Fundraising Fox
LEAD
Venture capitalOrlando · Pre-Seed–Series A · 11 people tracked
Find your way into LEAD
Sign up to see every warm intro you have to LEAD
- Paths you didn't know you had: your email and LinkedIn already hold routes to the LEAD team. We find them for you
- 2nd- and 3rd-degree connections: the friend-of-a-friend routes that take hours to manually find through your inbox or LinkedIn
- Answers now, not in days: momentum is everything in a raise. Skip asking around whether someone knows someone
Days of research, done the moment you sign in, with every route ranked by how warm it is.
Investment thesis
LEAD is a global venture firm dedicated to improving lives through sports and health. It operates two business units: an institutional asset manager running a family of funds spanning pre-seed to opportunistic stages (LEAD ONE, Lake Nona Fund, ADvantage, and Locker Room), and an advisory arm specialized in strategic innovation and investment initiatives including advisory and M&A, innovation intelligence, venture capital as a service, and equity endorsements. The firm invests globally with ticket sizes ranging from $100K to $10M and backs founders building world-changing businesses in sports and health.
Source: firm website, verified Sep 27, 2026.
Team · 11 people
from the firm's website & public directories
Co-founder of ADvantage with a decade of sports technology investing experience. He previously spent over seven years at OurCrowd, rising to Partner, and played six professional basketball seasons in Israel.
Justin Driscoll is a Principal at LEAD, where he was the company's first US employee. He manages the firm's investment activity and leads its corporate offering, with a focus on sports, health, healthcare, and consumer sectors.
Kaiwen Liu is an Associate at LEAD (Legacy of Adi Dassler), a venture capital firm founded by the adidas family, where the focus areas include sports and health. Liu previously competed as a professional golfer.
Nathalie Sonne is a Chief Innovation Officer with more than 15 years of experience in startups, innovation, and strategy, spanning marketing, program development, and operations. She has worked in both the United States and Europe and has led cross-functional teams. She is currently on a career break for full-time parenting.
What they invest in
from 4 of 6 portfolio companiesAI & Machine Learning ×3Sports Tech ×3Gaming ×2Consumer ×1Digital Health ×1Fintech ×1Healthtech ×1Media & Entertainment ×1
HQs:United States×2Ireland×1
Investments · 6 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathPortfolio company; CEO & Co-Founder Samantha Citro Alexander gave testimonial about Mudita's collaborative support.
Denver, US
Samantha Alexander(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)Chris Fanucchi(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)
BoardTimothy Schigel(Director)Thomas Rudy(Director)
Co-investorsAntlerleAD SportsMGV CapitalMudita VentureRefinery VentureService Provider Capital+1 more
Boomerang is a Miami-based lost-and-found platform that uses AI to help businesses identify and return items to customers.
Skyler Logsdon(Founder)in
Co-investors305 VenturesEverywhere VenturesEvolution VenturesGaingelsHarlo Equity PartnersLightShed Ventures+5 more
__Twitter.png)
Calorify measures individual metabolic rates and energy expenditure using doubly labeled water, a scientific method to quantify the calories people burn.
AI & Machine LearningDigital HealthHealthtechSports TechWellness & Fitness
Hari Mix(Founder & CEO)in
Co-investorsBronco VenturesSanta Cruz VentureSeaside VenturesHealthtech Capital
Irish sports media app that aggregates content from thousands of publishers into a personalised feed for fans.
AI & Machine LearningGamingDublin, IE
Co-investorsTechstarsBAM VenturesWestern Development Commission
Mustard offers mobile apps that use AI-based video analysis to assess golf swings and baseball pitching mechanics, delivering personalized reports and training plans.
AI & Machine LearningConsumerSports Tech
Tom House(Co-founder)
Co-investorsleAD SportsRed Bear VenturesIntersect VCOneTeam PartnersShasta Ventures
TAPPP builds a transaction and payment services platform for sports video streaming providers, connecting retail distribution of gift cards with real-time payment processing to add revenue and viewer interactivity.
FintechGamingMedia & EntertainmentSports TechNew York City, US
Sundip Agarwal(Founder)inSandy Agarwal(Founder & Chief Executive Officer)
Co-investorsAccompliceADVANTAGEOakvale CapitalVerance Capital4M HoldingCourtside Ventures+8 more
Frequently asked questions
- How many investments has LEAD made?
- LEAD has 6 tracked investments.
- What stage does LEAD invest at?
- LEAD invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A stages.
- What is LEAD's typical check size?
- LEAD typically writes checks of $100K – $10M.
- What sectors does LEAD focus on?
- LEAD focuses on AI & Machine Learning, Enterprise Software, FoodTech, Healthtech, Media & Entertainment, SaaS, Sports Tech, Wellness & Fitness.
- Where is LEAD located?
- LEAD is headquartered in Orlando, US.
- Does LEAD lead rounds?
- LEAD typically participates in rounds rather than leading them.
- Who does LEAD co-invest with?
- LEAD most often shares deals with leAD Sports, Antler, Courtside Ventures, among 13 tracked co-investors.
Media · Podcasts & interviews
featuring the teamLEAD co-founder and CEO Christoph Sonnen highlights why ...
Finance 360 · Christoph Sonnen · instagram.com
Behind the memes: Luigi Mangione and Brian Thompson
BBC World Service · Brian Thompson
Images
Similar investors
Everywhere Ventures is an early-stage venture firm that writes pre-seed checks and is backed by a community of founder and operator LPs.
M Accelerator is an accelerator and venture studio (a subsidiary of tech design company MEDIARS) that helps post-PMF founders and businesses build GTM infrastructure, custom tools, and AI-driven operational systems, and runs innovation programs for institutional partners.
Simsan Ventures is a venture capital firm focused on backing overlooked and underrepresented founders, aiming to democratise access to entrepreneurship and support diverse emerging investors.
BCF Ventures is a corporate venture capital fund spun off from BCF Business Law Firm in Montreal, investing in AI-driven enterprise software and digital-native consumer startups. It is a designated organization under Canada's Start-Up Visa Program.
Behind Genius Ventures is an early-stage venture firm that emphasizes community and content as central pillars of its operations, focusing on bringing people together.