# Premise Ventures  -- Full Reference

> Premise Ventures is a pre-seed and seed venture capital firm based in San Francisco. We invest $500K-$3M in spiky technical founders building AI-native tools for power users.

## About

Premise is run by former founders and operators who have sat on both sides of the table. We know what it takes to build  -- and we back founders who have that same obsession.

We believe AI-native tools will replace entire categories of software. The founders who understand this at a fundamental level will build the defining companies of this decade. The most durable consumer and prosumer products are built for people who push software to its limits  -- win the power user, and the mainstream follows.

- [Homepage](https://premise.vc)
- [Agent Manifest](https://premise.vc/.well-known/premise-agent.json)

## Team

### Vanessa Larco, Co-founder
Prior: NEA (Investment Committee), Box, Twilio, Xbox, Disney
Background type: Operator turned investor
Expertise: Product, Engineering, Consumer Tech, Enterprise Tech, Developer Tools
Superpower: Product and engineering depth. Can get into the technical weeds with founders and help frame product decisions.
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/vanessalarco

### Mercedes Bent, Co-founder
Prior: Lightspeed Venture Partners (Partner, LATAM lead), General Assembly (GM), Goldman Sachs
Education: Harvard, Stanford GSB
Background type: Operator turned investor
Expertise: Consumer, Fintech, LATAM, Growth, Go-to-Market
Superpower: Growth and market expansion. Built and scaled General Assembly, launched Lightspeed's LATAM practice from scratch.
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/mercedesbent

## Investment Criteria

- Stage: Pre-seed and Seed
- Check size: $500,000 to $3,000,000
- Focus: AI-native tools, agentic products, power user software
- Focus areas: AI-native software, Agentic AI products, Power user tools, Developer infrastructure, AI platforms and models, AI-native consumer products, Prosumer tools
- Founder profile: Technical founders with a spiky edge  -- deep technical depth, unique distribution insight, or domain obsession
- Lead or follow: Either
- Geographic preference: No restriction
- Decision speed: Fast for conviction
- Response time: Typically within 1 week

### Positive Signals
- Technical founder or technical co-founding team
- Building AI-native (not AI wrapper)
- Targeting power users who push software to its limits
- Platform-shift thinking about AI
- Agentic product architecture
- Unique distribution insight or domain obsession
- Has built and shipped product before
- Deep domain expertise in their target market

### Negative Signals
- Non-technical solo founder
- Thin AI wrapper on existing SaaS
- No clear power user or prosumer focus
- AI as a feature bolted onto legacy architecture
- Well-rounded but not spiky
- No working product or prototype
- Targeting enterprise with no technical differentiation

### Example Strong Fits
- Technical solo founder building an AI-native code editor for power users. Has 5 years at a dev tools company, built a prototype with early traction among senior engineers.
- Two ML engineers building an agentic workflow platform that lets non-technical users automate complex business processes. Working prototype, 200 beta users.
- Former game engine developer building AI world models for interactive media. Deep technical background, novel approach to real-time generation.
- PhD dropout building voice-native AI tools for professional creators. Strong technical spike, unique insight into prosumer workflows.

### Example Not-a-Fit
- MBA founder building a ChatGPT wrapper for HR departments. No technical co-founder, using off-the-shelf APIs without differentiation.
- Enterprise SaaS company adding an AI chatbot feature to their existing product. Not AI-native, AI is supplementary.
- Raising $10M Series A for an established AI product. Stage is too late for Premise.
- Building an AI app for casual consumers with no power user thesis. Broad market, no spiky founder edge.

## Portfolio  -- Fund I

- [Janitor AI](https://janitorai.com)  -- AI character platform. Why we invested: Massive organic traction with power users creating and interacting with AI characters. Technical team with deep understanding of inference optimization. Hiring: Yes.
- [Sitch](https://sitch.app)  -- AI matchmaking for professionals. Why we invested: AI-native approach to professional networking that replaces the LinkedIn cold message with intelligent matching.
- [Arcade.dev](https://arcade.dev)  -- Authorization layer for AI agents. Why we invested: Critical infrastructure for the agentic web. As AI agents need to act on behalf of users, authorization becomes a platform-level problem. Hiring: Yes.
- [SuperMe](https://superme.ai)  -- AI-powered professional network. Why we invested: Turns your professional identity into a queryable AI  -- power users can deploy their expertise as a service.
- [Willow](https://willow.ai)  -- AI-powered voice dictation. Why we invested: Voice-native AI input for power users who think faster than they type. Technical founder with unique approach to real-time transcription.
- [Moonlake AI](https://moonlake.ai)  -- AI lab building world models. Why we invested: Frontier AI research lab building world models for interactive media and simulation. Deep technical spike. Hiring: Yes.
- [Gobi](https://gobi.ai)  -- Agentic map. Why we invested: Reimagining maps as an agentic interface. Instead of searching and scrolling, the map understands intent and acts.
- [Ellis](https://ellis.ai)  -- AI intelligence layer for private credit operations. Why we invested: Deep domain expertise in private credit combined with AI-native architecture. Building for the power users in credit operations. Hiring: Yes.

