvrik (mavvrik.ai) — IT financial control platform for cloud, AI, SaaS, and on-prem infrastructure cost management
• Chowder (chowderfinancial.com) — Flexible embedded finance platform for home services contractors
• Honeypot (honeypot.run) — Threat analytics platform for cybersecurity
• Askari Defense (askaridefense.com) — Stealth defense technology
• Somewear Labs (somewearlabs.com) — Reliable off-grid communication for defense and outdoor use
• Belongly (belongly.com) — Community platform for mental health professionals
• PromptWrx (promptwrx.com) — AI-centric platform for healthcare revenue cycle management

Exits:

• Salesloft (salesloft.com) — Market-leading sales engagement platform; major Atlanta tech exit
• Terminus (terminus.com) — Account-based marketing (ABM) platform; notable Atlanta B2B SaaS exit
• Infoworks — Enterprise data platform; acquired by Uniphore (December 2024)
• LiveSource (livesource.com) — Product launch risk management for manufacturers; exited
• Gatherly (gatherly.io) — All-in-one virtual events platform prioritizing human interaction; exited

Team

Andrew Dorman, General Partner Andrew co-founded Knoll Ventures and leads investments as General Partner. He holds a BS in Economics from Southern Methodist University and an MBA from Georgia Institute of Technology, where he co-founded the Institute's first multi-disciplinary graduate real estate course. Prior to Knoll, Andrew was Managing Principal at Ethos Capital Partners and worked in real estate investment at Brand Properties, progressing from Senior Financial Analyst to Vice President of Investments. He is active in the Atlanta tech ecosystem as a board member, mentor, panelist, and judge at notable institutions.

Richard Fraim, General Partner Richard co-founded Knoll Ventures and serves as General Partner alongside Andrew. He holds a BA in Economics and an MS in Commerce (finance concentration) from the University of Virginia's McIntire School of Commerce. Prior to Knoll, Richard led investments at family offices, gaining experience in seed through Series A investing. He has been actively involved in the Atlanta technology sector and holds leadership and mentorship roles in various organizations.

David Dorman, Co-Founder / Partner David Dorman is listed as a co-founder of Knoll Ventures along with Andrew Dorman and Richard Fraim. He participated in establishing the firm in 2018.

Alessandro Burdisso, Business Development Associate Alessandro handles founder outreach, sourcing, and market research for the firm.

Decision Process

Knoll operates as a small partnership with two to three principals. Decisions are made through a partnership model given the lean team structure, likely requiring consensus between the GPs. The firm values strategic alignment and emphasizes syndicate development — both for investment decisions and post-investment fundraising support.

Founder Preferences

Knoll seeks founders who:

• "See around corners" — possess unique, non-obvious market insight
• Intimately understand their customers' pain points from direct experience
• Are building B2B technology-enabled businesses (not pure consumer or hardware)
• Are in the pre-Series A stage with demonstrable early traction
• Are based in non-coastal US markets, particularly the Southeast and Southwest

The firm emphasizes that they win only when founders win — signaling a bias toward aligned incentives over extraction.

Geographic Focus

Knoll is headquartered in Atlanta, GA (75 5th St NW, Suite 3190, Atlanta, GA 30308) and primarily invests in the Southeast and Southwest US. This is a deliberate strategy to address a "wider chasm" of institutional capital availability for founders in less capital-rich regions. While primarily US-focused, the firm's portfolio companies span Austin TX, Chapel Hill NC, Atlanta GA, and other US markets.