Rachel ten Brink

Red Bike Capital

Red Bike Capital is an early stage VC fund based in New York, backing entrepreneurs building category-leading startups in saas, fintech, and health & wellness.

General Partner and Founder

PEF Community

Member

DYPER

Board Member

AboveBoard

Board Member  (Acquired)

Five Four Ventures LLC

Partner

Scentbird

Scentbird revolutionizes the way we perfume by offering a digital subscription that lets members choose from 450+ designer perfumes each month.

Co-Founder and CMO

Deck of Scarlet

Deck of Scarlet is a makeup subscription. We release a new palette in collaboration with a top makeup artist or influencer every 2 months.  Be a burst of color in a black and white world.

Elizabeth Arden

Reporting to CMO & Senior Management on Strategic Marketing initiatives including brand equity, Brazil taskforce, Red Door Spa flagship, repositioning of John Varvatos Brand, development of Wildfox partnership.

Senior Director

Estee Lauder

Responsible for global volume and profit commitment of Lab Series (#1 Prestige Men’s Skincare brand globally).  Grew business +31% in 12 months by focusing on Digital/E-Commerce, Key Markets, and Innovation. Managed team of 3, reported to VP/GM.

•	Developed strategic plan to doulbe size of brand in 36 months- including global creative platform, ecommerce/ digital marketng focus, new channel distribution, and star launch.
•	Led online-marketing plan and investments in, SEM, SEO, affiliate marketing, mobile, partnerships, display ads, and retargeting.  Redesign ecommerce site. 

Consulting Assignments: Coach Fragrance, Bumble and bumble

Executive Director, Global Marketing Lab Series

Bacardi

Developed Cazadores in the US (#1 Premium Tequila globally), driving +10% growth. Responsible for business strategy, creative development, and promotional strategy. Managed team of 4, reported to VP of Marketing.

•	Led UFC partnership 
•	Created Marketing Strategy focusing on core Hispanic target.

Brand Director

General Partner Red Bike Capital | Y Combinator Founder | Board Member

Rachel ten Brink is General Partner and co-founder of Red Bike Capital, an early stage Venture Capital fund based in New York that invests AI, SAAS, Fintech and Health & Wellness. 
She is the co-founder of Scentibrd, a Y-Combinator backed ecommerce subscription that raised $29 million in venture funding. Rachel was CMO/CRO leading Growth and Revenue, scaling the company to $200+ million in revenue and signing over 74 enterprise partnerships. Rachel has been a board member and senior advisor for various companies and serves on the Board of Directors of Dyper. Before this, she spent 15 years as an operator building billion-brands at Elizabeth Arden, Estee Lauder, L’Oreal, and Procter & Gamble. 
Rachel serves as Chair of the Board of Latinas in Tech, holds an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School, and graduated magna cum laude from Babson College.

Red Bike Capital is an early stage VC fund that invests in verticals that are primed for disruption and growth. 
* We invest in early stage, US-based SAAS, Health & Wellness, and Fintech. 
* We are founders ourselves, have 30+ years of experience with an authentic connection to the startup ecosystem and a strong track record in asset management, including founding and scaling a Y Combinator-backed startup to $100M in revenue, deploying $2B in assets, and sourcing deals via relationships with top founders and accelerators. 75% of our deal flow is founders referring founders. 
* We are hand-on investors, able to secure allocation in many deals delivering true value-add across GTM, Growth and Revenue. 
* Latino and woman-led early stage fund based in New York.

Enjoyed joining Bloomberg TV’s Closing Bell with Romaine Bostick, CFA to discuss Tariffs, Prices, the Holiday Retail Outlook and the Future of Commerce. 📺

National Retail Federation expects holiday sales to surpass $1 trillion for the 1st time, +~3.7–4.2% YOY. But beneath the headline, it's a "tale of two wallets" => high-income households, buoyed by the "wealth effect" of a booming stock market (~+15% YTD) are still spending while mid- and lower income look for value.

