Telescope Partners Research
Investment Thesis
Telescope Partners is a thesis-driven, early growth investor for exceptional entrepreneurs building B2B enterprise software companies. Founded by Mickey Arabelovic, the firm's positioning is "B2B. Thematic. Bespoke." Telescope invests in bold, driven entrepreneurs who are willing to disrupt the establishment or define a new path. The firm's philosophy centers on the idea that building companies that change markets takes time, focus, and unwavering partnership, and that the transition from a good company to a great one comes down to discrete decisions around pace, people, and process.
Sector Focus
Telescope is a generalist B2B software investor with recurring thematic strength in a handful of verticals seen repeatedly across its portfolio:
- Healthcare and healthcare compliance software (Canid, Carefeed, MedTrainer, Passage Health)
- Marketing, adtech, and measurement platforms (Measured, Gipper, Uniqode)
- Vertical AI / applied AI tools (Fathom, Buildcheck)
- Fintech-adjacent payments and fundraising infrastructure (Domuso, Fundraise Up)
- Travel and hospitality technology (Engine / Hotel Engine)
- Commerce enablement (Stay Ai)
Stage Focus
Telescope explicitly targets companies that are "beyond the idea stage" and "post product-market fit, but before it's obvious." This is a growth-stage thesis: portfolio entry points span Series A through later growth rounds, with the firm both leading new rounds (Buildcheck's $12M Series A, September 2026; Hotel Engine's Series A) and participating alongside other growth investors (Fundraise Up's $70M round led by Summit Partners, January 2025).
Check Size
No check size range is published on the website. Round sizes the firm has participated in span roughly $12M-$70M, consistent with a growth-stage, non-lead-only mandate. There is insufficient public data to set a confident check size range.
Lead Tendency
Telescope leads a majority of the rounds it is publicly associated with (Buildcheck Series A 2026, Hotel Engine Series A, and historical rounds referenced for Uniqode/Beaconstac), but it has also taken participant-only positions in larger growth rounds led by other firms (Fundraise Up, led by Summit Partners). Overall lead tendency: leads, with selective follow participation in existing portfolio companies' later rounds.
Recent Activity
Most recent confirmed activity:
- September 2026: Led Buildcheck's $12M Series A (AI-powered construction design review), with participation from WND Ventures (DPR Construction's venture arm) and existing investors Uncork Capital, Salt VC, and Xfund.
- January 2025: Participated (as existing investor) in Fundraise Up's $70M growth round led by Summit Partners.
The firm appears actively deploying, with a new platform investment (Buildcheck) as recently as September 2026.
Portfolio Highlights
Active portfolio (partnered-since dates from the firm's own site) spans 17 companies including Brandfolder (DAM software, acquired by Smartsheet in 2020), Bravely (workplace mental health benefit), Buildcheck (AI construction design review, newest 2026 investment), Canid (pediatric vaccine management), Carefeed (post-acute care communication), Cascade (strategy execution platform), Domuso (apartment rental payments), Engine/Hotel Engine (hotel booking and corporate travel), Fathom (AI meeting notetaker), Fundraise Up (AI-assisted nonprofit fundraising), Gipper (social content for amateur athletics), Measured (media incrementality measurement), MedTrainer (healthcare compliance and credentialing), Passage Health (EMR/practice management for ABA providers), Stay Ai (subscription commerce), Topbox (conversation analytics, acquired by Khoros in 2020), and Uniqode (formerly Beaconstac; QR code engagement platform).
Fully realized past investments listed separately by the firm include Carbon Black (acquired by VMware), a cardiology-related company (acquired by Merck), HireVue (acquired by Carlyle Group), a sales/marketing data company (acquired by Dun & Bradstreet), and ZirMed (acquired by Waystar) — a strong track record of strategic and financial-sponsor exits.
Team
- Mickey Arabelovic, Founder
- Nicole Naidoo, Partner
- Zack Bahm, Principal
- Chris Gaertner, Principal
- Calvin Koo, Associate
- Bhargav Mallidi, Associate
- Claire Owens, Associate (joined September 2025, per LinkedIn; previously at Five Elms Capital and Golden Section Venture Capital Fund)
- Mike Ihbe, Head of Product
- Harrison Doyle, Head of Operations
- James Winter, Head of Marketing
- Erin Cruz, Chief Financial Officer / Chief Compliance Officer
- Katy Mansoor, Executive Assistant to Founder
- Emily Spradlin, Office Coordinator and Administrative Assistant
Decision Process
Telescope operates as a small, dedicated team (a founder plus a partner-led investment team of principals and associates) rather than a large multi-partner committee. This structure suggests a lean partnership-style decision process rather than a formal investment committee, though this is not explicitly confirmed on the website.
Founder Preferences
The firm's own language emphasizes bold, driven entrepreneurs unafraid to disrupt the establishment or chart a new path, who have already built "killer products" and established a rapidly expanding market foothold. Telescope positions itself as a hands-on partner rather than a passive check-writer, framing its value-add around helping founders navigate pace, people, and process questions as the company scales.
Geographic Focus
Portfolio company headquarters are concentrated in the US (Denver, CO; New York/Brooklyn, NY; San Francisco and Palo Alto, CA; Santa Monica, CA; Cincinnati, OH; Las Vegas, NV; Austin, TX), with at least two portfolio companies outside the US (Cascade in Sydney, Australia and Uniqode with a dual New York/Bengaluru, India presence). This points to a primarily US-focused mandate with selective international portfolio exposure.