Eliot Durbin
InvestorGeneral Partner at boldstart ventures · Board director at Curiosities · Board director at Artillery · Board director at Haxor
Miami, Florida
Writes $250K – $2M checks · typically $1M
About
Eliot Durbin is a day‑one, first‑check investor who backs pre‑product technical enterprise founders, turning reliability and chaos‑engineering expertise into company narratives, go‑to‑market plans, and investor communication coaching.
Contact· self-published, not guessed
Invests in
AI & Machine LearningCybersecurityDeveloper ToolsEnterprise SoftwareSaaS
Beyond investing
- Founded
- Eliot Durbin co-founded Penny Black, a private investment firm in NYC, in 2008. Eliot Durbin founded Templates.com, an online software retailer that was sold in late 2002.
- Education
- Studied at Georgetown University Studied at Columbia University (postgraduate study)
- Hobbies
- Eliot Durbin enjoys house music and most water sports (except polo). His favorite food is Joe's pizza on the Lower East Side and his favorite arcade game is Jurassic Park pinball.
From published sources — common ground for a warm intro.
Board director at Curiosities
Intro paths
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In turn, Eliot can intro founders to Curiosities's investors below.
Curiosities's investors · 1
Board director at ArtilleryYC S21
Intro paths
YC
Eliot went through Y Combinator (Summer 2021) — any YC alum in your network can reach them through the YC community.
GP
Their group partner at YC was Aaron Epstein, General Partner at Y Combinator — the partner who ran Artillery's batch and knows the company first-hand. YC profile ↗
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In turn, Eliot can intro founders to Artillery's investors below.
Artillery's investors · 6
boldstart venturesMiami · $1M – $3M checks · since 2021Essence Venture CapitalSeattle · $10K – $10M checks · since 2021First Round CapitalSan Francisco · $1M – $7M checks · since 2021General CatalystSan Francisco · $30M checks · since 2021Lowercase CapitalJackson · since 2021Y CombinatorSan Francisco · $500K checks · since 2021
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Co-founders at Artillery
HV
Hassy VeldstraFounder
HM
Hasan Minatullaevich VeldstraExecutive Officer, Director
Board director at Haxor
Intro paths
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In turn, Eliot can intro founders to Haxor's investors below.
Haxor's investors · 1
Experience
- BOLDstart VenturesGeneral Partnercurrent2010 — presentNew York City
- ClayInvestorcurrent2017 — presentNew York City Metropolitan Area
- CrewAIBoard Member | Investorcurrent2024 — present
- RecoBoard Member | Investorcurrent2020 — present
- KustomerInvestorcurrent2015 — presentGreater New York City Area
- SnykInvestorcurrent2015 — presentLondon Area, United Kingdom
- SecurityScorecardInvestorcurrent2013 — presentNew York City Metropolitan Area
- SuperhumanInvestorcurrent2014 — present
- SmallstepBoard Member | Investorcurrent2016 — present
- BigIDInvestorcurrent2016 — presentNew York City Metropolitan Area
- steadybitInvestor / Board Membercurrent2020 — present
- ReplicatedInvestorcurrent2014 — presentLos Angeles Metropolitan Area
- CatalyticInvestorcurrent2016 — presentGreater Chicago Area
- MStateCo-Foundercurrent2017 — presentNew York City Metropolitan Area
- JeliInvestor / Board Member2019 — 2023
- IOpipeInvestor2016 — 2019
- Rebel (Acquired by Salesforce)Investor2014 — 2018Greater New York City Area
- Yhat, Inc.Investor2013 — 2017New York City Metropolitan Area
- RapportiveInvestor2010 — 2012
- Penny Black Holdings LLCManaging Director & Co-Founder2007 — 2010New York City Metropolitan Area
- Permal Asset ManagementAssistant Vice President2006 — 2008
- Templates.comFounder2000 — 2002New York City Metropolitan Area
Skills & more
Start-ups89Finance21Investments35Business Development44Seed Capital6Mobile Internet4B2B13Marketing6Venture Capital58Sales1Entrepreneurship35Angel Investing9
+12 more
Corporate DevelopmentPrivate EquityMobile DevicesStrategic PartnershipsMergers & AcquisitionsCapital RaisingDeal SourcingVenture FinancingSaaSManagementLean StartupGo-to-market StrategyFrom Eliot's professional profile.