Tariffs are reshaping prices this season:
 • If today’s tariffs were in place last year, consumers would have paid $28.6B more, or $132 per shopper.
 • Prices are about 5% higher on average across 350,000 goods but many retailers and brands are choosing not to raise prices- at least for now. 
 • We are seeing who has pricing power and who is holding price to retain market share. Different approaches: Nike and Adidas raised prices $5–10 on top skus. e.l.f. - Beauty increased $1 across the board - Gap and Abercrombie held steady, choosing loyalty over margin.
 • Small business most impacted: 46% report tariffs are hurting them,  nearly half are raising prices. Less supply chain resiliency, less negotiation ability with vendors, less ability to eat the margin

Spending is steady but uneven:
 • High-income households credit card spending growing 2.5–3x faster than lower-income peers per Bank of America. 
 • The top 10% now drive over half of all U.S. consumer spending (37% pre-COVID). Much of that resilience comes from "wealth effect": with the S&P 500 up roughly 15% year-to-date, the top 20% of households own 87% of equities + mutual funds, have a positive sentiment regarding the economy and are spending more freely on travel, beauty, and luxury.

Looking ahead, Generative #AI is impacting every aspect of commerce and the buying cycle:
 • Red Bike Capital is focused on the future of commerce- mentioned a few of our portfolio companies:
-> AthenaHQ reshaping product discovery and personalization through GEO (Generative AI Search Engine Optimization - SEO for AI) AI-driven recommendation engines boosting conversion by 15–20%. Critical for brands and retailers to navigate how they appear in ChatGPT or Perplexity searches.   
-> Companies are looking to boost the bottom line and save expenses: Opstream AI-Powered Procurement 
-> Increased visibility: Hetal Retail Daash Intelligence using AI to provide shelf and commerce data
-> Growing personalization: Brij connecting offline and online customer data 

#Bloomberg #ClosingBell #retail #tariffs #AI #consumertrends #ecommerce

Bloomberg

Bloomberg TV Anchor

National Retail Federation

Bank of America

AthenaHQ

Opstream

Hetal Retail

Daash Intelligence

Brij

Renan Serrano

MXV Capital’s Annual Summit "Scaling in the Age of AI" led by one of NYCs OG builders Mark G. gathered the people who actually build, not just post, about AI, growth, and company scaling. 

Marcelo Claure, Michael Manne, David Roger Alina Vandenberghe 🌶️ Dylan Itzikowitz Jonathan Lehr and other operators + investors talked about why this next wave isn’t about hype cycles but discipline, GTM clarity, and smart leverage.

A few takeaways that stuck with me 👇
For Founders:
 1️⃣ AI is leverage, not strategy: As AI makes it easier to build, GTM and distribution wins. 
 2️⃣ Drivers of GTM success: 1. tight feedback loops with growth/ product/ solutions -> small teams can do great things 2. brand and product expansion. 3. ai automation + talented hires that use the insights.
 3️⃣ No free pilots: Conviction creates value. AI pricing model challenges: per seat doesn't make sense, performance/usage makes it hard to predict spend.
 4️⃣ Culture add > culture fit: Hire curiosity and deliberate focus. Specialization decays fast.
 5️⃣ Brand marketing and performance marketing are dependent variables: great pipeline but a brand people don’t want to be associated with OR great brand but no funnel won't scale- think entire customer journey. 
 6️⃣ Every company is an AI company: just like every company is a mobile company and a cloud company. 

For VCs:
 1️⃣ AI impact: Internet changed advertising + disrupted retail but transportation, healthcare and other big drivers of the GDP were unchanged. AI is going to change everything (but so hard to pick the winners). Focus on AI "interventions" that solve specific pain points, not grand transformations. Enterprise adoption is still a people problem.
 2️⃣ Founders commitment: Investors invest in 5 companies a year, founders build 1 company every 5 years => you have to be 25x more sure of the business as a founder. 
 3️⃣  Emerging managers: play a different game- it's about: 1. Focus (category expertise, value add), 2. Flexibility (faster decisions, flexibility with check size) and 3. high-touch engagement (fewer startups to focus on, more hands on help). 
 4️⃣ SF is a great place to dream- NY is a great place to build. Certain companies can only be built in SF, certain companies require the NYC energy.
 5️⃣ New York remains the best feedback loop in the world (where else can you find your users/ employees/customers, and have 10 meetings in one day?).

