FoundersEdge is a pre-seed venture capital fund based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Founded by exited entrepreneurs Greg Raiz and Jessica Lynch, we invest in early-stage founders building AI-enabled software and products with exceptional user experiences. We take a data-driven, hands-on approach to identifying and supporting founders at the earliest stages of company building.

FoundersEdge invests at the pre-seed stage, writing initial checks of ~$200K. We lead or co-invest alongside other funds and maximize first check deployment while preserving capital for pro-rata follow-on investments in subsequent rounds.

FoundersEdge backs founders building AI-enabled software and exceptional user experiences that reduce friction. We invest in technical founders with clear early adoption signals, defensible advantages, and the ability to execute rapidly. We developed a proprietary dataset called "The Founder Index" that uses founder psychology and AI to identify exceptional founders and reduce bias in early-stage investing.

FoundersEdge is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. We invest nationally across the United States in Delaware C-corps, with a strong and diverse network.

Greg Raiz is General Partner and brings deep expertise in design, UX, and engineering. He founded and led Raizlabs, a four-time Inc. 5000 winner and mobile technology pioneer that built hundreds of products for companies like AAA, Costco, Dunkin' Donuts, GE, and Macy's before being acquired in 2017. Greg then served as Managing Director of Techstars Boston, where he coached dozens of early-stage companies. He holds a Computer Science degree from Tufts University.

Jessica Lynch is General Partner with experience as both an exited founder and financial forensics expert. She founded and led Wishroute, a martech company serving health and wellness subscription businesses, which was acquired by Suggestic in 2023. Prior to entrepreneurship, Jess worked at PwC in financial forensics and holds an MBA and MSA from Babson and is a CPA. She brings deep expertise in unit economics/financial modeling, customer discovery/product, and fundraising.

FoundersEdge invests at the intersection of AI and user experience (UX). Portfolio focus areas include:
• AI-enabled B2B software: Tools that use AI to automate workflows, enhance productivity, or provide actionable intelligence for business users
• Developer tools and infrastructure: Products that help technical teams build, deploy, scale, or optimize software more efficiently
• Communication and collaboration software: Tools that improve how teams work together, share information, or coordinate across distributed environments
• Legacy industry transformation: AI-first solutions in industries where current workflow is manual, inefficient, or relies on legacy systems (examples: insurance back-office operations, marketing ROI optimization, enterprise app building)

Pitch to us on our website: foundersedge.com We review every company that gets submitted!

Successful startups typically demonstrate:
• Clear problem-solution fit with evidence of early customer validation or user adoption
• Technical depth - founders who can build the product themselves or have strong technical co-founders
• Capital efficiency - ability to reach meaningful milestones with pre-seed capital
• Communication clarity - founders who can articulate their vision and progress effectively
• Aligned prior experience - founders with prior startup and industry experience who have learned lessons by doing and have an edge on what they're building through their network and lived experience

Greg and Jess have collectively invested in and mentored 100+ companies. Notable first-check investments include OwnUp, Future.green, and IronYun. They have catalyzed over $100M+ in follow-on capital and are backed by a 250+ strong co-investor network.

We do not offer an accelerator or residency program. FoundersEdge delivers proactive, high-touch support differentiated from other investor models. Portfolio companies receive regular 1:1s with Greg and Jess, access to a CEO cohort of experienced founders, expanded mentor and customer network through 40+ operator LPs, and dedicated demo and customer events.

"You guys are the most value-add investors by far." — Portfolio founder