San Francisco · Seed–Series A · 2 people tracked
Also known as FOOTWORK MANAGEMENT, LLC
Find your way into Footwork
850 people in our graph share verified history with the Footwork team — schools, employers, funds. One of them is your warm intro.
Investment thesis
Footwork leads and co-leads Seed and Series A financings in startups exhibiting early signs of product-market fit, writing initial checks of roughly $1M to $15M. The firm concentrates on consumer technology as well as the consumerization of enterprise technology, backing teams building category-defining companies. Its equal partnership pairs world-class investing and operating experience, and the team works daily from its office in San Francisco's Dogpatch neighborhood. Footwork launched in April 2021 with a $175M Fund I and began deploying its $225M Fund II in 2025.
Source: firm website, verified Sep 15, 2026.
Team · 2 people
from the firm's website
Founder mafia
2 people who came through Footwork went on to found or lead other companies.
What they invest in
from 19 of 31 portfolio companiesSaaS ×12AI & Machine Learning ×9Enterprise Software ×5Developer Tools ×4Fintech ×4Consumer ×3E-commerce ×3EdTech ×3
HQs:United States×14United Kingdom×1Indonesia×1
Who they back
founder profiles across 6 portfolio companiesWhere their founders worked beforefrom 10 founders with career history
SpaceX ×3Stanford Student Space Initiative ×2Stanford University ×2
Investments · 31 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathBy year:2026 · 42025 · 62024 · 52023 · 22021 · 320 dated
GPTZero develops AI detection technology to identify artificially generated text, serving over 10 million users across education, publishing, and enterprise sectors.
AI & Machine LearningEdTechEnterprise SoftwareNew York, US
Alexander Cui(Cofounder)Edward Tian(Cofounder)in
Co-investorsNeoReach CapitalAtas VCUncork CapitalAlt Capital
Table22 is a platform that helps independent restaurants, food producers, and beverage retailers grow revenue through subscription and direct-to-consumer tools.
B2B MarketplacesE-commerceFoodTechLogistics & Supply ChainSaaS
Sam Bernstein(Founder)in
Co-investorsForerunner VenturesLightspeed Venture PartnersAlmanac InsightsAvenir Growth CapitalMetaPropMetaProp Ventures+5 more
Cradlewise makes a smart crib for babies, marketed to parents in the infant care market.
ConsumerHardwareIoTSan Francisco, US
Bharath Patil(Executive Officer, Director)inRadhika Patil(Founder)in
Board seatNikhil Basu Trivedi· per SEC Form D
Co-investorsBetter CapitalCRV (Charles River Ventures)SOSV
Literati offers children's book fairs, book clubs, and online school stores, providing curated book selections and learning enrichment products for schools, teachers, and families.
ConsumerDirect to ConsumerE-commerceEdTechAustin, US
Jess Ewing(Founder)inJessica Ewing(Founder)inCynthia Alexander(Executive Officer)
BoardAydin Senkut(Director)inAdam Freed(Director)
Board seatNikhil Basu Trivedi· per SEC Form D · $13M raise · filed Jan 2024
Co-investorsMoonshots CapitalMoxxie VenturesSilverton PartnersFelicis VenturesFounders FundGeneral Catalyst+3 more
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Windborne Systems collects atmospheric data using long-duration balloons and applies AI models to produce weather forecasts for business applications.
AI & Machine LearningClimate TechDeep TechPalo Alto, US
John Dean(Founder)inKai Marshland(Founder)inANDREY SUSHKO(Director)in
Board seatNikhil Basu TrivediNikhil Trivedi· per SEC Form D
Co-investorsConvective CapitalHarvest Venture PartnersHumba VenturesJetstreamKhosla VenturesUbiquity Ventures
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A platform that converts text into mobile apps, websites, tools, and products using code generation and integrations including GPT-5 and 40+ third-party services.
AI & Machine LearningDeveloper ToolsSaaS
Co-investorsBessemer Venture PartnersUncork CapitalVela PartnersM13
Create Anything is an AI-powered platform that generates mobile apps, websites, tools, and products from text prompts, producing working code.
AI & Machine LearningDeveloper ToolsSaaS
Dhruv Amin(Founder)in
Co-investorsLigature VCM13The MBA FundBessemer Venture PartnersMontage VenturesUncork Capital
Confido provides AI-powered automation for cash application, deduction management, and dispute resolution on a single platform, designed specifically for accounting teams at consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareFintechSaaSNew York City, US
Kara Holinski(Founder)inJustin Hunter(Founder)inTrevor Hanus(Executive Officer, Director)inEmery Wager(Executive Officer, Director)inStephanie Watanabe(Executive Officer)AJ Hanus(Executive Officer)
Co-investorsBarrel VenturesTogether FundWatchfire VenturesY CombinatorBlume VenturesBreakwater Ventures+7 more
Elicit is an AI-powered research assistant that helps users discover, analyze, and synthesize scientific literature and research findings.
