Why Foundry Group invested in Starting Line VC

About Foundry Group

Foundry is a venture capital firm focused on providing early-stage technology investments.

• Boulder, Colorado, United States
• 11-50
• Venture Capital
• Convertible Note, Early Stage Venture, Late Stage Venture, Private Equity, Seed, Venture
• foundry.vc/

About Starting Line

Starting Line is an early stage consumer focused VC fund.

• Chicago, Illinois, United States
• 1-10
• Venture Capital
• Early Stage Venture, Seed
• www.startingline.vc

Our Investment in Starting Line

We are pleased to share Foundry Group’s investment in Starting Line.

History and Vision of Starting Line VC

Founded in 2018 by Ezra Galston, and headquartered in Chicago, Starting Line leads seed-stage rounds for consumer startups building products and services for the 99% economy – companies that leverage technology to be cheaper and better, open up access, and, ultimately, expand markets.

Unique Positioning in Chicago Startup Ecosystem

We’ve been a fan of Ezra’s for years, dating back to before he left Chicago Ventures.

Seth was a formal advisor to his first fund and will continue in that capacity – working closely with Ezra and this expanding (and fantastic) team at Starting Line.

This has given us a unique perspective on the fund as we’ve watched them grow from an experiment to a uniquely positioned, early-stage venture fund.

We’re particularly proud of what the team is building and the niche they’re carving out for themselves in Chicago.

Impressive Team Behind Starting Line VC

Ezra is joined at Starting Line by Partner Haley Kwait Zollo, an early Trunk Club employee, and two Venture Partners, Formstack founder Ade Olonoh and Scott Holloway, who led many of Instacart’s growth initiatives as their tenth employee and whom collectively bring deep Chicago startup experience to the team.

Their first fund includes early winners such as Cameo, Made In, Soona, and Unchained Capital, all of whom count Starting Line amongst their earliest backers and board members.

Alignment of Values with Foundry Group

Knowing that technology had the potential to deliver access to information across a wide range of demographics, Starting Line developed a platform to invest in products and services available to a broad range of Americans, what they refer to as the “99% American”.

These investments include Airvet ,  Chowbus,   Flyhomes, Hitch, Hungryroot, and Schoolhouse, and overlap with Foundry’s Marketplace theme.

Conclusion

Starting Line shares Foundry Group’s values and we are thrilled to begin our formal partnership with them as they support founders who bring value to everyday Americans.

You can read the rest of “Why we invested in” collection here:

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