# Starting Line

Starting Line is a Private Equity based in Chicago, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Private Equity
- **Headquarters:** Chicago, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** Chicago, IL, United States
- **Founded:** 2018
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** startingline.vc
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/startingline
- **Wikidata:** Q66329805

## Regulatory record

- **CRD number:** 318174
- **SEC file number:** 802-123079
- **Registration status:** Registered
- **Reports private funds:** Yes
- **IAPD record:** https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/318174

## About

Starting Line is an exempt reporting adviser founded in 2021 in Chicago, IL. It offers investment advice to clients.

## Sectors

- Consumer
- Marketplace
- FinTech
- Digital Health
- Media & Entertainment
- Crypto / Web3
- Logistics & Supply Chain
- Future of Work
- PropTech
- InsurTech

## People

- Ezra Galston — partner
- Ade Olonoh — Venture Partner
- Haley Kwait Zollo — PARTNER
- Scott Holloway — Partner
- Matt Maloney — Advisory chair
- Rebecca Kaden — Fund i advisor
- Roy Bahat — fund i advisor
- Seth Levine — FUND II ADVISOR

## Questions

### Who runs investment decisions at Starting Line?

Partner Ezra Galston drives investment decisions alongside partners Haley Kwait Zollo and Scott Holloway. Venture partner Ade Olonoh and advisory chair Matt Maloney contribute deal evaluation support. The firm discloses its full partner and advisor roster on its website.

### How does Starting Line source proprietary deal flow?

Starting Line's Chicago base gives it a concentrated local network, but its consumer focus generates deal flow from founders building in categories before they attract coastal venture attention. Portfolio company exits — notably PrettyLitter's roughly $1B sale to Mars in 2021 — circulate operator referrals back into the firm's pipeline through ex-founders and the advisory network.

### Does Starting Line participate in fund commitments or only direct deals?

Starting Line is exclusively a direct investor, leading seed rounds in consumer startups. Its portfolio page lists only direct company investments, and the firm describes its model as "invest with insane conviction at the earliest stage, leading seed rounds."

### What investment stages does Starting Line typically target?

The firm is a seed-stage specialist. It explicitly states on its website that it leads seed rounds in categories and industries before they are mainstream or well understood. It does not describe any later-stage or growth-stage investment activity.

### How is Starting Line related to Pineapple?

Pineapple, a pre-seed fund managed by Tiffany Zhong, is listed as a portfolio company of Starting Line's. The relationship is one of investor to investee, with Starting Line having backed Pineapple rather than the two being structurally linked.

### Which sectors does Starting Line avoid?

The firm does not publish a formal exclusion list. Its portfolio reveals a consumer-only mandate that wholly omits enterprise SaaS, deep tech, B2B infrastructure, and healthcare IT. The firm focuses on products and services used by individual consumers, such as marketplaces, creator platforms, fintech apps, and DTC brands.

## Related profiles

- [Startia Holdings](https://altss.com/profile/startia-holdings)
- [StartLabs](https://altss.com/profile/startlabs)

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Last updated: 2026-08-14T12:30:00.000Z

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