AI will reshape everything, but clarity, focus, and execution still compound faster than hype.
#AI #Startups #VentureCapital #longNYC
Andrei Rebrov 🚀 Akshat Bubna Alaina Hee Tobar, DMCP Amit Shah Austin Hughes Ben Lerer Burak Aksar, PhD Jade Choy Jenny S. Lauren Picasso Ryan Daniels Vig Sachidananda, PhD Yoni Rechtman Zeeza Cole Lindsay Daugherty Zach Magdovitz

One of those classic NY days- started with  Erica Wenger 🏕️  first AGM 🏕️ Park Rangers Capital 🏕️ talking all things GTM (for funds & startups), then over to a panel with Shashi Srikantan  Laura I. Maydón about Co-Investor dynamics at L'ATTITUDE VENTURES AGM, quick swing by Equal Ventures Chelsea Zhang Rick Zullo happy hour and wrapped up with Now What Paul Barnett “Curiosity Dinner” with a The Nobel Prize winner.  

Some people would be exhausted, but I get so much energy from connecting with smart people (and part of the beauty of NY is everything is close by). Here are a few insights that stuck with me 👇

->  Clarity of thesis is critical- writing your thoughts as Erica Wenger 🏕️ is a differentiator 🦄=>🐘 
-> Trying something new as a fund means going thru "cringe canyon" -TikTok, etc. Being a Manager means getting comfortable in the discomfort Josh Machiz
-> Humans are busy or lazy, often both. When you create product- keep that in mind Taylor Offer
-> Every VC says they’re founder friendly and value added- the only way to verify is to hear a founder say it 
-> Set expectations. Leadership is disappointing people at a rate they can absorb. Claire Hughes Johnson
-> "Work with me document": how you learn/communicate/make decisions. Understand what it your "Default State" - you will go to default under stress so surround yourself with people who complement that 
-> Co-investors make a huge difference- in the good times and the bad. The right partners share information, give honest feedback, and roll up their sleeves- do what they said they would.
-> Right now, AI compute credits are gold. Sponsored or University-provided compute can be one of the most valuable early resources. Use them wisely. Don’t burn credits on experiments without direction or outcomes. You only earn more if you can show that you do a lot with a little. Invida Fatima Tambajang
-> Even Nobel prize winners bump into "But this is how we do it" -the best response? "Exactly, and you have gotten no results, time to try something different" Rebecca Irby 
-> Curiosity is all about the questions- my fave “what makes you weird?” Abigail Posner 

Red Bike Capital 
Sol Trujillo Laura Lucas Abigail Posner Terry W. Carlos Barreto Hamza S.

The future of wealth creation is constantly evolving, and it’s a topic that always makes me think. Grateful to Rebalance Capital Josh Tanenbaum Barr Even for inviting me to your AGM and sharing an insightful perspective on where the market is headed.  Thoughtful introduction from Cynthia Muller W.K. Kellogg Foundation on the impact across all households, and a killer lineup of speakers Mona Aboelnaga Kanaan Anchit Singh Justin Foa Stephen Rubino

A few ideas that stood out:
 1️⃣ Embedded financial infrastructure can make benefits and lending smarter and more accessible.  Interesting to hear how when an embedded finance startup tried DTC, not only CAC went up but also defaults => it's not just targeting, the insight is that when you source customers from a platform they highly value and are on all the time, they don't want to risk their reputation/ access so more likely to pay back.  Sector-specific ecosystems – construction, restaurants, and other verticals are building financial infrastructure where every transaction naturally flows through the system.
 2️⃣ Financial identity that travels with the worker: building credit and access through employment history rather than just FICO. Employers are now considered the most trust-worthy providers of financial information and services for employees. 
 3️⃣ The most thought-provoking conversation centered on insurance and retirement products- and how AI is changing everything: 
-> how consumers approach coverage and retirement products:  consumers now come to agents having done their homework on ChatGPT.  Agents need to be even more educated and personalized in their solutions.  Huge opportunities in #GEO.
-> how employers act as the new social safety net: AI lowers cost of delivery aligning incentives and personalizing financial services at scale but increases the customer expectations. Retirement is no longer "single player"- no one works in one place forever and has one pension- now it's multiple scattered sources and both spouses working.

Closed out the day at Laurel Touby’s holiday get-together. Great people, good energy, and a nice early start to the holiday season. 

Pao Correa, MBA Julian Fainzaig Red Bike Capital Herman Goihman Will Sealy Shai Dobrusin, CFA Trevor Gary

"The best strategy, the best paid media results are worth zero if you can't ship the boxes to the retailers or the product to the consumer." 

