Starting Line
Venture capitalChicago · Pre-Seed–Series A · 5 people tracked
Also known as Starting Line New TV · THE STARTING LINE MANAGEMENT, LLC
Investment thesis
The firm invests with strong conviction at the earliest stage, leading seed rounds for founders in emerging categories and industries before mainstream adoption. They specialize in consumer categories at the intersection of behavioral, health, and economic change, with particular emphasis on novel AI applications.
Source: firm website, verified Aug 3, 2026.
Team · 5 people
from the firm's website
What they invest in
from 20 of 56 portfolio companiesConsumer ×6Fintech ×5E-commerce ×4SaaS ×4AI & Machine Learning ×3Logistics & Supply Chain ×3B2B Marketplaces ×2Direct to Consumer ×2
HQs:United States×20
Investments · 56 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathChicago, US
Steven Galanis(Executive Officer, Director)Jonathan Turner(Director)Dave Hsu(Executive Officer)Jonathan Shulkin(Director)Eric Fleisig-Greene(Executive Officer)
Board seatEzra Galston· per SEC Form D · $12.9M raise · filed Sep 2022
Stuart, US
Board seatEzra Galston· per SEC Form D · $25M raise · filed Mar 2024
HealthtechEvanston, US
Jacob Avraham(Executive Officer, Director)Elan Mosbacher(Executive Officer, Director)Guy Turner(Director)
Board seatHaley Kwait Zollo· per SEC Form D · $9.5M raise · filed May 2025
Unchained provides bitcoin financial services including custody, loans, and wealth management built on collaborative custody structures.
Crypto & Web3FintechAustin, US
Michael Komaransky(Director)Joseph Kelly(Executive Officer, Director)Mike Erwin(Director)Dhruv Bansal(Executive Officer, Director)
Board seatEzra Galston· per SEC Form D
Beverly Hills, US
Brandon Werber(Executive Officer, Director)Eliyahu Ben-Ezra(Executive Officer)Roy Rubin(Director)Asher Leids(Director)
BoardWilliam Su(Director)David Shadpour(Director)
Cargado operates a digital marketplace connecting freight brokers and carriers for cross-border freight movements between Mexico, Canada, and the United States.
B2B MarketplacesLogistics & Supply ChainSaaSChicago, US
Matt Silver(Co-founder)Rylan Hawkins(Co-founder)Matthew Silver(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardBrad Svrluga(Director)
Chowbus provides technology solutions designed for restaurants, with current focus on U.S.-based establishments.
FoodTechSaaSChicago, US
Suyu Zhang(Executive Officer, Director)Linxin Wen(Executive Officer, Director)Howard Bhyun(Executive Officer)Qi Zhao(Executive Officer)Pu Chen(Executive Officer)
BoardHarley Miller(Director)
Classet uses AI-powered voice interviews to automate candidate screening and improve the hiring process for recruiters and hourly workers.
AI & Machine LearningHR TechChicago, US
Gino Rooney(Executive Officer)Cooper Newby(Executive Officer, Director)Nick Jones(Executive Officer, Director)
Coverstar is a social media app for young people featuring creator-focused features like daily challenges, livestreaming, and avatar gaming, with AI-assisted and human-moderated content to prioritize user safety.
ConsumerCreator EconomySocial
Flyhomes provides a wholesale lending platform offering "Buy Before You Sell" financial products that allow homebuyers to purchase a home before selling their current one.
B2B MarketplacesFintechPropTechSeattle, US
Tushar Garg(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)Adam Hopson(Executive Officer)inRyan Dibble(Executive Officer)inMark Vadon(Director)Stephen Lane(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)
BoardAlex Rampell(Director)
Hungryroot is a personalized meal and grocery service that combines the convenience of meal kits with the variety of a grocery store, allowing customers to set their own budget and receive curated meals and ingredients matched to their dietary preferences.
Direct to ConsumerE-commerceFoodTechNew York, US
Benjamin McKean(President and Chief Executive Officer)
M1 is a technology company offering brokerage services, advisory products, savings accounts, personal loans, and cryptocurrency trading to individual investors.
FintechUnknown, US
Chicago, US
Ross Gordon(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)Jeremy Gwynne(Executive Officer, Promoter)
Rise Science develops RISE, a mobile app that tracks sleep and energy levels while providing personalized recommendations based on sleep debt and circadian rhythm science.
