Fundraising FoxFirst Leaf Capital
Family officeChampaign-Urbana · Seed · 3 people tracked
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Investment thesis
First Leaf Capital backs hardworking entrepreneurs building products that solve substantive problems, favoring companies with hard-to-imitate advantages, lean market validation, and realistic goals. The firm offers flexible investment structures including convertible notes, venture equity, venture debt, partnership interests, revenue-based financing, bridge notes, term loans, and business lines of credit. It provides quick decisions, simple and fair terms, credible network introductions, strategic input, and encouragement to its portfolio companies.
Source: firm website, verified Aug 3, 2026.
Team · 3 people
from the firm's website
What they invest in
from 19 of 26 portfolio companiesHardware ×8Healthtech ×6SaaS ×4Advanced Manufacturing ×3Consumer ×3Medical Devices ×3AgTech ×2AI & Machine Learning ×2
HQs:United States×18
Who they back
founder profiles across 11 portfolio companiesFounding team size:solo founder×62 founders×44+ founders×1
Where their founders studiedfrom 10 founders with education data
Purdue University ×3The Johns Hopkins University ×2
What their founders studiedfrom 11 founders with field-of-study data
Engineering ×8
Where their founders worked beforefrom 11 founders with career history
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ×4Apple ×2
Investments · 26 tracked
founders shown can be your intro path
7 Watts designs and manufactures custom modded gaming controllers for Xbox and PlayStation, serving competitive esports players, enthusiasts, and casual gamers with pre-configured performance enhancements.
E-commerceGamingHardware
PartnerMark Aardsma· solo GP
ATS Acoustics manufactures and sells acoustic products including panels, bass traps, baffles, diffusers, and room kits, including custom options, sold factory-direct online.
Advanced ManufacturingE-commerceHardware
BoardMark Aardsma(Owner)in
PartnerMark Aardsma· solo GP
Lensrentals rents photography, videography, and lighting equipment to photographers and videographers across the United States.
B2B MarketplacesConsumerHardwareMarketplacesMemphis, US
Roger Cicala(Founder)
PartnerMark Aardsma· solo GP
BoxCast provides live video streaming hardware and software, including pocket-sized encoders, a proprietary streaming protocol, OTT apps, and cloud-based audio mixing tools for broadcasters.
Creator EconomyHardwareMedia & EntertainmentSaaSCleveland, US
Gordon Daily(Executive Officer, Director)inSam Brenner(Executive Officer)inTera Mitter(Executive Officer)inPeter Spaulding(Executive Officer)inMike Griffith(Executive Officer)inRon Hopper(Executive Officer)in
PartnerMark Aardsma· solo GP
Co-investorsJumpstart VenturesUpdata PartnersInnovation Fund sa/nv
CareAdvisors builds Social Care Automation technology that connects patients to social service benefits and automates enrollment into government programs such as Medicaid, SNAP, and cash assistance.
AI & Machine LearningDigital HealthHealthtechChicago, US
Chris Grace(Co-founder & CEO)
PartnerMark Aardsma· solo GP
Co-investorsDreamit VenturesSQUADRA VENTURES
Center Street Productions is a video production company that creates promotional and event videos, live-streaming, and live event coverage for small businesses, municipalities, non-profits, churches, and corporations across various industries.
Media & EntertainmentWatseka, US
PartnerMark Aardsma· solo GP
Flight instruction services, aerial photography, and commercial pilot services
PartnerMark Aardsma· solo GP
Eclipse Orthopaedics is developing the Radioscopic Targeting Attachment (RTA), a freehand targeting and drilling device to help surgeons perform distal locking during intramedullary nail fixation of leg and hip fractures with less operative time and reduced radiation exposure.
Advanced ManufacturingHardwareHealthtechMedical DevicesWarsaw, US
Barry W. Rich(Executive Officer, Director)David B. Rich(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)
PartnerMark Aardsma· solo GP
Co-investorsElevate Ventures
Epivara is developing an injectable, permanent alternative to surgical spay and neuter procedures for mammals, intended to be administered in a single shot without anesthesia or incisions.
AgTechBiotechChampaign, US
Chemyong Jay Ko(Founder, CEO)Eui Yul Choi(Co-founder)
PartnerMark Aardsma· solo GP
FenixPyre provides file-layer data protection for unstructured files to ensure data remains encrypted and unusable even when accessed with stolen credentials.
CybersecurityData & InfrastructureEnterprise SoftwareNew Albany, US
Harihara Varma Indukuri(Founder)inTom Kwon(Executive Officer)C. Emre Koksal(Executive Officer, Director)
PartnerMark Aardsma· solo GP
Co-investorsBreakaway Partners OÜDundee Venture CapitalGeometry Venture DevelopmentJobsOhio VenturesOhio Innovation Fund
PartnerMark Aardsma· solo GP
GEOH provides software for home care agencies to manage Electronic Visit Verification (EVV), billing, scheduling, and caregiver management.