This is for my AI for Supply Chain founders- be in the room and listen to your customers. Last night I was at an intimate evening with leading founders and CEOs from across the beauty and personal care industry.  We dove into a topic that has reshaped the business over the last five years: how supply chain and operations became strategic weapons rather than back-office functions.

Before COVID, supply chain was “don’t mess it up”, keep your head down and just execute. Then the shelves went empty, containers got stuck, and suddenly our ability to ship product became our ability to make revenue and survive.  One founder shared: “At one point, I would’ve paid anything just to get my container- and I still couldn't get the product. Now, just when we thought we were back to business as usual, we're dealing with tariffs." 

Since then, we’ve seen the rise of simple, nimble, supply chains that can respond in real time, turning logistics into a competitive advantage.
Key themes from the discussion:
 🔹 Simplicity wins: Easier to move trucks than ships. Near-shoring was to take away complexity from the supply chain but now also have greater impact with tariffs.
 🔹 Operations = Strategy: Ops and finance must partner to enable growth, not just protect KPIs.
 🔹 Right-sized systems: Don’t chase complexity too early - build what your business needs now.
 🔹 Partnerships matter: Good suppliers protect you, share ideas, and build trust that pays off in crises.
 🔹 Freight is not an afterthought: Larger driver of profitability than warehousing and 3PL. It directly drives margin, service, and brand reliability.
 🔹 AI & the next era: The best leaders will learn to think in “bets”  structuring decisions with data, intuition, and speed.

The next five years will be about maintaining nimbleness in an unpredictable world reacting effectively, pragmatically, and staying close to your customer.Yes, you’re in supply chain but more than that, you’re a business leader. 💡

Thank you Aaron Alpeter izba Michael Giordano MERIT beauty, Christine Staples Cohere Liran Golan Reuben Carranza Bansk Beauty Trevor Nelson John Collier Lauren Pitts Red Bike Capital
#beautyindustry #supplychain #operations #founders #leadership #ai #commerce #consumerbrands

What better way to spend my birthday than at Equal Ventures Summit, including a shoutout from Garry Tan Y Combinator & hearing legends like Jeff Horing Insight Partners Theresia Gouw? 🥳

I have always admired how Rick Zullo lifts up the GP community, bringing together experienced leaders + the next generation of rising stars. Yesterday’s summit was the best one yet. A few themes that really resonated:

-> Outliers: You don’t do VC for the hundreds, you do it for multiples. A fund invested in 100 startups: 98=1x, 1=2x, but 1 was 53x & made it a legend. Every few yrs in your career you know something others don’t, press your advantage when you can.
-> Sourcing: If you don’t see a deal- doesn’t matter how smart you are, you won’t invest in that deal. Pattern recognition requires seeing high volume of good deals. Lots of ways to source- find one that works.
-> Differentiation: be honest with what you’ve got, what you’re good at -VC can be financially rewarding and fun, lots of ways to skin a cat- but it's tough. It’s more fun to be a pirate than to join the Navy.
-> Value-add: Seed stage funds are high labor- very different from later stage. Be a seed fund that earns right to invest, make it tangible, human. Early on, founders are uncertain, searching for PMF, and we all know that after a certain baseline $, success is not tied to much they raised. Beyond product/GTM help, it’s Founder Empathy, the advantage is consistency after you write the check. 
-> Seed Investing/Fund Construction: Historically seed stage early funds have outperformed and the math still works, but it’s way more competitive. You have to be contrarian to win- top 10 firms are playing a different game. Big late stage firms are not a great product for early founders: a $5-7m is the equivalent of me writing a $20k check- it’s just not the focus. Secondary sale decisions are a new reality in the market- drive so much liquidity for early stage funds- taking chips off the table shows discipline.
-> Great co-investor archetypes: 1)Generalist coaches: amazing natural persona + great listener 2)Theme area specialist: tech is 50% of economic market- as world gets bigger depth is more important
-> Building the Firm: Would you rather win a championship as a team or be MVP? Your seeds sprout into trees. Goldie locks is misunderstood- we’re going to evolve like crazy.
-> YC is different: Aggressive & fast + not valuation sensitive + % ownership can adverse selection
-> Family first: Last pic is the lovely spread that was waiting for me at home prepared by husband + daughter.  

