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Founders First
Founders First is an early-stage venture capital fund and syndicate built by partners who were founders first and who always put founders first.
Founders First
Founders First is an early-stage venture capital fund and syndicate built by partners who were founders first and who always put founders first. It is vertical agnostic and anti-thematic, investing mainly in pre-seed, seed, and series A. The firm was built by serial entrepreneurs who have built 4 venture-backed startups and commits to supporting founders without taking board seats.
General information
Firm type
Private Equity
Year founded
2012
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
New York
Corporate office
New York, NY, United States
Principals
Jeremy Levine
Managing Partner
Jordan Fliegel
Managing Partner
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who makes investment decisions at Founders First?
Managing Partners Jeremy Levine and Jordan Fliegel run the firm. Both are serial entrepreneurs who built venture-backed companies before founding Founders First in 2012. The firm's website presents them as the sole decision-makers, with no investment committee or additional partners listed.
Does Founders First have a stated sector focus?
No. Founders First explicitly calls itself vertical agnostic and anti-thematic. The partners believe the best companies are built by relentless founders with unique market insights, so they do not restrict investments by sector. The portfolio bears this out, spanning equity management (Carta), customer data (mParticle), connected fitness (FightCamp), and women's health (Ovia Health).
How does Founders First source deals?
The firm relies on a reputation-based founder network. Its website invites prospective founders to request references directly from named portfolio CEOs — including Henry Ward (Carta), Mike Katz (mParticle), and Yanni Hufnagel (Lemon Perfect). This back-channel approach is the public face of its sourcing model, signaling that inbound leads are vetted through existing relationships.
What is the known track record of Founders First?
The firm's website highlights several 'select exits' but does not name specific realized outcomes or fund-level return metrics. Publicly listed current and exited names — including Gametime, Lemon Perfect, and Ovia Health — indicate a consumer- and enterprise-mix portfolio, but no aggregate performance data is available.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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