Venture Forward Capital — Investment Thesis & Preferences

01Investment Thesis

Serial entrepreneurs with proven exits + Vertical AI/Agentic AI opportunities = outsized returns. VFC backs repeat founders building AI-powered solutions that drive revenue, improve operating leverage, and rewire core business functions in specific verticals.

Exclusion Criteria

First-time founders without exits (for Fund II), horizontal AI tools in commoditized markets, capital-intensive models without AI leverage, easily replicable technology without defensible IP.

02Investment Team

MS

Mike Schatzman

Founder & Managing Partner

OT

Ohad Tzur

Managing Partner

EC

Edward Crump

Chief AI Officer & Venture Partner

JB

Julie Bevacqua

Chief Platform Officer & Partner

AD

Alexa D'Agostino

Chief Marketing Officer

JY

Josh Yelen

CFO & Partner

LM

Lauren Murphy

Managing Partner - Fund I

KD

Kasra Davar

Analyst

03F4 Research Brief

Venture Forward Capital — Research Report

Investment Thesis

Venture Forward Capital (VFC) is a Chicago-based early-stage venture capital firm that has formalized its strategy around a compelling but focused thesis: serial entrepreneurs with proven exits + vertical AI opportunities = outsized returns. The firm backs experienced, repeat founders who are leveraging applied AI to drive efficiency, improve operating leverage, and fundamentally rewire core business functions across industries.

VFC operates under the conviction that "vertical AI is where the biggest opportunities live" — purpose-built solutions that transform entire industries rather than horizontal AI tools competing in crowded, commoditized markets. Their ideal portfolio company is an AI-native solution with defensible intellectual property solving a high-value, specific problem within a well-understood vertical.

Fund Overview

Fund I (vintage 2022): A sector-agnostic opportunity fund that evolved to focus on serial founders building with Vertical AI. This fund was intentionally broad and allowed VFC to develop conviction around the repeat-founder + AI thesis.

Fund II: A formalized, thesis-driven fund specifically targeting repeat founders building Agentic and Vertical AI companies. Fund II sharpens the focus from Fund I — backing founders with technical capability to ship cutting-edge AI products, defensible IP, and capital-efficient scaling discipline. Fund size and AUM are not publicly disclosed.

Stage Focus

VFC targets early-stage companies at inflection points with asymmetric growth potential. The portfolio spans Pre-Seed through Seed, with occasional Series A follow-on investments. They describe their sweet spot as "early inflection points" where their operational expertise as former founders adds the most value.

Check Size

VFC has not publicly disclosed its typical check size range. Given their early-stage focus and portfolio profile, check sizes are likely in the $250K–$2M range, consistent with seed-stage Chicago-based funds.

Lead Tendency

Lead vs. follow tendency is not publicly stated. Given the fund size and their positioning as hands-on operators, they likely participate in rounds alongside other investors rather than leading large rounds independently.

Geographic Focus

VFC is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois (167 N Green St, 4th Floor, Chicago, IL 60607). Their portfolio spans the US broadly, reflecting a national investment mandate rather than exclusively Chicago-centric investing. They describe themselves as a "Global VC firm" though the majority of known portfolio companies appear to be US-based.

Value-Add Platform

One of VFC's key differentiators is their operational bench — the team itself is composed of operators turned investors, and they provide a comprehensive suite of founder support:

CFO-level financial guidance and modeling (via Josh Yelen, CPA)
Go-to-market execution support (via Ohad Tzur, GTM-obsessed founder)
Fundraising assistance leveraging their network
Talent sourcing and team building
Strategic introductions to customers and partners
Executive leadership preparation
"Function" — a separate platform offering CFO and growth leadership to early-stage startups

Team

Mike Schatzman, Founder & Managing Partner: Self-described "super connector" and serially exited entrepreneur with 25 years of experience. The founding vision for VFC.

Ohad Tzur, Managing Partner: GTM-obsessed founder turned investor with 18 years of SaaS and AI experience. Leads commercial and market strategy.

Edward Crump, Chief AI Officer & Venture Partner: Co-founder and inventor of Amazon Alexa, 40+ awarded patents, 30+ years launching breakthrough tech. Provides deep AI technical diligence and guidance.

Julie Bevacqua, Chief Platform Officer & Partner: Growth strategist and serial entrepreneur with 25+ years building go-to-market engines in SaaS, FinTech, and InsurTech.

Alexa D'Agostino, Chief Marketing Officer: "The Doctor of Marketing" — over $100M in exits, brand launches, and scaling expertise.

Josh Yelen, CFO & Partner (CPA): Financial leader specializing in company scaling and analytical frameworks for portfolio companies.

Lauren Murphy, Managing Partner - Fund I: Transaction execution expert with 10+ years in M&A, having completed $5B+ in enterprise software and SaaS deals.

Kasra Davar, Analyst: Finance professional with hedge fund, prop trading, and private equity background.

Portfolio Highlights

VFC has built a 21-company portfolio spanning multiple verticals, reflecting the sector-agnostic roots of Fund I:

Zive AI (zive.ai): AI-native fund operating system for emerging VC managers and enterprise CFOs
EyePop.ai (eyepop.ai): No-code computer vision platform for image recognition applications
Arvist (arvist.ai): Intelligent warehouse automation AI for supply chain optimization
Trexity (trexity.com): AI-powered local delivery logistics network
Sypher (getsypher.com): AI-powered 3D visualization platform for design and construction
Medida.ai (medida.ai): AI-driven construction planning and project management
Docvocate (docvocate.com): Healthcare revenue cycle and denial management AI
ndaOK (ndaok.com): AI-powered legal document and contract analysis
Folk (folk.app): All-in-one CRM platform for sales and recruiting
GoTenna (gotenna.com): Communications technology for military and public safety
Storyline (storyline.com): AI-powered hyper-personalized video content for financial services
Novoloop (novoloop.com): Circular economy platform recycling hard-to-recycle plastics
Photon Vault (photonvault.com): Clean energy storage technology
BondBloxx (bondbloxxetf.com): Fixed-income ETF platform for precision institutional investors

Founder Preferences

VFC has a highly specific founder profile: they back repeat founders with proven exits who demonstrate:

Deep domain expertise in the vertical they're attacking
Technical capability to ship cutting-edge AI products
Capital-efficient scaling discipline
Ability to find creative solutions in challenging markets

First-time founders without prior exits are likely not their primary focus in Fund II.

Decision Process

With multiple managing partners (Schatzman, Tzur, Murphy), the firm likely uses a partnership model for investment decisions. The broad team structure suggests collaborative diligence, with each partner contributing operational and functional expertise.