Speakers: David Thurston Cambridge Associates, Andy Golden Princeton University Investment Company, Lan Xuezhao of Basis Set, Chris Paik Pace Capital, Steve Jang Kindred Ventures, Villi Iltchev Category Ventures, Peter Boyce II Stellation Capital, Adam Rothenberg BoxGroup, Graham Pingree Cendana Capital Atul Rustgi Accolade Partners.
Congrats to Equal Ventures team Chelsea Zhang Sophia Dodd Adam Chadroff

Fun to be pitch competition judge at the CFO Leadership Council’s Finance and Accounting Tech Expo - the largest gathering of finance and accounting tech professionals.  It was a pleasure judging alongside Nikhil Goel Norwest Venture Partners and Baheejah Crumbley Collab Capital and the great MC Mary McKenna, MBE

What struck me was the explosive growth - even from last year's event.  What started as a simple idea - CFOs sharing their tech stacks - has evolved into a community focused on driving smarter technology choices, cutting through the noise, and leading digital transformation. The conversations this year reflected just how far finance has come. 

From automation to AI adoption, from rethinking systems to redefining how ops and finance partner to create agility and impact- bullish on companies building in these segments. Categories included:
=> Accounting software
=> Accounts receivable
=> AP/AR Automation/ Payments
=> Billing and revenue management
=> CPQ
=> CRM
=> Cybersecurity
=> Data integration
=> ERP
=> Financial close/ reporting
=> FP&A/ CPM
=> IT Services/ outsourcing
=> Payroll/ benefits
=> Sales tax and tax automation
=> Spend & Expense management
=> Vendor management
=> Workforce management


#finance #fintech #leadership #technology #digitaltransformation #FATE2025
Herman Goihman Red Bike Capital Philip Cogley RD Whitney

The JPMorganChase Innovation Economy Summit always brings a sweeping view of what’s shaping commerce and consumer tech—and this year, it was all about AI’s impact on the consumer world.

In my view, AI has always been consumer first: OpenAI is powered by the millions of users who quickly adopted it, while Google and Meta rely  heavily on consumer engagement for their business models.

Few comments that stood out: 
=> The agentic future is here: How many agents do you have? Data is the new gold, influencers are on steroids, agentic shopping is here, the payment rails are happening and storytelling is faster, more personalized, and more targeted than ever, creation of video and image assets is no longer a limitating factor - only creativity is. AI pushes every brand to move faster.
=> AI is disrupting human interactions, even reshaping dating, where people often open up more to bots than to people.
=> 41 AI companies in the S&P have gone from $3T to $17T at a very fast rate
=> "YUC"= Young Unprofitable Company (that's what the bankers call startups 🫠 )
=> The market bet is that AI will reduce inflation enough to make up for the other inflationary policies (tariffs, tightening labor supply, weaker dollar)
=>Just like first year analysts, AI summarizes large amounts of data and makes a small number of mistakes. AI  skillsets overlap with young college graduates- we better figure out how to help our kids graduate with more skills or hope other industries will appear to absorb young college grads.

The day wrapped with Michael Cembalest reminding us that AI isn’t a bubble—it’s a real economic driver. From record venture fund assets to AI’s growing share of GDP, the impact is tangible, even as productivity must catch up to spending.

Thank you Leyonna Barba (and love the red!)
Nandini Mullaji Lorenzo Colonna di Paliano Daniel Klaus Susannah Shipton Neil Dalal Stephanie Perez Omar Qari Dan Caputo David Jones Brian Lamb

#JPMorganInnovationSummit #AI #ConsumerTech #AgenticCommerce #MarketingAI #Innovation

The Lipstick Index and Human Nature 💄
With Leonard Lauder’s recent passing, it’s timely to revisit his idea of the “Lipstick Index.” When economic stress rises, people often turn to small luxuries as affordable comforts. Perfume is the category of choice for GenZ. 

It’s a reminder that money decisions aren’t purely rational. As one of the leading behavioral economic books "Predictably Irrational" taught us, emotion drives behavior: human beings, by their very nature, are often imperfect decision-makers. Retail therapy may not make financial sense, but it reflects a deeper truth: regardless of the market, human psychology shapes markets.

