Character VC - Investor
Character VC
When you’re just starting out, we believe there’s nothing more important than building the right product for the right people We helped Flatiron Health, Digit, Blue Bottle Coffee, and Slack figure it out fast — and we can help you, too
⚡️ Character Labs is our new sprint program for pre-seed founders Learn more → Author of Sprint Former design partner at GV and design leader at YouTube
Early-stage startup investor Former general partner at Capital Midwest Fund
Creator of the Design Sprint Author of Sprint Former design partner at GV
Our startup advisors are Jeanette Mellinger, Charles Adler, and David Cirilli
We are backed by nearly 100 LPs, who act as an extended team to help us find and support startups Our LPs include founders and operators from YouTube, Google, Slack, Square, Uber, Mozilla, Opendoor, Clubhouse, Coinbase, Flatiron Health, and many other tech companies
We raised a $30 million dollar fund so we can invest early and amplify our support as you build your company
Sometimes it’s all one check, sometimes it’s two, but we always make our first investment in rounds with “seed” in the name
Especially in climate, enterprise, healthcare, creators, commerce, web3, no-code, fintech, and team productivity — where software can unlock meaningful behavior changes that are aligned with customer goals
Great founders know how to leverage remote work to build amazing teams, and when to gather the team to sprint and connect We’re a remote-native firm investing in companies located anywhere in the USA
We work hand-in-hand with your team, using the Sprint method we created at GV, to help you find and expand product-market fit
Which customers should you focus on? How should the product look? What should you build next? Early-stage startups need to answer these questions ASAP, and we can help
We’re not just talking about playbooks and resources — we actually clear our calendars and sprint with your team Ask any founder we've worked with
We've used sprints to help 200+ startups answer questions and validate hypotheses Thousands more have read our book and embraced the process It works
AI industrial control systems that save energy and money
Sales data platform that prioritizes qualified leads
Audio collaboration for musicians and podcasters
Platform for medically integrated specialty pharmacy
Gifting platform for ecommerce brands and shoppers
Video platform for timed 1:1 meetings and interviews
Zoom plugin that makes meeting notes obsolete
Measure and share your company's carbon footprint
Calendar assistant that schedules tasks and meetings
AI learning tools built by students for students
AI/ML platform that accelerates drug development
Psychedelic-assisted coaching and therapy
Cybersecurity solution for insurance brokers
All-in-one customer research platform from Y Combinator
