Precursor Ventures

We're hiring interns! Precursor's investment team is hiring current graduate students for a 12-week paid, remote internship program! Deadline to apply is Sept. 8th. More details below:

Introducing Lauren Geissler and Emily de Ayora! Design League Co. is revolutionizing the way people plan and design events of all kinds by building a multi-sided marketplace. This innovative platform connects users with top photographers, wedding planners, and vendors to create stunning and memorable events. Lauren Geissler (Co-Founder and CEO) and Emily de Ayora (Co-Founder and COO) met at Stanford Law School and began their careers as attorneys. However, their passion for event planning led them to leave corporate law and co-found Downey Street Events, one of the premier wedding planning and design firms in the San Francisco Bay Area. Over 13 years of planning and designing luxury weddings, they conceptualized their “dream product” for designing weddings, culminating in the creation of Design League Co. By combining cutting-edge technology with top-tier design content and personalized recommendations, Design League Co. empowers users to create unforgettable events with ease. Whether planning a wedding, corporate event, or any other special occasion, Design League Co. ensures that every detail is perfect and every moment is memorable.

Introducing Ethan Barhydt! Frontline AI’s mission is to reimagine how frontline sales teams interact with customers using AI, starting with a completely autonomous AI sales coach. Their customers include some of the biggest names in education and finance. Ethan Barhydt, Frontline AI’s founder and CEO, has been in the space for a decade. In his first job after graduating from Harvard in 2014, long before the current AI revolution, he worked alongside sales managers and came to believe that sales was ripe for AI tooling, given its massive datasets of call recordings and a lot of manual work. Having started his first company at 19, Ethan’s first instinct was to quit his job and build a company around the idea, and so he left New York for San Francisco and co-founded VoiceOps. Frontline is the next evolution, which takes advantage of generative AI. Together with his team, they’ve used lots of data to figure out what great sales calls look like, and how to coach reps to success. They also collected a decade of proprietary data which, combined with LLMs, powers their autonomous AI sales coach. Ethan’s favorite company value is “subtraction.” Whenever they build a feature, they ask “if we had to cut 50% from this feature, how would we do it?” The result? A lean, fast-moving team and a simple product. In the wise words of Henry David Thoreau, “the soul grows by subtraction, not addition.”

Congrats to why?! on raising a $1.65M Pre-Seed! why?! is the messaging app for interesting, interested people.

Introducing Jamil Karriem! Hiki is the pioneering social and relationship app designed specifically for the Neurodivergent community. The app was developed in collaboration with hundreds of Autistic adults and built by a majority ND team. This community-driven approach ensures that the product is accessible and user-friendly; building in collaboration with the community ensures that the individuals they seek to serve are being seen, heard and truly honored. Jamil Karriem, Founder and CEO, has a background in private equity and early stage technology. Prior to Hiki he was the Head of Business Development at Bungalow. Jamil was inspired to create Hiki after hearing a family member on the Autism spectrum share his experiences with loneliness and social isolation, which highlighted the need for an accessible platform for fostering connections and relationships within the Neurodivergent community. Hiki offers a safe, inclusive space where being atypical is celebrated, and users can embrace both their uniqueness and their shared experiences. As most social and dating apps in the market lean into the AI revolution - telling users exactly what to say to land a date, exactly what to put in their bio to seem cool. Hiki has chosen to go in the opposite direction - creating space for its members to disclose their communication preferences, their support needs, their favorite stims and their divergent traits. Hiki stands firm in their belief that radical authenticity is the quickest way to meaningful connections. Hiki's mission is rooted in the belief that friendship, family, community, and love are essential to wellbeing. Hiki is more than just an app where Neurodivergent individuals can build meaningful connections; it's a pillar of a movement towards fostering a sense of radical authenticity, belonging, and joy for a meaningful part of the population that has long been underserved. With its thoughtful approach, Hiki is setting a new standard for inclusivity and support in the digital age.

A huge thank you to the amazing team at Enjoy The Work for coordinating our "Raising an Inside Round" webinar! 🎉 Your expertise and organization made the session a great success. Also, a big shoutout to all the founders who joined us. Your participation and engagement were invaluable, and we hope the insights shared were helpful as you navigate your funding journeys. 🚀 Looking forward to more such insightful sessions and continued collaboration with the ETW team!

Introducing Lindsey Hoell! Dispatch Goods is disrupting the perishable supply chain by enabling circularity, visibility, and efficiency into cold chain logistics. By enabling "milkman models" for home deliveries, Dispatch Goods offers cost reduction to businesses by reducing the purchase of new goods and materials, increases consumer delight, and creates a more circular and sustainable supply chain. Lindsey Hoell, Founder and CEO, has a deep commitment to solving the global waste crisis. Her passion for environmental sustainability was ignited through her experiences near coastal areas, where she witnessed firsthand the devastating impact of trash washing up on shorelines. Under her leadership, Dispatch Goods is creating a platform that makes reuse plug and play for businesses, helping to significantly reduce waste in the food industry. Dispatch Goods is at the forefront of transforming the food packaging industry with its commitment to reusability and sustainability. By integrating reusable packaging into the food delivery and take-out industry, Dispatch Goods is paving the way for a more sustainable and environmentally friendly future.

Congrats Revi on raising a $14.5M Series A! Revi is a simple, seamless and safe ordering system that doesn’t just take orders but also drives revenue.

Introducing Richie Serna! Finix is a full-stack payment processor enabling businesses to accept and send payments. From startups to publicly traded companies, Finix offers everything needed to deliver a world-class payments experience across the US and Canada. Taking a dashboard-first, API-powered approach that prioritizes no-code and low-code features, Finix is making it easier than ever for businesses to craft custom payment solutions that fit their individual needs, without requiring an army of developers or years for development. Now, companies can set up payments in a matter of hours, allowing them to focus on growth and innovation. Richie Serna is Co-Founder and CEO of Finix. Before founding Finix, Richie was an engineer at Balanced, the first developer-friendly payment API for online marketplaces and P2P services, and a consultant at Booz & Company. He earned his B.A. in government at Harvard University. Finix is at the forefront of transforming the financial services ecosystem, offering everything needed to deliver a world-class payments experience. Leading software platforms, marketplaces, retail, and e-commerce businesses use Finix’s universal payments API and dashboard to accept payments quickly, eliminate manual workflows, delight customers, and quickly grow revenue.

Congrats Nagish on raising a $11M Series A! Nagish makes telecommunication more accessible by empowering users to take phone calls via text.