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. Scentbird

Equal Ventures Summit beings together best in class GPs and LPs- lots of insights into what is going on in Venture right now

What better way to spend my birthday than at Equal Ventures Summit, including a shoutout from Garry Tan Y Combinator & hearing legends like Jeff Horing Insight Partners Theresia Gouw? 🥳

I have always admired how Rick Zullo lifts up the GP community, bringing together experienced leaders + the next generation of rising stars. Yesterday’s summit was the best one yet. A few themes that really resonated:

-> Outliers: You don’t do VC for the hundreds, you do it for multiples. A fund invested in 100 startups: 98=1x, 1=2x, but 1 was 53x & made it a legend. Every few yrs in your career you know something others don’t, press your advantage when you can.
-> Sourcing: If you don’t see a deal- doesn’t matter how smart you are, you won’t invest in that deal. Pattern recognition requires seeing high volume of good deals. Lots of ways to source- find one that works.
-> Differentiation: be honest with what you’ve got, what you’re good at -VC can be financially rewarding and fun, lots of ways to skin a cat- but it's tough. It’s more fun to be a pirate than to join the Navy.
-> Value-add: Seed stage funds are high labor- very different from later stage. Be a seed fund that earns right to invest, make it tangible, human. Early on, founders are uncertain, searching for PMF, and we all know that after a certain baseline $, success is not tied to much they raised. Beyond product/GTM help, it’s Founder Empathy, the advantage is consistency after you write the check. 
-> Seed Investing/Fund Construction: Historically seed stage early funds have outperformed and the math still works, but it’s way more competitive. You have to be contrarian to win- top 10 firms are playing a different game. Big late stage firms are not a great product for early founders: a $5-7m is the equivalent of me writing a $20k check- it’s just not the focus. Secondary sale decisions are a new reality in the market- drive so much liquidity for early stage funds- taking chips off the table shows discipline.
-> Great co-investor archetypes: 1)Generalist coaches: amazing natural persona + great listener 2)Theme area specialist: tech is 50% of economic market- as world gets bigger depth is more important
-> Building the Firm: Would you rather win a championship as a team or be MVP? Your seeds sprout into trees. Goldie locks is misunderstood- we’re going to evolve like crazy.
-> YC is different: Aggressive & fast + not valuation sensitive + % ownership can adverse selection
-> Family first: Last pic is the lovely spread that was waiting for me at home prepared by husband + daughter.  

Killer Speakers: David Thurston Cambridge Associates, Andy Golden Princeton University Investment Company, Lan Xuezhao of Basis Set, Chris Paik Pace Capital, Steve Jang Kindred Ventures, Villi Iltchev Category Ventures, Peter Boyce II Stellation Capital, Adam Rothenberg BoxGroup, Graham Pingree Cendana Capital Atul Rustgi Accolade Partners.
Congrats to Equal Ventures team Chelsea Zhang Sophia Dodd Adam Chadroff

Great tips from Jess Lynch- it's not that VCs are not deploying (we are!)... but the bar is definitely higher once we get to the holidays...

Investor at FoundersEdge | Founder | Customer-Obsessed Product Leader | Startup Advisor & Angel Investor | MBA/MSA/CPA

Founders, raising around the holidays? Here are 5 tactical tips and 13 Pre-seed & Seed funds I confirmed today are actively deploying 👇 

1️⃣ Don’t raise now unless your story is very strong and your pitch is tight. The tradeoff between evaluating deals and family time is higher, so only high-signal deals move forward. If that’s not you, expect fast “nos” or silence.

2️⃣ If your traction is strong, this can be an ideal time to raise. Some managers will move extra quick to stay on pace with fund deployment cycles. Others won’t deploy until next year– ask this question in your meeting!

3️⃣ Plan your timeline. Black out Thanksgiving Day (+Friday after), major Hanukkah/Christmas days, and NYE afternoon + New Year’s Day. Map out realistic timing for first & second meetings and diligence so you communicate something reasonable and don’t inject unnecessary friction.

4️⃣ Nail follow-ups. Nudges this time of year are key, and investors appreciate them. Many are less on top of their inbox. If you agreed on a next step, follow up confidently and set reminders so you don’t lose momentum.

5️⃣ Like any time of year, clearly articulate why you’re raising now, calendar pack as much as you can to create urgency, and keep investors updated as term sheets come in 🤞.

