Social Starts
Venture capitalSan Francisco · Pre-Seed–Series A · 5 people tracked
Also known as ATARAXIA PARTNERS, LLC · Social Starts Pioneer
Investment thesis
Social Starts runs a set of early-stage venture funds built around a data-driven, analytics-based methodology used to uncover the strongest companies within the strongest market segments. The firm has invested across areas including e-commerce, employment and hiring platforms, digital consumer brands, next-generation food, and education. Its current vehicle, Social Starts Health and Happiness, concentrates on startups that aim to help people live longer, live better, or both, reflecting a focus on health, wellness, and longevity outcomes.
Source: firm website, verified Aug 3, 2026.
Team · 5 people
from the firm's website
What they invest in
from 64 of 186 portfolio companiesHealthtech ×21SaaS ×20AI & Machine Learning ×16Digital Health ×12Enterprise Software ×12Consumer ×8Wellness & Fitness ×8Medical Devices ×6
HQs:United States×65Canada×1Mongolia×1
Investments · 186 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathAmplifiDx develops point-of-care molecular diagnostic tests and instruments, including its DX 100 platform and multiplex assays for sexual health and family & women's health.
Digital HealthFemTechHealthtechMedical DevicesPleasanton, US
Nancy Schoenbrunner(Chief Executive Officer)Ming Tan(Director)Sammy Datwani(Director)Bruce Sargeant(Director)Shoulian Dong(Chief Scientific Officer)Daniel Schoener(Chief Product Officer)
Honolulu, US
Brandon Bennett(Executive Officer, Director)Alan Solidum(Executive Officer)Carey Bennett(Executive Officer)Dan Freedman(Director)Donavan Kealoha(Director)
Astronomer provides Astro, a platform for running Apache Airflow, the open-source data orchestration tool used by enterprises to manage AI, ML, and analytics pipelines at scale.
AI & Machine LearningCloud ComputingData & InfrastructureDeveloper Tools
Ry Walker(Founder)
Attn: Grace designs and manufactures plant-based, skin-safe incontinence products for women, manufactured in carbon-neutral facilities.
Circular EconomyConsumerFemTechHealthtech
MiaAlex
Barn2Door provides software for independent farmers across America to sell their products, manage sales, and reduce administrative work.
AgTechFoodTechSaaSSeattle, US
KATHY CHILL(Director)JANELLE MAIOCCO(Executive Officer, Director)JAMES MAIOCCO(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardDUNCAN DAVIDSON(Director)
Beam Health develops AI-powered workflow software that automates administrative tasks across the patient journey for specialty clinics and medical practices, including intake, documentation, billing, and care coordination.
AI & Machine LearningDigital HealthHealthtechSaaSHolmdel, US
Sas Ponnapalli(Founder & CEO)Shawn Merani(Director)Ranga Jayawardena(Executive Officer)
BloomTech is an online coding and technology bootcamp that teaches in-demand skills to help students secure well-paying jobs.
AI & Machine LearningEdTechFintechSaaSAustin, US
Boundless (Thrive) offers a personalized digital health app that helps users adopt small daily behavior changes across five areas — food, movement, sleep, stress management, and social connection — through baseline assessments and tailored daily guidance.
AI & Machine LearningDigital HealthHealthtechWellness & Fitness
Arianna Huffington(Founder & CEO)
UnaliWear makes the Kanega Watch, a medical alert smartwatch with fall detection, button push, and voice activation that connects wearers to live emergency response agents 24/7.
Digital HealthHardwareWellness & FitnessAustin, US
William Lyon(Director)Ricky Solomon(Director)Jean Anne Booth(CEO & Founder)Marc DeVinney(Executive Officer)Brian Kircher(Co-founder & SMTS)
MediLedger is a blockchain-based platform that provides real-time contract pricing and customer eligibility alignment between pharmaceutical manufacturers, wholesalers, GPOs, and health systems to reduce chargebacks and revenue leakage.
Crypto & Web3Enterprise SoftwareHealthtech
Samantha Radocchia(Cofounder)
Needham, US
Andrea Valente(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)Steve Lindseth(Director)Bob Conway(Director)
New York, US
Brooke Hainey(Chief Merchandising Officer)Kent Helbig(Chief Operating Officer)Keith George(Chief Executive Officer, Secretary)Kevin Ryan(Director)
Advanced ManufacturingLos Angeles, US
Deborah Wei Mullin(Executive Officer, Director)
Building a visual history of the world's events.
Edifice Health develops iAge, a biological aging and immune-health test based on inflammation biomarkers, and sells related products through an online store.
BiotechDigital HealthHealthtechLongevitySan Mateo, US
Wolfgang Daum(Executive Officer, Director)David Furman(Director)Naveen Krishnan(Director)Paul Conley(Director)Santosh Padki(Director)David Goldberg(CEO)
Briarcliff Manor, US
Christopher Ricciardi(Executive Officer, Director)Charles Trafton(Executive Officer, Director)Pablo Srugo(Director)Daniel Gilbert(Director)Code Cubitt(Director)
Boston, US
Samuel Shames(Executive Officer)Elizabeth Gazda(Executive Officer, Director)David Cohen-Tanugi(Executive Officer, Director)Matthew J. Smith(Executive Officer, Director)Michael Gibson(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardWilliam Schroeder(Director)
Epic! is a digital library platform that provides access to books and reading materials for educational institutions and individual readers.