AI & Machine LearningEdTechEnterprise SoftwareSaaSOakland, US
Andreas Stuhlmüller(Cofounder & CEO)inJungwon Byun(Cofounder & COO)inAdam Heneghan(Executive Officer)in
BoardKevin Willer(Director)John Elton(Director)John McGee(Director)
Co-investorsFifty YearsMythos Ventures Management, LlcPreston-Werner VenturesWinklevoss CapitalBasis Set Ventures
Felt is a cloud-native, extendable platform for creating, visualizing, and analyzing geospatial data on interactive maps, with support for drag-and-drop file uploads, geocoding, and cartographic styling.
Data & InfrastructureDeveloper ToolsSaaSTelluride, US
Tomer Alpert(Manager & Chief Executive Officer)inGRACIE EVERITT(FOUNDER)Sam HashemiinKearston Grace Everitt(Chief Operating Officer)Rachel Zackin
Co-investorsDesigner FundEnergize CapitalMoxxie VenturesSHAKTIBain Capital VenturesBCV
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Felt provides clinical infrastructure for product and engineering teams to embed regulated healthcare services into applications through an SDK, licensed clinical network, and compliance contracts.
Developer ToolsDigital HealthHealthtechSaaS
Co-investorsDigiTx Partners LLCBain Capital VenturesBCVDesigner FundEnergize Capital
Footwork is a venture capital firm that leads and co-leads Seed and Series A rounds, typically investing $1–15 million in companies with early product-market fit.
ConsumerEnterprise SoftwareSan Francisco, US
Mike Smith(Partner)inNikhil Basu Trivedi(Partner)in
Co-investorsVintage Investment PartnersAcrew CapitalBarrel VenturesBFG PartnersBTVWatchfire Ventures+1 more
Fuse provides a WhatsApp-based platform that enables insurance agents and partners to manage automobile insurance transactions, from quotations to policy issuance.
InsurTechSaaSJakarta, ID
Co-investorsAC VenturesGolden Gate VenturesLowercarbon CapitalCommerce VenturesNextView VenturesPrimary Venture Partners
Fuse provides a single API layer that connects to multiple bank data providers like Plaid, MX, and Teller, automatically routing each bank to its most reliable provider and normalizing data across them.
FintechSaaSNew York City, US
Boateng Opoku-Yeboah(Founder)inLandon Vago-Hughes(Founder)Tunde Alao(Founder)in
Co-investorsY CombinatorCommerce VenturesLowercarbon CapitalNextView VenturesPrimary Venture Partners
Fuse uses AI and automation to provide price transparency in US healthcare by determining accurate insurance benefits, detecting underpayments, and delivering cost estimates to patients before treatment.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareFintechHealthtechSaaSLondon, GB
Sho Sugihara(Founder)inOscar Wilsby(Founder)in
Co-investorsDelight VenturesTranspose Platform ManagementY CombinatorCommerce VenturesLowercarbon CapitalNextView Ventures+1 more
Monk provides an API-first platform that turns vehicle photos taken on standard smartphones into structured inspection outputs, using guided capture, image-quality checks, and damage analysis.
AI & Machine LearningMobility & TransportationSaaS
Co-investorsIris CapitalAcrew CapitalBetter Tomorrow VenturesBTVRPSG Capital VenturesSharrp Ventures
Protege aggregates and curates real-world data from diverse sources to create AI-ready datasets for model developers.
AI & Machine LearningData & Infrastructure
Bobby Samuelsin
Co-investorsAndreessen HorowitzCRV (Charles River Ventures)Flex Capital PartnersThe MBA FundBloomberg Beta
Snout provides infrastructure for veterinary clinics to offer monthly wellness plans, letting pet owners enroll without credit checks while clinics are paid upfront at the time of care.
FintechSaaSLos Angeles, US
Emily Dong(Founder & CEO)inJennifer YipDavid(Chief Operating Officer)Kyle(Chief Technology Officer)
Co-investors500 GlobalBread And Butter Ventures, LlcFinancial Venture StudioMuse CapitalRestive VenturesSterling Road+1 more
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Co-investorsArc AngelsBlackbird VenturesDesigner FundIcehouse Ventures
Trendsi is a fashion supply chain platform offering dropshipping, open-pack wholesale, made-to-order, and private labeling services, letting online and brick-and-mortar retailers list and sell curated apparel without upfront inventory.
B2B MarketplacesE-commerceLogistics & Supply ChainSan Francisco, US
Sherwin Xia(Cofounder)Sherwin X(Founder)
Co-investorsSierra VenturesBasis Set VenturesLightspeed Venture Partners
Other
Tracked investments with no reachable website or further public details — typically companies that wound down, renamed, or were absorbed.
BenableHeardHeard TechnologiesHoneydewPortexPowerReflexAIWaldoWatershed
Rows marked “SEC filing” are inferred from directors named on the company's SEC Form D — public regulatory data, not a portfolio list published by the firm.
