Sonoran Founders Fund

Investment decisions are made by the four co-founder managing partners: Romi Dhillon, Cathy Eckstein, Kevin Groman, and Dan Burns. Each general partner brings a distinct operator background from building and exiting technology companies, and they collectively evaluate deals with a focus on management teams that can leverage hands-on mentorship.

The firm invests exclusively in the American Southwest, specifically Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Southern California, and Texas. This regional concentration is central to its strategy of sourcing deal flow through a deep, locally rooted network of entrepreneurs and institutional investors who operate within the Sonoran Desert corridor.

Sonoran Founders Fund targets initial investments between $500,000 and $1 million, directed at pre-seed and seed-stage rounds. The firm seeks to lead or participate in rounds where it can add value beyond capital, primarily through its general partners' operating experience.

The firm relies on a network of Arizona-based technology founders who act as both scouts and co-investors. Because the general partners previously founded and exited companies in the same region, much of the deal flow originates from relationships that predate the fund's formation.

Its stated sector focus is limited to software-as-a-service, marketplaces, artificial intelligence, fintech, edtech, and healthcare IT. The firm does not publicly indicate participation in sectors outside of these technology categories.