Six Pre-Seed Investors Every Founder Should Work With. Who Would You Add?
I had the good fortune to have a ton of great investors who backed my last company, Seedscout. Most of them are generally more private online, but I wanted to highlight some of them for founders on the fundraising trail to learn about. I’d work with these folks 10/10 times again if I start something else up (no plans to right now).
Kenny Tucker (Tucker Seed Fund) – Kenny is a machine. He was previously an exec at PlanGrid and Proxy, has a wealth of knowledge about this industry, and is just a gem of a human. He was incredibly helpful to me—from brainstorming to capital strategy—even when Seedscout was going sideways.
Randy Holloway (Angel Investor) – Randy works at Microsoft (he was at Google when he backed us), and I believe Seedscout was one of his first investments. When he invested in other deals, he was decisive and always treated founders well. Most importantly, he gave me tough feedback when I really needed it. Honest, upfront, and a great partner.
John Diaz (Stone Mountain Ventures) – John was one of the first five to invest in Seedscout! He’s a younger investor—but very smart, savvy, and relatable. He doubled down a couple of times and, in general, is someone I think will be a bright light in the VC industry for decades to come.
Dave Goldblatt (Vibe Capital) – Dave invested before everything, as my first or second investor (he and Eric Ries invested within a day of each other). He spent a decade at Facebook and is an insanely smart futurist at heart. He backs some of the wildest founders he can find—and helps them succeed. His portfolio is wild. If you’re a genius and a little out of your mind, hit Dave up.
Stephen Cole (Angel) – Stephen is the definition of a Super Angel. We met for coffee for the second time, and by the end of the conversation, he asked how much he could put in! He’s invested in 70+ companies at the pre-seed seed stage and is just an incredible human being. He lived in PHX for a few years, and we’ve developed a great relationship. He’s likely the most active angel in the state.
Francis Santora (Angel) – Francis writes smaller checks but approaches investing like he’s running a top-tier VC firm—and I mean that in the best possible way. Thoughtful, fair, and a genuinely good partner to founders. He also writes about angel investing on his blog, which I highly recommend to anyone in tech.
If you’re reading this, who are your ride-or-die investors that you’ve worked with? If you haven’t raised yet, who would you LOVE to get a check from? Comment below, and maybe we can make something happen with the magic of Product Hunt!
Replies
Product Hunt
We had a dream roster of angels + YC + A16Z for my last company, @Tandem so I'll try to highlight a few. Side note: Remember that "investor-market fit" != product-market fit
Founder-angels: Active founders were some of the most tactically helpful people on our cap table. Yes, they're incredibly busy, but at the same time, they're actively running their companies. There are a few stages ahead of you, and their swords are sharp and ever-sharpening. Dylan from Figma, Rahul from Superhuman, Suhail from Playground / Mixpanel - they each gave me incisive advice at key moments, lessons I treasure now.
@toddg777 who runs a fund with @rahulvohra - extremely plugged in and forward-thinking, former YC founder.
Y Combinator - you should apply. Filling out the application is itself a useful exercise, and it's impossible to overstate the unfair advantage they give you.
Weekend Fund - our very own@rrhoover and @vedika_jain . Unsurprisingly, they are incredible investors, especially at the earliest stages
@tmrohan - long-term oriented, understands the founder journey deeply, and great to brainstorm with.
Liquid2 - @joemontana (yes, that Joe Montana) and @michaelandma were incredibly helpful and supportive throughout the journey. Joe's advice on building and leading a team left a deep impression on me.
and of course, Buckley Ventures - @joshbuckley and @jonathanchoi are incredible and I can't say enough good things about them as investors (Josh masterminded the spinout / restart of Product Hunt and brought me in).
There are many other angels and funds who helped us along the way that I'm definitely forgetting right now!
Lifestack
I've only raised from Japanese investors (I'm a Japanese founder running a Delaware C-Corp in NY), but I’d still like to give some shoutouts.
Yuzuru Honda (Angel): He IPO'd his ad tech company in Japan and has since angel-invested in many founders, including younger ones. He strongly believes that more Japanese founders should take their businesses global, especially to places like NY. In fact, he bought a building in Brooklyn and turned it into a coworking space for Japanese founders based in NY. He’s the definition of an angel investor.
Yutaka Shinohara (Angel): In Japan, the standard investment contract can still be quite old-fashioned and not very founder-friendly. I simply used YC’s SAFE template, but I met one of his portfolio companies that was raising with the traditional contract. To my surprise, he convinced the founder to move away from that, even though it would have been more favorable for investors. He’s always fair and thoughtful.
Tatsuo Sakamoto (Angel): Despite having a prestigious background (graduated from Japan’s top university and worked at big companies like Google), he’s very approachable and kind. He usually writes smaller checks, but he makes a lot of valuable introductions. In fact, his connections contributed to more than half of our last round.
Takeshi Minamoto (15th Rock): I first got introduced to him through one of my angel investors. The fund's investment thesis is unique—they focuse on human augmentation technologies. There aren’t many investors in Japan with such a bold vision or who even invest in companies outside Japan. He’s also the kind of investor who gives tough but necessary feedback when founders really need it.
Special shoutout: Although we haven't received any investment from Francis (mainly because we’re still too early for his investment scope), he’s been incredibly supportive—connecting us with accelerators and giving shoutouts. He’s the kind of investor who truly supports founders. Happy to see his name on your list!
Product Hunt
@nao_yukawa That is an epic list, sir! I love how social capital flows. Sometimes its more accessible than people think!