Yellow Rocks! Investment Firm Research
Overview
Yellow Rocks! is an early-stage venture capital fund based in San Francisco, CA with a secondary office in Lisbon, Portugal. The firm has been actively involved in the Global Innovation Ecosystem since 2013. It focuses on fast-growing technology companies founded by talented entrepreneurs aimed at global markets with the potential to skyrocket in the next 5–8 years. The firm describes its mission as building global bridges through billion-dollar talent.
Investment Thesis
Yellow Rocks! believes that brilliant founders can be found anywhere and maintains a geo-agnostic investment approach. The fund specifically seeks startups targeting the American and global markets, serving as a bridge-builder that helps emerging founders from around the world enter the US and international startup ecosystem.
The firm's thesis centers on three core criteria:
- The right team — passionate, talented, and mission-driven founders
- The right product — clear market fit with defensible differentiation
- A billion-dollar+ addressable market
Yellow Rocks! has been investing in AI since 2017 and has developed deep expertise across various AI application areas within their investment focus sectors. The firm describes itself as actively involved in the global innovation ecosystem and emphasizes its diverse network as a key differentiator.
Stage Focus
Yellow Rocks! primarily invests at the earliest stages of company formation:
- Pre-Seed: First institutional capital, often alongside co-investors
- Seed: Primary investment stage
- Series A follow-ons: Reserved for existing portfolio companies demonstrating strong growth
The firm has developed a specialized "Pre-Seed To Succeed" (P2S) program — a dedicated investment initiative designed to help young companies raise their first funding round. P2S is explicitly not an accelerator but a direct investment vehicle, co-investing alongside I2BF Global Ventures, Smart Partnership Capital, and AltaIR Capital. Benefits include initial funding, personalized guidance from a founding partner, a 50% follow-on commitment for the next round, and warm introductions to the firm's global VC network.
Sector Focus
Yellow Rocks! focuses on four primary verticals:
- Future of Work — Workflow automation, collaborative software, productivity tools, solutions for async communications, B2B SaaS
- EdTech — Adult education, K-12 learning platforms, game-based learning, online course builders
- FinTech — Super apps, embedded finance, budgeting, wealthtech, regtech, crypto payment ecosystems
- Gaming — Mobile gaming, UGC platforms, social gaming networks
Beyond these four, the portfolio evidences selective investments in OSINT/security tools, food delivery, proptech, and blockchain/DeFi — reflecting a pragmatic willingness to back exceptional founders even slightly outside stated verticals.
Check Size
Specific check size ranges are not publicly disclosed. Given the pre-seed and seed focus and the P2S program's positioning as a first-check vehicle, typical initial investments are estimated in the $100K–$500K range, with capacity for larger follow-ons at Series A for existing portfolio companies.
Lead Tendency
Yellow Rocks! participates both as lead and co-investor depending on the deal. The P2S program explicitly structures co-investments alongside multiple partner funds (I2BF, Smart Partnership Capital, AltaIR Capital), indicating a comfort with co-lead and participant roles. The firm has a wide network of co-investors including Sarona Partners, Group11, BBQ Capital, Indicator Ventures, S16VC, LETA.vc, Redseed VC, Flashpoint VC, Geek.vc, Acrobator.vc, Somersault VC, Big Sky Capital, AAL.vc, and Mount Fund.
Geographic Focus
Geo-agnostic. Portfolio spans companies from USA, UK, Switzerland, Cyprus, Israel, Philippines, Singapore, Poland, Chile, India, Mexico, Brazil, Indonesia, Australia, and Portugal. The firm is headquartered in San Francisco with a secondary presence in Lisbon.
Team
- Sergei Bogdanov, Managing Partner — LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/sergeibogdanov/
- Roman Beloded, Partner — LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/roman-beloded/
- Valerie Bertele, Venture Partner — LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/valeriebertele/
- Elena, Legal Partner — In-house legal expertise
- Sasha Polovinkina, Associate — LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/sashapolovinkina/
- Anna Petrova, Head of Operations — LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/anna-petrova-367a2332a/
- Slava M., Venture Partner — LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/slava-m-80760722/
- Dmitrii Maslennikov, Venture Partner — LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dmitriymaslennikov/
Decision Process
Partnership/committee-based decision-making. The firm typically takes 2–3 weeks to reach the term sheet stage and provides feedback within 1 week. Yellow Rocks! maintains an open-door policy and communicates deal status proactively throughout the process.
Value-Add Capabilities
Yellow Rocks! offers four distinct forms of value-add beyond capital:
- Fundraising — Help companies raise current and future rounds; warm introductions to VC funds and angel investors
- Network — Access to a global network of corporations, universities, startup hubs, and venture funds built since 2013
- Expertise — Diverse experience across industries and geographies supporting operational decisions
- Hiring — Access to talent networks including developers and C-level executives
Portfolio Overview
Yellow Rocks! has built a global portfolio of 40+ companies across multiple sectors. Notable portfolio companies include:
- Chatfuel (chatfuel.com) — AI-powered operating system for service SMBs that sell through conversations
- Electroneek (electroneek.com) — Easy-to-use Robotic Process Automation platform
- Praktika.ai (praktika.ai) — Immersive language learning app with generative AI avatars
- SocialLinks.io (sociallinks.io) — Social media investigation and OSINT tools for security professionals
- Wirestock (wirestock.io) — Online stock platform for contributors to distribute images, videos, and vector files across multiple stock agencies
- GPU.audio (gpu.audio) — GPU-powered sound processing solutions
- NimbusWeb (nimbusweb.me) — End-to-End client collaboration and operations platform for professional services
- MegaMod (megamod.io) — Next-Gen Platform for Creating and Playing UGC Games
- Datuum.ai (datuum.ai) — Data Integration Platform & Automation Tool
- Resolve Rebates (resolvrebates.com) — Automating energy rebates with AI
- Plurio.ai (plurio.ai) — One AI agent for performance marketing growth
- XDAO (xdao.app) — DAO ecosystem for decentralized governance
- Hivello (hivello.com) — All-in-One DePIN Manager
- Jome (jome.com) — Marketplace for new construction homes
The portfolio is geographically distributed across 15+ countries, consistent with the firm's geo-agnostic approach.
Recent Activity
Yellow Rocks! has been actively expanding its portfolio through both direct investments and the P2S program. The firm has published educational content for founders through its Medium blog covering topics including investor due diligence, NDA practices, team building, and AI trends. The P2S program, co-managed with I2BF Global Ventures, Smart Partnership Capital, and AltaIR Capital, represents an innovative co-investment structure targeting first-check companies.