HealthtechSaaSIndianapolis, US
Thomas Bumgardner(President and Chief Executive Officer)
PartnerMark Aardsma· solo GP
Co-investorsBoomerang VenturesCouncilElevate Ventures
Hopscotch is a bakery that makes custom cakes and desserts from scratch by hand, using real, locally sourced ingredients.
ConsumerFoodTechChampaign, US
PartnerMark Aardsma· solo GP
Inprentus designs and manufactures custom blazed diffraction gratings and diffractive optics using nano-scale contact mode lithography, for applications including AR waveguides, semiconductor manufacturing, synchrotron/FEL beamlines, and spectroscopy.
Deep TechHardwareSemiconductorsChampaign, US
Peter Abbamonte(Founder, Chief Science Officer, and President)inJeffrey MacDonald(Executive Officer, Promoter)Cynthia Ottemann(Executive Officer)inSubha Kumar(Chief Executive Officer)in
BoardKeith Molzer(Director)inDennis Beard(Director, Promoter)in
PartnerMark Aardsma· solo GP
Co-investorsFlyover CapitalService Provider CapitalSerra Ventures
Mesh++ manufactures wireless mesh networking hardware with low-loss routing protocols for fast, automatic connections across difficult-to-serve areas.
HardwareIoTChicago, US
Danny Gardner(Founder)in
PartnerMark Aardsma· solo GP
Co-investorsCapria VenturesIllinois VenturesLateral CapitalMana VenturesAnorak VenturesGAN Ventures+2 more
Neurava develops AI-powered wearable devices designed to monitor seizures and cardiorespiratory dysfunction in people with epilepsy, aiming to mitigate the risk of SUDEP (Sudden Unexpected Nocturnal Death in Epilepsy).
AI & Machine LearningHealthtechMedical DevicesBaltimore, US
Vivek Ganesh, PhD(Co-founder)Jay Shah, PhD(Co-founder)Trevor Meyer, PhD(Co-founder)inVivek Ganesh(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)inJay Shah(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)in
BoardMona Chadha(Director)in
PartnerMark Aardsma· solo GP
Co-investorsElevate VenturesDevice of Tomorrow CapitalSugati VenturesSymbiotic Ventures
Petrichor provides supply chain management software that digitizes global trade in raw materials, offering shipment visibility, tracing from origin to delivery, freight coordination across ocean, rail, air, barge, and road, and analytics for procurement and logistics teams.
AgTechLogistics & Supply ChainSaaSChicago, US
PartnerMark Aardsma· solo GP
PhotoniCare develops OtoSight, an FDA-cleared optical coherence tomography device for non-invasive assessment and monitoring of middle ear infections in healthcare facilities.
Deep TechDigital HealthHealthtechMedical DevicesDurham, US
Ryan Shelton(CEO)inStephen Boppart(CMO)Cary Vance(Executive Officer, Director)in
BoardPatrick Zeller(Director)Dale Grogan(Director)inDr. Zishan Haroon(Director)
PartnerMark Aardsma· solo GP
Co-investorsHealthtech CapitalIllinois VenturesMichigan Capital NetworkMichigan RiseOSF VenturesPlains Ventures+1 more
PartnerMark Aardsma· solo GP
SNOOZ designs white noise machines and smart bedroom fans that use a real internal fan to produce natural sound and airflow for better sleep.
Advanced ManufacturingConsumerDirect to ConsumerHardwareUrbana, US
Eli Lazar(LLC Manager)inMatthew Snyder(LLC Manager)in
PartnerMark Aardsma· solo GP
Co-investorsIrishAngelsSerra Ventures
Commercializing improved resorbable surgical mesh as a safer and less expensive alternative for soft tissue support
HealthtechChicago, US
Alexei Mlodinow(Executive Officer, Director)Jason O'Hearn(Chief Commercial Officer)John Slump(Chief Financial Officer)inTodd Cruikshank(Executive Officer)John Y.S. Kim, M.D.(Director)
BoardRyan Egeland(Director)
PartnerMark Aardsma· solo GP
Co-investorsHarvard Business Angels of ChicagoHarvard Business School Alumni Angels of Greater New York
Virtual Auditor provides software and audit expertise for mid-market organizations to demonstrate security and compliance posture to regulators and auditors.
CybersecurityEnterprise SoftwareSaaSChampaign, US
PartnerMark Aardsma· solo GP
Co-investorsSerra Ventures
Other
Tracked investments with no reachable website or further public details — typically companies that wound down, renamed, or were absorbed.
EclipseFarmers-Merchants National BankFerritiva
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companiesBoxCast · trysignalbase.com · May 12, 2026
Frequently asked questions
- How many investments has First Leaf Capital made?
- First Leaf Capital has 26 tracked investments.
- What stage does First Leaf Capital invest at?
- First Leaf Capital invests at the Seed stage.
- What sectors does First Leaf Capital focus on?
- First Leaf Capital focuses on Sector Agnostic.
- Where is First Leaf Capital located?
- First Leaf Capital is headquartered in Champaign-Urbana, US.
- Who does First Leaf Capital co-invest with?
- First Leaf Capital most often shares deals with Elevate Ventures, Harvard Business Angels of Chicago, Illinois Ventures, among 28 tracked co-investors.
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