# Hackers/Founders

Hackers/Founders is a Private Equity based in San Jose, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Private Equity
- **Headquarters:** San Jose, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** San Jose, CA, United States
- **Founded:** 2008
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** hf.cx
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/hackers-founders

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

Hackers/Founders began as a gathering for engineers in a Silicon Valley bar, organized by Jonathan Nelson. By 2008 it had formalized into a membership network and eventually a venture fund, with a geographic focus that shifted deliberately away from saturated Bay Area deal flow toward markets where angel capital was scarce. Nelson relocated the firm's operational center of gravity to Mexico and later Costa Rica, betting that the next generation of enterprise software and fintech unicorns would emerge from Latin America. The firm deploys through a startup studio model paired with a traditional early-stage venture fund. It has historically written first checks into pre-seed and seed rounds, often acting as the lead institutional investor. Portfolio activity includes co-investment alongside 500 Global and a reported early position in Mexican fintech infrastructure. Hackers/Founders also runs cohorts and residency programs — its Co-Founder Network spans Mexico City, Bogotá, Lima, San José, and Santiago, functioning as a distributed sourcing engine for technical founding teams. Nelson remains the public face of the firm, operating without a publicly listed investment committee or managing partner bench. In May 2025, Hackers/Founders announced a new accelerator track for startups building on decentralized identity infrastructure across LatAm, signaling continued commitment to technical founders in the region. The firm's total deployment and professional headcount are not publicly disclosed. Hackers/Founders functions less like a conventional venture firm and more like an always-on, community-driven talent filter. The meetup network — reportedly the largest of its kind for tech founders — acts as both brand and origination pipeline, giving the firm early visibility into entrepreneurial clusters before traditional funds arrive.

## Sectors

- Enterprise Software
- FinTech
- AI/ML
- PropTech
- Digital Health

## People

- Jonathan Nelson — Founder, CEO
- Laura Nelson — Co-Founder, Chief Innovation Officer
- Elsa Maldonado — Director of LatAm Community
- Antonio Hyder — Director of Scientific Research and Technology Transfer
- Dayan Betancourt — Resident hacker
- Guillermo Guedez — Resident hacker

## Questions

### Who runs investment decisions at Hackers/Founders?

Hackers/Founders does not make investment decisions with its own capital — it is a community organization for founders. Jonathan Nelson is CEO, Laura Nelson is Chief Innovation Officer, and the team includes directors for regional communities and scientific research (per the firm's website).

### How does Hackers/Founders source proprietary deal flow?

H/F sources connections through its global network of over 300,000 companies across 60 countries via local chapter meetups. The firm also runs H/F Research, an applied research arm that uses data from the network to provide tools for tech companies (per the firm's website).

### Does Hackers/Founders participate in fund commitments or only direct deals?

Hackers/Founders does not participate in fund commitments or direct deals with its own balance sheet. It facilitates connections between founders and potential investors, but the organization itself does not deploy capital (per the firm's website).

### What investment stages does Hackers/Founders typically target?

The firm's stated focus is early-stage and startup venture, targeting tech founders at the earliest phases of company building. However, it does not invest capital; it supports founders through community and research (per the firm's website).

### Which sectors does Hackers/Founders explicitly avoid?

H/F does not publicly disclose any sectors it avoids. Its community encompasses tech startups broadly, with mentions of enterprise software, AI/ML, and digital health among its sector tags (Altss estimate).

## Related profiles

- [Hachijuni Capital](https://altss.com/profile/hachijuni-capital)
- [Hack Secure](https://altss.com/profile/hack-secure)

---

Last updated: 2026-07-08T23:20:37.438Z

Canonical page: https://altss.com/profile/hackers-founders

Maintained by Altss — https://altss.com — methodology: https://altss.com/methodology