Forerunner Ventures

Forerunner Ventures is a venture capital firm founded in 2010 and based in San Francisco, California. The firm specializes in investing in high-growth, privately-held branded consumer companies, particularly within sectors such as online commerce, social/mobile commerce, and internet marketplaces. Forerunner Ventures aims to understand the evolving mindset of modern consumers and supports entrepreneurs who are positioned to meet future consumer needs. By providing funding, strategic guidance, and consumer insights, the firm helps to transform industries and drive cultural advancements. With a focus on seed stage and Series A investments, Forerunner typically invests between $250,000 and $500,000 in initial funding, with the potential for additional investments in high-performing companies. The firm prefers to partner with companies in the Bay Area but also considers opportunities in New York and Los Angeles, often seeking collaboration with local investors when companies are outside its primary geographic focus.

Jason Bornstein

Principal

Nicole Johnson

Partner

Brian O’Malley

Managing Partner

KJ Sidberry

Principal

Priyanka Suri

Investor

Kirsten Green

Founder and Managing Partner

Past deals in Marketplace

Leland

Series A in 2024
Leland is a coaching marketplace designed to support individuals in achieving their educational and career aspirations. The platform connects users with coaches who provide guidance on standardized tests such as the SAT, ACT, GMAT, and GRE, as well as offering mentorship for entering fields like private equity, product management, and investment banking. Leland focuses on facilitating career transitions and helps users develop the necessary skills for their chosen professions through personalized coaching. The platform allows clients to find coaches that align with their budget and specific goals, charging transaction fees based on the payments made to coaches.

Topline Pro

Series A in 2023
Topline Pro is a digital marketplace that specializes in providing home services for businesses. It offers a marketing platform that utilizes artificial intelligence to automate the creation and management of websites, enhancing the online presence of small home service business owners. By streamlining the process of building and maintaining an online identity, Topline Pro helps these businesses be discovered, trusted, and booked by potential customers. The platform generates content for websites, online listings, and social media pages, ultimately enabling organizations to boost customer engagement and drive conversions. This approach allows business owners to focus more on their operations while effectively growing their customer base.

Fora

Series A in 2022
Fora is a modern travel agency focused on empowering travel entrepreneurs and enthusiasts by curating exceptional experiences for travelers. The company aims to support 100,000 travel entrepreneurs by providing personalized services that cater to individual travel styles. Fora assists clients in planning their trips from inception to booking, facilitating connections with advisors who understand their specific preferences and aspirations. This approach not only enhances the travel planning experience but also fosters a community of knowledgeable travel creators dedicated to delivering memorable journeys.

Pavilion

Series A in 2022
Pavilion is an IT company that allows public servants to deliver better, faster public services. They provide marketplace, SAAS, procurement, and civic tech services. They also offer vendor engagement and contract management services. It serves both local and central government fields.

Calii

Series A in 2022
Calii Inc is a technology-driven company that offers marketplace solutions to facilitate direct connections between consumers and local producers in Monterrey, Mexico. Founded in 2016 by Stanford engineers and based in San Francisco, Calii focuses on delivering ultra-fresh groceries and a wide range of grocery items, often within two hours. By utilizing a network of micro-fulfillment centers and automating the food supply chain, the company aims to reduce waste and cut costs for consumers while increasing producers' earnings. Calii's approach eliminates middlemen, thus providing significant savings and enhancing the overall shopping experience. The company is positioned to capitalize on the large and largely offline grocery market in Latin America, seeking to redefine grocery shopping in the region.

Fora

Seed Round in 2021
Fora is a modern travel agency focused on empowering travel entrepreneurs and enthusiasts by curating exceptional experiences for travelers. The company aims to support 100,000 travel entrepreneurs by providing personalized services that cater to individual travel styles. Fora assists clients in planning their trips from inception to booking, facilitating connections with advisors who understand their specific preferences and aspirations. This approach not only enhances the travel planning experience but also fosters a community of knowledgeable travel creators dedicated to delivering memorable journeys.

Curated

Series C in 2021
Curated, founded in 2017, offers a collaborative shopping platform aimed at enhancing the online shopping experience by providing personalized, expert advice. The platform connects customers with knowledgeable specialists who guide them through complex purchase decisions, ensuring that shoppers receive unbiased recommendations tailored to their specific needs. Specializing in outdoor sporting goods such as skiing, snowboarding, golf, camping, cycling, and fishing equipment, Curated is expanding into new product categories. This innovative approach not only helps customers find the right products but also allows experts to earn meaningful income based on their passions and expertise. Backed by notable venture firms, Curated is rapidly growing and redefining the online retail landscape.

Faire

Series F in 2021
Faire is an online wholesale marketplace that connects retailers with unique merchandise from various brands and makers, facilitating a streamlined purchasing process. The platform provides retailers with tools and insights to manage inventory effectively, employing artificial intelligence and predictive analytics to forecast product demand. Faire's offerings include net 60 payment terms and free returns, which reduce the risks associated with wholesale purchasing, enabling local retailers and independent brands to compete with larger e-commerce entities. Headquartered in San Francisco and Kitchener, Faire aims to support the future of local retail by simplifying logistics and enhancing access to diverse products.

Swyft

Series A in 2021
Swyft is a B2B marketplace offering same-day delivery for brands and retailers. It enables carriers to digitize or automate a good deal of what they’re traditionally doing by hand. Ship via Swyft and gain unified bills, digital PODs, real-time track and trace, branded customer notifications, SMS updates, and more. Swyft converts more shoppers at checkout and delights them with reliable and affordable same-day delivery. Swyft was founded in 2020 and is based in Toronto, Canada.