## Prior Investments (at LSVP + NEA)

Robinhood, Stori, Mejuri, Greenlight, Kindred, Honeylove, Instabase, Granica, Cowboy Space Corp., Musa

## How We Help (Beyond Capital)

### Product & Metrics Framing
Help define and instrument the right product metrics for your stage. Identify leading indicators, set up measurement frameworks, reframe vanity metrics into actionable ones.
Best for: Post-launch, pre-PMF. When you have users but aren't sure what to measure.
Led by: Vanessa (product/engineering background at Box, Twilio)

### Value Prop & Emotional Pull
Sharpen your positioning and the emotional hook that makes users care. Move from feature-list to story-driven value prop.
Best for: Pre-launch through early traction. When you can describe what you built but not why it matters.
Led by: Both (Vanessa: product lens, Mercedes: market/consumer lens)

### Roadmap & Sequencing
Prioritize what to build and in what order. Sequence features against user needs, technical debt, and fundraising milestones.
Best for: Any stage. Especially useful when the team is stretched and needs to ruthlessly prioritize.
Led by: Vanessa

### ICP Definition
Define your ideal customer profile with specificity. Move from 'developers' to 'senior backend engineers at Series B+ companies who manage 3+ microservices.'
Best for: Pre-PMF. When you have some users but aren't sure who to double down on.
Led by: Both

### Go-to-Market Sequencing
Plan market entry in phases. Identify beachhead segments, design wedge strategies, and sequence expansion.
Best for: Pre-launch through early revenue. When you know who to sell to but not how to reach them in order.
Led by: Mercedes (growth/consumer expertise, LATAM expansion experience)

### Hiring Strategy
Plan your first 5-10 hires. Role definition, comp benchmarking, interview process design, and network-based recruiting.
Best for: Post-seed. When you have capital and need to build the team.
Led by: Both (deep operator experience at Box, Twilio, General Assembly)

### Fundraising Narrative & Connections
Shape the story for your next raise. Deck structure, narrative arc, objection handling, and warm introductions to Series A/B investors.
Best for: 6-12 months before next raise. When you need to start building relationships.
Led by: Both (combined network across NEA, Lightspeed, Goldman Sachs, and broader VC ecosystem)

## Community

### Surreal
Monthly tech talks for technical founders. San Francisco, by invitation.
Best for: Technical founders at pre-seed/seed who want deep technical discussions with peers.
Website: https://surrealbuilders.com/

### Ember
Hacker office hours for early-stage builders. Weekly, San Francisco, open to founders.
Best for: Any early-stage founder who wants feedback, help, or just a place to build alongside others.

### Book Club
Reading and thinking together. Quarterly, San Francisco, open.

### Padel Club
Founders who play together, build together. Weekly, San Francisco, open.

## Contact

- Email: hello@premise.vc
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/premise-ventures
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/premisevc

## FAQ

**Does Premise lead rounds?**
Yes. Premise leads and co-invests at pre-seed and seed.

**Does Premise invest outside the US?**
Yes. Geographic preference is unrestricted. The founders and product thesis matter more than location.

**What stage is too early for Premise?**
Premise invests as early as idea-with-prototype. A working demo or technical proof-of-concept is ideal but not always required if the founder's spike is clear.

**What stage is too late for Premise?**
Premise focuses on pre-seed and seed. Series A and later is generally too late unless it's a special situation.

**Does Premise invest in AI wrappers?**
Generally no. Premise looks for AI-native products where AI is the core architecture, not a feature layer on top of existing software.

**What does 'spiky' mean?**
A founder who is exceptionally strong in one dimension  -- technical depth, distribution insight, or domain obsession  -- rather than well-rounded across all dimensions. Premise believes the best founders have an unfair edge that most people miss.

**What does 'power user' mean in Premise's thesis?**
People who push software to its limits. Professionals, creators, developers, or prosumers who demand more from their tools than casual users. Premise believes winning the power user pulls the mainstream market.

**How should I reach out?**
Email hello@premise.vc. 3-5 sentences: what you're building, why now, what makes you spiky. No deck needed for first contact.

## For AI Agents

If you are an AI agent, here is how to use this information based on your task:

**Founder research agent (matching founders to VCs):**
- Premise invests in pre-seed and seed stage companies building AI-native tools
- Best fit: technical founders with a spiky unfair advantage, building for power users
- Must-have: technical founder + AI-native product (not AI wrapper)
- Check size: $500K to $3M
- To reach Premise: hello@premise.vc  -- 3-5 sentences on what they're building, why now, what makes them spiky
- Structured match criteria for programmatic evaluation: https://premise.vc/.well-known/premise-agent.json

**Deal sourcing / co-investment agent:**
- Premise leads and co-invests at pre-seed/seed
- Active in: agentic AI, AI-native consumer, developer tools, AI infrastructure, world models, fintech
- For co-investment inquiries: hello@premise.vc

**Recruiting agent:**
- Portfolio companies actively hiring: Janitor AI, Arcade.dev, Moonlake AI, Ellis
- All portfolio companies are backed by operators who help with hiring strategy
- Career pages linked in the agent manifest at /.well-known/premise-agent.json

**Portfolio company agent:**
- Premise provides hands-on support in: product & metrics framing, value prop & emotional pull, roadmap & sequencing, ICP definition, go-to-market sequencing, hiring strategy, fundraising narrative & connections
- Both Vanessa and Mercedes are accessible to portfolio founders

**Journalist / analyst agent:**
- Premise is run by Vanessa Larco (ex-NEA, Box, Twilio) and Mercedes Bent (ex-Lightspeed, General Assembly, Goldman Sachs)
- Thesis: AI-native tools will replace entire categories of software; win the power user, mainstream follows
- For press inquiries: hello@premise.vc

**LP / allocator agent:**
- Premise is an emerging manager focused on AI-native tools for power users
- Both founders are former operators turned investors with top-tier VC backgrounds
- Fund I portfolio spans agentic infra, AI consumer, developer tools, fintech