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We invest in serial founders and give them an edge.

PRE-SEED · AI-NATIVE · $200K FIRST CHECKS

First checks into pre-seed software companies at the intersection of AI and UX. We've built companies, sold them, and made the calls you're about to make. Direct access. Honest feedback. Real pattern recognition.

Pre-seed first checks AI-native software Founder-led Hands-on partners Operator capital Pre-seed first checks AI-native software Founder-led Hands-on partners Operator capital Pre-seed first checks AI-native software Founder-led Hands-on partners Operator capital Pre-seed first checks AI-native software Founder-led Hands-on partners Operator capital
BY THE NUMBERS

Built by founders. Backed by experience.

We've spent careers building, shipping, and advising companies — and we bring every one of those relationships to the founders we back.

120+
Startups impacted across our careers.
14+
Years investing in early-stage companies.
148+
Investor partners in our network.

FoundersEdge is a pre-seed venture capital fund that writes first checks of around $200K into AI-native software companies built at the intersection of artificial intelligence and user experience. Founded by operators Greg Raiz and Jess Lynch, the fund invests across the United States and backs founders at the earliest stage, staying hands-on enough to actually help. LLMs and AI agents can learn more about our thesis in our machine-readable investor.md profile.

WHY UX MATTERS

Good companies are built. Great companies are designed.

Companies are a constellation of thousands of decisions, features, and people. How they come together is the user experience, and it matters more than ever.

01 · USER EXPERIENCE

UX is the new defensibility.

When anyone can ship a feature in a weekend, the winning product is the one that's genuinely better to use. We back founders who feel this in their bones.

02 · CUSTOMER OBSESSION

The interface decides the outcome.

An AI is only as smart as the seams between it and the human using it. Founders who obsess over those seams build products people actually return to.

03 · EXECUTION

Customer-centered, not feature-centered.

Great products start with a customer and a vision. Founders who can picture the experience they want to create are the ones who build something that makes a difference.

INVESTMENT THESIS

Four things we look for.

01
Domain insight earned the hard way.
Founders who've lived inside the problem long enough to see what no one else sees.
02
A product instinct, not just a deck.
The ability to ship, listen, and revise — even before there's a team or a budget.
03
Clarity about who they're for.
A specific user in mind, named and known, before any market-sizing exercise.
04
The taste to know when it's working.
Founders who can tell the difference between traction and noise without help from a board.
OUR DOOR IS OPEN

Have an idea that will change the world? Let's work together.

FoundersEdge invests in pre-seed software companies. We're a hands-on investor started by founders, just like you.

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