Faire

Series E in 2020
Faire is an online wholesale marketplace that connects retailers with unique merchandise from various brands and makers, facilitating a streamlined purchasing process. The platform provides retailers with tools and insights to manage inventory effectively, employing artificial intelligence and predictive analytics to forecast product demand. Faire's offerings include net 60 payment terms and free returns, which reduce the risks associated with wholesale purchasing, enabling local retailers and independent brands to compete with larger e-commerce entities. Headquartered in San Francisco and Kitchener, Faire aims to support the future of local retail by simplifying logistics and enhancing access to diverse products.

Faire

Series D in 2019
Faire is an online wholesale marketplace that connects retailers with unique merchandise from various brands and makers, facilitating a streamlined purchasing process. The platform provides retailers with tools and insights to manage inventory effectively, employing artificial intelligence and predictive analytics to forecast product demand. Faire's offerings include net 60 payment terms and free returns, which reduce the risks associated with wholesale purchasing, enabling local retailers and independent brands to compete with larger e-commerce entities. Headquartered in San Francisco and Kitchener, Faire aims to support the future of local retail by simplifying logistics and enhancing access to diverse products.

Curated

Series A in 2019
Curated, founded in 2017, offers a collaborative shopping platform aimed at enhancing the online shopping experience by providing personalized, expert advice. The platform connects customers with knowledgeable specialists who guide them through complex purchase decisions, ensuring that shoppers receive unbiased recommendations tailored to their specific needs. Specializing in outdoor sporting goods such as skiing, snowboarding, golf, camping, cycling, and fishing equipment, Curated is expanding into new product categories. This innovative approach not only helps customers find the right products but also allows experts to earn meaningful income based on their passions and expertise. Backed by notable venture firms, Curated is rapidly growing and redefining the online retail landscape.

Faire

Series C in 2018
Faire is an online wholesale marketplace that connects retailers with unique merchandise from various brands and makers, facilitating a streamlined purchasing process. The platform provides retailers with tools and insights to manage inventory effectively, employing artificial intelligence and predictive analytics to forecast product demand. Faire's offerings include net 60 payment terms and free returns, which reduce the risks associated with wholesale purchasing, enabling local retailers and independent brands to compete with larger e-commerce entities. Headquartered in San Francisco and Kitchener, Faire aims to support the future of local retail by simplifying logistics and enhancing access to diverse products.

Faire

Series B in 2018
Faire is an online wholesale marketplace that connects retailers with unique merchandise from various brands and makers, facilitating a streamlined purchasing process. The platform provides retailers with tools and insights to manage inventory effectively, employing artificial intelligence and predictive analytics to forecast product demand. Faire's offerings include net 60 payment terms and free returns, which reduce the risks associated with wholesale purchasing, enabling local retailers and independent brands to compete with larger e-commerce entities. Headquartered in San Francisco and Kitchener, Faire aims to support the future of local retail by simplifying logistics and enhancing access to diverse products.

Faire

Series A in 2018
Faire is an online wholesale marketplace that connects retailers with unique merchandise from various brands and makers, facilitating a streamlined purchasing process. The platform provides retailers with tools and insights to manage inventory effectively, employing artificial intelligence and predictive analytics to forecast product demand. Faire's offerings include net 60 payment terms and free returns, which reduce the risks associated with wholesale purchasing, enabling local retailers and independent brands to compete with larger e-commerce entities. Headquartered in San Francisco and Kitchener, Faire aims to support the future of local retail by simplifying logistics and enhancing access to diverse products.

Faire

Seed Round in 2017
Faire is an online wholesale marketplace that connects retailers with unique merchandise from various brands and makers, facilitating a streamlined purchasing process. The platform provides retailers with tools and insights to manage inventory effectively, employing artificial intelligence and predictive analytics to forecast product demand. Faire's offerings include net 60 payment terms and free returns, which reduce the risks associated with wholesale purchasing, enabling local retailers and independent brands to compete with larger e-commerce entities. Headquartered in San Francisco and Kitchener, Faire aims to support the future of local retail by simplifying logistics and enhancing access to diverse products.

Stadium Goods

Series A in 2017
Stadium Goods is an online marketplace for sneakers and apparel with a brick and mortar store in soho, NYC. It is a U.S.-based company doing business globally that was founded in 2015 by John McPheters and Jed Stiller.

Threadflip

Series A in 2012
Threadflip operates an online marketplace designed to transform the shopping experience for women's fashion through a peer-to-peer model. The platform enables users to photograph and list their clothing items for sale, facilitating a collaborative and engaging environment for buying and selling pre-owned apparel. This approach not only promotes efficient transactions but also fosters a sense of community among users. While Threadflip ceased operations in January 2015, it has since formed a partnership with Le Tote to continue its vision of enhancing the way women shop for clothes and style their wardrobes.

Threadflip

Seed Round in 2012
Threadflip operates an online marketplace designed to transform the shopping experience for women's fashion through a peer-to-peer model. The platform enables users to photograph and list their clothing items for sale, facilitating a collaborative and engaging environment for buying and selling pre-owned apparel. This approach not only promotes efficient transactions but also fosters a sense of community among users. While Threadflip ceased operations in January 2015, it has since formed a partnership with Le Tote to continue its vision of enhancing the way women shop for clothes and style their wardrobes.
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