Digital HealthEdTechMinot, US
Todd Berning(Executive Officer)
BiotechNewton, US
Andrew Pearlman(Director)Randall Marshall(Executive Officer)Mark Tepper(Executive Officer, Director)James Larrick(Director)
Folia Health is a digital health platform that enables patients and caregivers to track symptoms, treatments, and health outcomes through personalized surveys, generating home-reported outcomes data used by life sciences companies and researchers to understand real-world treatment impacts.
Data & InfrastructureDigital HealthHealthtechMassachusetts, US
Founded by family caregiversNell Meosky Luo(CEO and Chairman)Dan Toffling(Co-Founder & CTO)Paul T. Meosky(Executive Officer, Director)
Frequently asked questions
- What stage does Social Starts invest at?
- Social Starts invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A stages.
- What sectors does Social Starts focus on?
- Social Starts focuses on Consumer, Digital Health, Direct to Consumer, E-commerce, EdTech, FoodTech, Healthtech, HR Tech, Longevity, Mental Health, Wellness & Fitness.
- Where is Social Starts located?
- Social Starts is headquartered in San Francisco, US.
- Does Social Starts lead rounds?
- Social Starts typically participates in rounds rather than leading them.
Media · Podcasts & interviews
featuring the teamMike Edelhart – Managing Partner At Social Starts – Vc Bringing A Data-Driven Approach To Investing
Finding Genius Podcast · Mike Edelhart
Inception with Katy Cottam, CEO of Luna Daily
Social Starts
Inception with Amélie Quilichini, CEO of Kolibri
Social Starts
50 Years of VC Culture - Are We Innovating Toward a Dead End? Or Actually A New Beginning?
Social Starts
Inception with Sabina Bruehlmann, CEO of Nimble
Social Starts
Inception with Lauren Picasso, CEO of Cure Hydration
Social Starts
Co-investors · 88
Techstars is a startup accelerator and early-stage investor that funds ambitious founders and provides capital, mentorship, and access to a global network of investors, operators, and corporate partners.
TSV Capital (TSVC), formerly TEEC Angel Fund, is a Silicon Valley seed-stage venture firm that backs technical founders at the earliest stages, having invested in over 200 early-stage companies.
Great Oaks Venture Capital is a New York-based early-stage investor that partners with founders at the earliest stages of company building across the United States.
Bullpen Capital is an early-stage venture firm that has funded over 100 companies, focusing on businesses that have found product-market fit but are overlooked by other investors.
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Gaingels is a large venture investor that co-invests alongside lead VCs in companies committed to building diverse and inclusive teams, while advocating for LGBTQ+ representation and equity of access in venture capital.
Felicis Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm that has backed founders for over 20 years, leading or co-leading the majority of its investments across seed and Series A rounds.
FundersClub is an online venture capital firm run by startup founders and VCs based in Silicon Valley, providing portfolio companies with software tools and a global network to support their growth.
Silverton Partners is an early-stage venture capital firm based in Texas that partners with founders long-term, having backed 75+ portfolio companies with 30+ acquisitions and 4 IPOs.
Fusion Fund is an early-stage venture capital firm backing startups with technical or data advantages in healthcare, enterprise AI, and industrial technology.
Scout VC is a venture capital firm backing frontier technology companies led by founders from the military, intelligence community, and national research labs.
IrishAngels is a Notre Dame alumni-affiliated angel investing network that backs early-stage founders at pre-seed and seed, providing capital plus access to a 200+ member investor network of operators and entrepreneurs.
Babel Ventures is an early-stage venture firm focused on consumer biotech investments, frequently acting as the first VC investor in its portfolio companies.
▶76 more co-investors
True Wealth VenturesAndreessen HorowitzAlumni VenturesBain Capital VenturesKleiner PerkinsMenlo VenturesBoxGroupRRE VenturesGreycroftFlybridge Capital PartnersCota CapitalLowercase CapitalRidge Ventures2048 VenturesTeamworthy VenturesTorch CapitalTusk Venture PartnersFikaThe Venture CollectiveMotivate Venture CapitalFoothill VenturesValor Equity PartnersBread And Butter Ventures, LlcSchematic VenturesMindset VentureBold Capital PartnersBig Idea VenturesRethink ImpactFounders FundLong Journey VenturesFJ LabsEverywhere VenturesDCVC (Data Collective)Coatue ManagementB Capital GroupIVP (Institutional Venture Partners)AtomicoPlug and Play VenturesEniac VenturesFirstMarkMayfield FundUpHonest CapitalLux CapitalCaffeinated CapitalSoftBank Vision FundIA VenturesOperator LPFlatiron HealthWGI GroupEclipse VenturesBetter Tomorrow VenturesDigital Currency GroupAcequia CapitalScience VenturesReach CapitalThird Kind Venture CapitalGolden VenturesWhat If VenturesRubicon Venture CapitalCurious CapitalRTP GlobalEuclid Venture PartnersGFT VenturesFemale FoundersFactorial CapitalDeep Fork CapitalExpon CapitalMax VenturesRethink Capital PartnersWest VenturesAdvancit CapitalSupernode VenturesHannah Grey VenturesE-MergeKeiretsu CapitalAsymmetry Ventures
Firms observed investing alongside Social Starts, from public investor directories. Shared companies are the overlap with Social Starts's recorded portfolio.
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