Fundraising Fox
Inspiration Ventures
Venture capitalSan Francisco · Seed · 5 people tracked
Also known as INSPIRATION VENTURE PARTNERS, LLC
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Investment thesis
Inspiration Ventures backs mission-driven founders building businesses aimed at improving the world, drawing on the partners' combined operational experience in founding and scaling companies. The firm emphasizes a collaborative, high-trust relationship with founders it calls 'compassionate collaboration,' offering honest, actionable feedback and hands-on guidance to CEOs. It focuses on early, seed-stage investing and cites a long track record of top-quartile performance relative to industry seed-fund averages.
Source: firm website, verified Sep 29, 2026.
Team · 5 people
from the firm's website
What they invest in
from 11 of 34 portfolio companiesSaaS ×7Enterprise Software ×5AI & Machine Learning ×4Data & Infrastructure ×2E-commerce ×2Fintech ×2HR Tech ×2Marketing Tech ×2
HQs:United States×15France×1
Who they back
founder profiles across 9 portfolio companiesFounding team size:solo founder×84+ founders×1
Investments · 34 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathBy year:2025 · 12024 · 12022 · 12021 · 22020 · 12017 · 12015 · 12014 · 12012 · 12011 · 22008 · 113 dated
Business platform that enables real-time reaction to the digital body language of users.
Santa Barbara, US
LEIFUR THORDARSON(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardROBERT FANINI(Director)in
Board seatGady Nemirovsky· per SEC Form D
Aksel Paris is an independent city guide to Paris founded by Eleanor Price, offering practical advice on navigation, attractions, dining, and logistics across the city's arrondissements.
Media & EntertainmentTravel & HospitalityParis, FR
Eleanor Price(Founder & English-language editor)
Co-investorsFJ Labs500 Global
BSPK offers a clienteling and sales conversion platform that uses AI to help retail brands deliver personalized, human-assisted shopping experiences both online and in-store.
AI & Machine LearningRetail TechSaaSSales TechSan Francisco, US
Zornitza Stefanova(Founder & CEO)in
Buffer is a social media management platform that enables small businesses, creators, and individuals to schedule posts, analyze engagement, and manage their presence across multiple social networks.
Creator EconomyMarketing TechSaaSSocialChicago, US
Joel Gascoigne(Founder & CEO)in
Co-investorsAngelPadCollaborative FundEMERGENT VENTURESHemisphere Ventures LLCOnStartupsRadicle Impact+4 more
CABAN Systems provides energy-as-a-service and battery energy storage systems, including infrastructure, operations, and maintenance offerings delivered through turnkey models with no upfront investment.
CleantechEnergySaaSBurlingame, US
Alexandra Rasch(Founder)inAllen Pitts(Executive Officer)in
BoardBob Kelly(Director)Caleb Powers(Director)Elena Savostianova(Director)Ryan Bisch(Executive Officer, Director)
Co-investorsPortfoliaBCP Ventures
Crowd Supply is a crowdfunding platform for hardware and technology products, vetting projects for originality, usefulness, and a commitment to user rights, and handling fulfillment for creators by shipping products to backers from its own warehouse.
B2B MarketplacesDeep TechE-commerceHardwareMarketplacesSemiconductorsPortland, US
Scott Torborg(Founder)inJoshua H Lifton(Executive Officer)Louis J Doctor(Executive Officer, Director)Joshua Lifton(Founder)Lou Doctor(Founder)
BoardAngela Jackson(Director)in
Co-investorsPortland Seed FundSOSVTFX Capital
DailyPay provides on-demand pay solutions that allow employees to access their earned wages before traditional paycheck cycles, serving employers and workers seeking greater financial flexibility.
Enterprise SoftwareFintechFuture of WorkHR TechSaaSNew York, US
Nelson Chai(Chief Executive Officer)inDeepa Subramanian(Chief Financial Officer)inAndrew Brandman(Chief Operating Officer)inPoulomi Damany(Chief Product Officer)inDavid Dyar(Chief Technology Officer)Jared DeMatteis(Chief Legal & Strategy Officer)in
Co-investors1/1 CapitalAccess Technology VenturesAnthem Venture Management, LlcCarrick Capital PartnersCollective LiquidityEQUIAM+16 more
EyeLevel provides visual intelligence technology for enterprise AI, including GroundX APIs and no-code tools for extracting from, interacting with, and reporting on complex documents.