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companiesFootwork · financialit.net · Sep 6, 2026
WindBorne · techcrunch.com · Aug 5, 2026
Anything · startupfortune.com · Jul 16, 2026
Cradlewise · whalesbook.com · Jun 26, 2026
GPTZero ↗︎ · techbuzz.ai · Jun 23, 2026
Fuse · eu-startups.com · Jun 4, 2026
Fuse · eu-startups.com · Jun 4, 2026
Fuse · techcrunch.com · Mar 16, 2026
Frequently asked questions
- How many investments has Footwork made?
- Footwork has 31 tracked investments, including 10 dated in the last 24 months.
- What stage does Footwork invest at?
- Footwork invests at the Seed, Series A stages.
- What is Footwork's typical check size?
- Footwork typically writes checks of $1M – $15M.
- What sectors does Footwork focus on?
- Footwork focuses on Consumer, Enterprise Software.
- Where is Footwork located?
- Footwork is headquartered in San Francisco, US.
- Does Footwork lead rounds?
- Yes, Footwork leads investment rounds.
- Who does Footwork co-invest with?
- Footwork most often shares deals with Designer Fund, Uncork Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, among 37 tracked co-investors.
Media · Podcasts & interviews
featuring the teamFootwork’s Secret Sauce | Mike Smith, Nikhil Basu Trivedi
The Peel with Turner Novak · Mike Smith
Mastering the Slope of Learning - Nikhil Basu Trivedi - Footwork - Episode #73
Not Another CEO · Nikhil Basu Trivedi
Footwork VC's Mike Smith | Finding Your Fit in ECommerce
Greylock · Mike Smith · youtube.com
Dean's Speaker Series | Mike Smith, MBA 98, General Partner & Co-Founder, Footwork
Berkeley Haas · Mike Smith
Mike Smith and Nikhil Basu Trivedi – Footwork Ventures (Manager Meetings, EP.12)
Capital Allocators with Ted Seides · Mike Smith
Footwork VC's Mike Smith on Finding the Right Fit in ECommerce
Greylock · Mike Smith
Co-investors · 100
Lightspeed is a global venture capital firm that has spent over two decades backing innovative companies as an early and first investor.
Uncork Capital (formerly SoftTech VC) is a seed-stage venture firm that invests early in founders, with a focus on AI-native companies building leverage and scale.
CRV is a venture capital firm that backs founders at the seed and Series A stages, focusing on those with deep conviction and unique insights.
Moxxie Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in companies focused on improving aspects of daily life and the workplace.
Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) is a venture capital firm founded in 2009 by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, known for pioneering the platform model with a large team of operators supporting founders across stages.
General Catalyst is a venture capital firm operating as a partnership focused on company building and accelerating the growth of the businesses it backs.
Founders Fund is a venture capital firm that backs technology companies building transformative products.
Bessemer Venture Partners is a global venture capital firm that partners with entrepreneurs across enterprise, consumer, and healthcare sectors from early stages through growth.
Felicis Ventures is a venture capital firm that backs founders primarily at the Seed and Series A stages, frequently leading or co-leading rounds. It operates with a founder-first approach, including a founder pledge and voting commitments.
BCV Labs is the platform and hands-on support arm of Bain Capital Ventures, providing portfolio founders with go-to-market strategy, brand development, hiring assistance, and customer introductions.
NextView Ventures is a seed-stage venture capital firm that works closely with founders, providing hands-on support to help build companies from inception to scale.
▶88 more co-investors
Forerunner VenturesShasta VenturesPrimary Venture PartnersBetter Tomorrow VenturesTeamworthy VenturesReach CapitalBlackbird VenturesAllison Pickens VenturesSilverton PartnersTwelve BelowEnergize CapitalSpringdale VenturesSequoia CapitalGV (Google Ventures)Craft VenturesTechstarsLong Journey VenturesBenchmarkKleiner PerkinsDCVC (Data Collective)Coatue ManagementKrakenNorwest Venture PartnersGreat Oaks Venture CapitalBalderton CapitalEniac VenturesGradient VenturesQuiet CapitalSusa VenturesGoat CapitalFirstMark CapitalOffline VenturesPartech VenturesSlow VenturesUpHonest CapitalFreestyle CapitalSignalFireObvious VenturesCanvas VenturesFlybridge Capital PartnersBowery CapitalSouth Park CommonsStride VCElectric Capital8VCTrinity VenturesBuckley Ventures Management Company LlcMaveron01 AdvisorsThrive CapitalBase10 PartnersDCM VenturesKortschak Investments L.P.Kindred VenturesGeneral PartnershipUnusual VenturesCowboy VenturesAIX Venturesboldstart venturesRenegade PartnersLeft Lane CapitalICONIQ CapitalZetta Venture PartnersVine VenturesSerena VenturesHeartcore CapitalHighland Capital PartnersThe Finger GroupScrum VenturesVitalStage VenturesPresence CapitalAdverb VenturesSpero VenturesEnsemble VCcLabsAstanor VenturesAmity VenturesJigsaw VCSquare Peg CapitalDimension CapitalHuman CapitalVista Venture PartnersPenny Jar Capital VentureCambrian VenturesStarting LineVMG PartnersAlabasterVictress Capital
Firms observed investing alongside Footwork, from public investor directories. Shared companies are the overlap with Footwork's recorded portfolio.
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