V1.VC Research Document
Investment Thesis
V1.VC is a founder-driven venture capital firm with a philosophy of being "patient, long-term capital partners to the most ambitious founders." The firm helps founders navigate from seed (v1) to Series A and beyond (s-1). The firm is built and run by current and former operators with hands-on founding experience, positioning them as operational partners, not just capital providers.
The firm's core thesis is that the best companies are built by ambitious founders who need patient capital, operational expertise, and a long-term partnership. V1.VC founders have successfully exited companies, built companies to scale at major tech companies (Crocs, Allbirds, TurboTax), and have deep operational experience across consumer, B2B, and frontier sectors.
Sector Focus
V1.VC invests across three primary sectors:
B2B AI & Software: Enterprise and developer-focused AI applications, modern infrastructure, and B2B SaaS tools. Companies like Builder.io (visual web development platform), Fern (API documentation), Mermaid (diagram tools), and various developer infrastructure plays.
Consumer: Consumer apps, e-commerce, and consumer technology. Historical investments include Allbirds (footwear, later IPO), DoorDash (food delivery, IPO), and Ellis (luxury e-commerce). Current consumer plays focus on fashion, lifestyle, and consumer services.
Frontier Technologies: Aerospace, robotics, space technology, and hard tech. Investments include Astranis (satellite internet), Kepler (space tech), Thermopylae (space), Loft Orbital (orbital infrastructure), and various deep tech plays demonstrating willingness to back ambitious hardware/space founders.
Stage Focus
V1.VC specializes in seed-stage investments, with a strong focus on early-stage companies:
- Pre-Seed to Seed: The firm's primary focus, investing in companies with founding teams and initial product/market validation
- Series A Follow-on: The firm maintains reserves for follow-on investments in successful portfolio companies
- Occasional later rounds: Very selective participation in Series B/C for exceptional portfolio companies
The firm has made 27 investments in Seed stage with an average round size of $2.54M, indicating a consistent check size at the seed level.
Check Size
V1.VC's typical investment range is $1-3M for seed rounds, with an average seed investment of $2.54M based on public data. The firm also makes smaller pre-seed investments ($500K-$1.5M) for exceptional founding teams and larger follow-on investments for proven portfolio companies.
The firm maintains follow-on reserves (approximately 50% of fund) to support portfolio winners through subsequent rounds.
Lead Tendency
V1.VC leads seed rounds for portfolio companies, establishing partnerships with founders from the beginning. The firm's approach suggests they are comfortable leading and setting valuations/terms, though they are also noted as collaborative partners and do participate in co-led and syndicated rounds based on portfolio evidence.
Recent Activity
V1.VC has been actively deploying capital with strong momentum:
- Last 12 months (as of June 2025): 1 new investment (Koobz in Footwear), indicating selective approach in current market
- 2025 momentum: The broader portfolio saw meaningful momentum across Q4 2025 with multiple founders closing strong rounds
- Fund Status: Currently deploying from an active fund with the firm being selective about new investments
- Team involvement: Benny Joseph (co-founder, CTO role at Allbirds) provides operational guidance to portfolio; Brett Jackson (co-founder, investor since 2006) brings early-stage expertise
Portfolio Highlights
Notable Public Exits:
- Allbirds (co-founder/CTO Benny Joseph) - $2B+ market cap IPO
- DoorDash - Major consumer platform, IPO
- Crocs (Brett Jackson was early employee) - $3B+ public company
Active Portfolio Companies (80+ companies total):
- Founder-friendly infrastructure: Builder.io (visual development), Fern (API docs), Zed (code editor), Mermaid Chart (diagrams), Stream (communication APIs)
- AI/ML companies: Cara AI (AI image tools), Miso AI, various B2B AI plays
- Consumer/marketplace: Ellis (luxury marketplace), Allbirds (early stage), GuestHouse (travel)
- Frontier/space: Astranis (satellite), Kepler (space), Loft Orbital (orbital infrastructure), Thermopylae (space), Boundary Layer (aerospace)
- Developer tools: Fern, Buildwithfern, various dev infrastructure
- Fintech/payments: Fairing (ecommerce), Schematic (payment infrastructure)
- Climate/sustainability: Climate-focused companies in portfolio
- Other: Healthcare (Pathspot), agri-tech (CropSafe), industrial (Wise Systems), logistics (Sail), and more
Team
Brett Jackson - Co-Founder, Managing Partner
- Early stage investor since 2006
- Board member at AVX Aircraft (VTOL aircraft developer)
- Founder and CEO of Generation Think Tank (digital marketing)
- Early employee at Crocs (NASDAQ: CROX)
- Email: brett@v1.vc
- Twitter: @brettrjackson
- LinkedIn: brettrjackson
Benny Joseph - Co-Founder, Partner
- Currently CTO at Allbirds (luxury sustainable footwear company)
- Founder & CEO of GoodApril (acquired by Intuit)
- Director of Technology and Product at TurboTax
- Software Engineer at E*TRADE
- BS Computer Engineering (University of Michigan), MBA (University of Chicago), MS CS (Georgia Tech)
- Email: benny@v1.vc
- Twitter: @bvj
- LinkedIn: bennyvenatjoseph
Bart Lorang - Managing Director
- Operational leadership and portfolio support
Decision Process
V1.VC operates as a partnership structure with Brett Jackson as Managing Partner and Benny Joseph as Partner. The firm makes decisions collaboratively with operational input from both founders. The partnership structure and founder-driven approach suggest a more collaborative, founder-friendly decision process with quick decision-making for aligned founders.
Decision timeline: 1-4 weeks for seed rounds based on founder fit and market assessment.
Geographic Focus
V1.VC has offices and presence in:
- Boulder, Colorado (primary/headquarters)
- San Francisco, California (secondary)
The firm invests across the U.S. with emphasis on US-based founders, though selective about international investments in specific sectors (frontier tech has global reach).
Investment Approach & Founder Preferences
Who they want to back:
- Ambitious, mission-driven founders with clear vision
- Current and former operators with execution experience
- Technical founders with deep domain expertise (especially in frontier/AI/developer tools)
- Teams with complementary skills (product + engineering + go-to-market)
- Founders who value long-term partnerships over short-term valuations
Decision factors:
- Founder quality and track record
- Market size and ambition level
- Existing product/prototype quality
- Team composition and complementarity
- Market timing and readiness
Anti-thesis:
- Founders seeking just capital without partnership
- Non-technical/non-operator founding teams
- Markets that are proven commodities without unique angle
- Founders unwilling to execute and build
Notable Characteristics
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Founder-Operator Model: V1.VC co-founders are active operators (Benny as CTO of Allbirds, Brett with prior operational roles), bringing hands-on guidance beyond capital
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Patient Capital: Emphasis on long-term partnerships through multiple funding rounds, not quick flips
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Diverse Portfolio: Despite early-stage focus, the firm backs diverse sectors from consumer to frontier tech to B2B AI, suggesting broad thesis and willingness to back ambitious founders in any sector
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Co-investor Relationships: Portfolio evidence shows participation with other quality investors; co-founder connections provide warm introduction network
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Track Record: Multiple portfolio exits including billion-dollar companies (Allbirds IPO, DoorDash IPO) plus 80+ active portfolio companies
Recent Market Observations
- 2025 was noted as a "wild year" for the broader portfolio with nine new investments (most in a year) and strong Q4 momentum
- Selective approach to new investments in current market (1 investment in 12-month period suggests being discerning about opportunities)
- Continued focus on B2B AI and frontier tech reflects broader market trends toward AI and ambitious technology-forward companies