AI & Machine LearningData & InfrastructureEnterprise SoftwareDenver, US
Benjamin Fletcher(Founder)
Co-investorsAlumni VenturesService Provider CapitalStrawberry Creek Ventures
Illumeo provides a learning management system serving CPA firms, enterprises, compliance-driven organizations, and small businesses across the United States.
EdTechEnterprise SoftwareHR TechSaaSLas Vegas, US
Greg Stout(Founder)in
Co-investorsMontage Capital
Workforce intelligence platform that helps teams focus on meaningful work.
Co-investorsGeneral CatalystGlobal Founders CapitalGradient Ventures
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Openbucks operates a payment platform that lets online shoppers pay with cash-backed retailer gift cards and point-of-sale credits, aimed at consumers without bank accounts or credit cards or who prefer to pay cash.
E-commerceFintechGamingSan Jose, US
Marc Rochman(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)in
BoardSumant Mandal(Director)Ryan Gilbert(Executive Officer, Director)
Co-investorsMucker CapitalMorado VenturesSV AngelTuesday Capital
Polymer provides runtime visibility and control over sensitive data as it moves across enterprise systems and SaaS platforms.
AI & Machine LearningCybersecurityData & InfrastructureEnterprise SoftwareSaaS
Co-investorsGaingelsGreen Egg VenturesMaccabee VenturesMudita VentureStory VenturesStudio VC+5 more
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TenderTree was a San Francisco online marketplace where families found, hired and paid vetted in-home caregivers.
Co-investorsExpansion Venture Capital
UserTesting provides a human insight platform that helps Product, Marketing, Digital, and CX teams at enterprises collect and analyze real human feedback to validate decisions and improve customer experiences.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareImpact & Social GoodMarketing TechSaaSBellevue, US
Co-investorsAccelAdams Street PartnersClearstone Venture PartnersDag VenturesIntercept VenturesSecond Alpha Partners+4 more
Other
Tracked investments with no reachable website or further public details — typically companies that wound down, renamed, or were absorbed.
OneEleven Financial Wellness, Inc.BeulrDealSiteGoodBoy StudiosHandipointsHearoHearo.Live - Multiplayer TVOne•ElevenOneElevenOwlytics HealthcarePreciatePredictaPublistRethinkRoveScootTab For A CauseTesloopTruth Bridge (formerly Bridge To College)Vyng
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.
Exits · 4
4 acquisitionsCrowd Supplyacq. by Mouser ElectronicsDealSiteacq. by NetRoadshowOpenbucksacq. by PaysafeRoveacq. by TripAdvisor
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companiesFrequently asked questions
- How many investments has Inspiration Ventures made?
- Inspiration Ventures has 34 tracked investments, 4 of which have exited, including 1 dated in the last 24 months.
- What stage does Inspiration Ventures invest at?
- Inspiration Ventures invests at the Seed stage.
- What is Inspiration Ventures's typical check size?
- Inspiration Ventures typically writes checks of $250K – $1M.
- What sectors does Inspiration Ventures focus on?
- Inspiration Ventures focuses on Sector Agnostic.
- Where is Inspiration Ventures located?
- Inspiration Ventures is headquartered in San Francisco, US.
- Does Inspiration Ventures lead rounds?
- Inspiration Ventures typically participates in rounds rather than leading them.
- Who does Inspiration Ventures co-invest with?
- Inspiration Ventures most often shares deals with Second Alpha Partners, Gaingels, Intercept Ventures, among 49 tracked co-investors.
Media · Podcasts & interviews
featuring the teamInvestor Connect - 563 - Gady Nemirovsky of Inspiration Ventures
Hall Martin · Gady Nemirovsky
Co-investors · 8
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Firms observed investing alongside Inspiration Ventures, from public investor directories. Shared companies are the overlap with Inspiration Ventures's recorded portfolio.
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