Deals · 3
CuriositiesBoard seat
via boldstart ventures · filed Jun 2026 · $10.4M raise
HaxorBoard seat
via boldstart ventures · filed Nov 2021 · $1.8M raise
ArtilleryBoard seat
via boldstart ventures · filed Aug 2021 · $2.1M raise
Attribution from SEC filings, press coverage, and firm rosters.
Colleagues at boldstart ventures
Charlotte Chapanoff
Head of Marketing & Global Events at boldstart ventures
Ed Sim
Founder and General Partner at boldstart ventures
Ellen Chisa
Partner at boldstart ventures
Ernest Addison
Senior Associate at boldstart ventures
Jennifer Moy
Chief Operating Officer at boldstart ventures
Natalie Ledbetter
Investor at boldstart ventures
Sparky
Investor at boldstart ventures
Todd Papaioannou
Senior Advisor at SAV (Scale Asia Ventures)
Network6
Ellen ChisaScout
Partner at boldstart ventures
Jack AltmanScout
General Partner at Benchmark
Shomik GhoshScout
Enterprise software enthusiast and taco bell aficionado
Allison Pickens
Solo GP Investor at Allison Pickens Ventures
Ernest Addison
Senior Associate at boldstart ventures
Tom Drummond
Managing Director at Heavybit
Investors connected to Eliot in public investor directories — a warm-intro map.
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Eliot Durbin?
- Eliot Durbin is a day‑one, first‑check investor who backs pre‑product technical enterprise founders, turning reliability and chaos‑engineering expertise into company narratives, go‑to‑market plans, and investor communication coaching.
- Where does Eliot Durbin work?
- Eliot Durbin is General Partner at boldstart ventures and Board director at Curiosities and Board director at Artillery and Board director at Haxor.
- What does Eliot Durbin invest in?
- Eliot Durbin invests in AI & Machine Learning, Cybersecurity, Developer Tools, Enterprise Software, SaaS.
- What check size does Eliot Durbin write?
- Eliot Durbin typically writes checks of $250K – $2M.
- What boards does Eliot Durbin sit on?
- Eliot Durbin holds tracked board seats at Artillery, Curiosities, Haxor.
- Where did Eliot Durbin go to school?
- Eliot Durbin studied at Georgetown University (Bachelor of Arts (BA)); Columbia University (Post Grad - Study, Finance).
Same school
Also attended Georgetown University404
Trae StephensPartner at Founders Fund and co-founder of AndurilLuciana LixandruPartner at Sequoia CapitalKatherine BoyleGeneral Partner at Andreessen Horowitz (American Dynamism)Tobi CokerDeal Partner at Felicis VenturesAna AndreescuInvestor at Index VenturesTed LeonsisFounder & Partner, Revolution Growth at Revolution
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+ 398 more
Also attended Columbia University726
Ben HorowitzCo-founder & General Partner at Andreessen HorowitzDoug LeonePartner at Sequoia Capital; former Global Managing PartnerChris DixonFounder & Managing Partner of a16z crypto at Andreessen HorowitzKai-Fu LeeChairman of Sinovation Ventures and CEO of 01.AIGabriella GiglioHR & Executive Talent at General CatalystScott BillerInvestor at GV (Google Ventures)
+ 720 more
Shared employers
Also worked at CrewAI2
Also worked at Kustomer14
Logan BartlettManaging Director at Redpoint VenturesNeeraj AgrawalGeneral Partner at Battery VenturesTinaInvestments & Portfolio Services Team Member at Clear VenturesAlex BardManaging Director at Redpoint VenturesEd SimFounder and General Partner at boldstart venturesGary BenittManaging Partner at Social Leverage
+ 8 more
Also worked at Snyk25
Tamar YehoshuaInvestor at IVP (Institutional Venture Partners)Ken FoxPartner at StripesBryan GertzogPartner at StripesMax ZangInvestor at AudaciousMatt CarbonaraInvestor at Mayfield FundEd SimFounder and General Partner at boldstart ventures
+ 19 more