ConsumerHealthtechWellness & Fitness
Jeff Kahn(Co-founder)Leon Sasson(Co-founder)
SpotHero is a parking reservation app that helps drivers find and book affordable parking at garages, lots, and valet services across North American cities.
ConsumerMarketplacesMobility & TransportationChicago, US
Mark Lawrence(Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer)Larry Kiss(Co-Founder, Chief Architect Officer)Samuel Guren(Director)Sam Yagan(Director)Michael Gamson(Director)
SuperCircle is a technology and reverse logistics platform that helps retail brands launch trade-in programs and manage excess inventory to reduce textile waste.
Circular EconomyLogistics & Supply ChainSaaS
Superpower offers personalized health testing and monitoring for consumers, analyzing 100+ biomarkers across multiple body systems.
AI & Machine LearningDigital HealthWellness & Fitness
Dr Anant Vinjamoori
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.
Frequently asked questions
- What stage does Starting Line invest at?
- Starting Line invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A stages.
- What is Starting Line's typical check size?
- Starting Line typically writes checks of $750K – $2M.
- What sectors does Starting Line focus on?
- Starting Line focuses on AI & Machine Learning, Consumer, Healthtech.
- Where is Starting Line located?
- Starting Line is headquartered in Chicago, US.
- Does Starting Line lead rounds?
- Yes, Starting Line leads investment rounds.
Media · Podcasts & interviews
featuring the teamEzra Galston (S2/ E5): How Starting Line Helps Founders Address Their Mental Health
Visible · Ezra Galston
Starting Line VC - Ezra Galston - Bootstrapping In America | tastylive
Ezra Galston · tastylive.com
Rethinking Supply Selling Your Own Product - Ezra Galston, Starting Line
Marketplace Conference · Ezra Galston
"Building Managed vs Non-Managed Marketplaces" - Ezra Galston, The Starting Line
Marketplace Conference · Ezra Galston
Haley Kwait Zollo - Starting Line Fund II
Haley Kwait Zollo · vimeo.com
Ezra Galston - Starting Line Fund II
Ezra Galston · vimeo.com
Co-investors · 16
Origin Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm backing founders building companies in the artificial intelligence economy, focusing on infrastructure, software, applications, services, and marketplaces that transform productivity and automation.
Andreessen Horowitz's Strategic Partnerships page describes collaborations that connect its portfolio companies with established institutions to help scale and deploy their technology.
Lightspeed Venture Partners is a global venture capital firm known for backing AI and technology founders, emphasizing deep, hands-on partnerships with the companies it funds.
Next Play Ventures is an investment firm founded by former LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner, focused on coaching and investing in entrepreneurial leaders building purpose-driven organizations.
Mischief is a San Francisco-based venture firm investing $1-5M in early-stage software companies, run by a small partnership of former operators.
Ironspring Ventures is a venture capital firm focused on the digital transformation of legacy industrial sectors, backing startups across construction, supply chain, logistics, manufacturing, and energy.
Proeza Ventures is a venture capital firm investing exclusively in early-stage startups in the mobility space, describing itself as the largest mobility fund in Latin America.
Sequoia Capital is a venture capital firm that partners with founders to build technology companies, with a strong current focus on artificial intelligence.
Social Leverage is an early-stage venture capital firm founded by entrepreneurs that has backed 150+ startups since 2009, including Robinhood, beehiiv, Kustomer and Manscaped.
Footwork is a San Francisco-based venture firm that leads and co-leads Seed and Series A rounds in companies showing early product-market fit, focusing on consumer technology and the consumerization of enterprise technology.
Dreamers VC is an early-stage venture firm that leverages a global network to connect founders with companies and provide support in high-growth markets.
Brand Foundry Ventures is a consumer product-only seed investor that focuses exclusively on "things you can see, touch, feel, and interact with" rather than software, targeting sustainable $250M-$750M outcome brands instead of chasing billion-dollar unicorns. The firm was born from Andrew Mitchell's successful angel investments in Warby Parker, Birchbox, Harry's, and Peloton, and maintains an unusually hands-on approach through their "People/Product/Pipeline" framework that requires founders to think as deeply about supply chain and margins as they do about design and marketing.
▶4 more co-investors
Solana VenturesG20 VenturesVU Venture PartnersBehind Genius Ventures
Firms observed investing alongside Starting Line, from public investor directories. Shared companies are the overlap with Starting Line's recorded portfolio.
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