Pre-seed / Seed funds you should check out if you’re raising right now:
1️⃣ FoundersEdge ( 🙋‍♀️ me of course!): writing first checks for multi-time founders using AI to transform user experiences
2️⃣ Sheena Jindal at Sugar Free Capital: lead rounds for technical founders (often MIT-alumni) building category-defining companies
3️⃣ Jake Yormak at Story Ventures: building blocks of automated systems like sensory hardware, data infrastructure & machine intelligence
4️⃣ Sarah Smith at Sarah Smith Fund: $100K-$250K+ in ‘irrationally intense’ founder-CEOs, with deep people-ops support
5️⃣ Rudina Seseri at Glasswing Ventures: AI-native and frontier tech in enterprise & cyber, focused on technical conviction + long-term partnership
6️⃣ Zann Ali at 2048 Ventures: $500K–$2M checks to lead rounds in Vertical AI, Deep Tech, Health & Bio
7️⃣ Rana el Kaliouby, Ph.D. at Blue Tulip Ventures: human-centric AI - “AI that is good for you, good for the planet, and ethical”
8️⃣ Erica Wenger 🏕️ at Park Rangers Capital 🏕️:$100K–$200K checks into mission-driven software founders who build in public and own distribution
9️⃣ Tatijana Janko at FJOR: enterprise AI and B2B fintech!
🔟 Rachel ten Brink at Red Bike Capital: experienced technical founders in vertical AI, fintech, health & wellness, and enterprise SaaS with/G2M focus
➕ David Gritz at InsurTech NY: InsurTech startups!
➕ Liz Christo at Stage 2 Capital:  B2B software companies - couples capital with G2M expertise
➕ Emma Ohanian at Y&Z Ventures: legacy industry B2B software!

🎯 Tag a founder who’s raising - or a fund that should be on this list and is actively deploying right now.

#startup #fundraising #venturecapital #founder #preseed #seed

GEO success is all about the specifics: identify prompts that have volume, content that AI models easily parse and cite, entity completeness vs. keyword stuffing. 

Great case study for Gruns (23x). Want the full Grüns playbook? Comment "GRUNS" and Andrew Yan will send you the complete case study with the exact sequence we ran.

Get Your Brand on GenAI | Co-Founder @ AthenaHQ (we’re hiring!) | Ex-Google Search, YCombinator

Our customer Grüns 6x Share of Voice in 60 days.

23x citation rate growth.

10,500+ AI search impressions.

Here's the exact playbook we used with Grüns:

📌 The Context:

Grüns is one of the fastest-growing e-commerce brands in the country.

Zero to $500M valuation in 2 years.
$100M+ ARR.
4 million gummies shipped per day.

But they had a problem:

Their customers were asking AI health related questions and Grüns wasn't showing up.

📌 What We Did:

Month 1:
Shipped ONE high-leverage blog post.
Saw immediate movement in citations and brand mentions.
Validated the approach.

Month 2:
Programmatically shipped 15 targeted posts.
Used pillar + cluster architecture.
Optimized for entity clarity and AI extraction.

📌 The Results:

Share of Voice: 2.0% → 12.6% (6x)
Citation Rate: 0.3% → 7.0% (23x)
Brand Mentions: 4.0% → 25.0% (+19%)

70% of their AI citations came from content we created with Athena.

📌 Why It Worked:

We didn't just write blog posts.

We reverse-engineered which prompts had volume.
We built content that AI models could easily parse and cite.
We focused on entity completeness, not keyword stuffing.

That's the difference between surface-level optimization and going a layer deeper.

👋 P.S. Want the full Grüns playbook?

Comment "GRUNS" and I'll send you the complete case study with the exact sequence we ran.

--

I'm Andrew Yan (ex Google Search), Co-founder of AthenaHQ (YC 2025). Athena helps 200+ global brands like SoFi, ZoomInfo, Grüns, and Paperless Post take control and grow on GenAI Search

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Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Rachel ten Brink's LinkedIn Performance

Rachel ten Brink's Best Posts .css-1emoo84{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:400;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);}(last 30 days)

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Rachel ten Brink's Linkedin Analytics

Performance ScoreRachel ten Brink's LinkedIn Performance

Rachel ten Brink's Best Posts (last 30 days)