Work-Bench
Work-Bench is a New York City-based seed venture capital firm founded in 2013 that leads $2M-$4M Seed rounds in enterprise software startups. It manages Fund IV at $160M and supports portfolio founders with GTM playbooks, research, and access to a 10,000+ member enterprise tech community.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Work-Bench does
Work-Bench is a New York City-based seed-stage venture capital firm founded in 2013 that invests in early-stage enterprise software startups. The firm manages Fund IV at $160M (announced May 2025), writing lead Seed checks of $2M-$4M into companies building AI/ML, cybersecurity, infrastructure and developer tools, and horizontal or vertical enterprise applications. Its portfolio includes multiple unicorns such as Cockroach Labs, Spring Health, Socure, and Goodfire, alongside active investments in Courier Health, GovWell, and a steady cadence of new seed deals in 2025-2026.
Beyond capital, Work-Bench operates a founder-support platform that combines GTM playbooks (covering procurement, discovery, demos, BDR sequences, and SOC II audits), research publications on enterprise AI themes, and a 'suits and hoodies' community anchored by the NY Enterprise Technology Meetup (10,000+ members) and the Enterprise Weekly Newsletter (35,000+ subscribers). The firm provides direct introductions between portfolio companies and strategic enterprise customers including JPMorganChase, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Bloomberg, and Johnson & Johnson, and maintains community programs such as Cofounders.NYC and #Womenterprise to source and support founders earlier in the lifecycle. The firm is led by Co-Founders and General Partners Jonathan Lehr and Jessica Lin, General Partner Kelley Mak, and a lean team of six based in NYC.
The business model is standard venture fund management: Work-Bench generates revenue through management fees on committed capital from limited partners and carried interest on successful exits. Distribution is via direct founder relationships, content marketing (Substack newsletters, research reports), community events, and portfolio referrals rather than traditional product sales channels. There is no proprietary software product; the firm's economic value lies in capital deployment, GTM expertise, and curated enterprise network access for portfolio founders.
Work-Bench firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Work-Bench
- Legal name
- Work-Bench
- Website
- https://work-bench.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Work-Bench is a New York City-based seed venture capital firm founded in 2013 that leads $2M-$4M Seed rounds in enterprise software startups. It manages Fund IV at $160M and supports portfolio founders with GTM playbooks, research, and access to a 10,000+ member enterprise tech community.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Work-Bench industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Venture Capital
- NAICS
- Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394)
- SIC
- Investment Advice (6282)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Early-Stage Venture Capital (Series A/B) (FSANAAAB)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Sector-Focused Venture Capital (Vertical Specialists) (FSANAAAD)
Keywords
Where Work-Bench is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Work-Bench business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Venture Capital Fund Management: Manages VC funds (currently Fund IV at $160M) investing in early-stage enterprise software startups. Generates returns through carried interest and fund management fees from LP investments.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Seed Stage Investment |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels8 records
Work-Bench product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Work-Bench is a NYC-focused seed-stage venture capital firm that invests $2M-$4M in early-stage enterprise software startups across AI, cybersecurity, developer tools, and vertical SaaS. The firm pairs capital investment with hands-on go-to-market support, providing portfolio founders access to a decade-plus library of enterprise sales playbooks, a 10,000+ member community of Fortune 500 executives and operators, and direct buyer introductions. Fund IV, the firm's $160M fourth fund announced in May 2025, continues the firm's enterprise-GTM-specialist thesis originating from its 2013 founding by Jonathan Lehr and Jessica Lin.
Product overview
Work-Bench is an NYC-based seed fund and venture capital firm focused on early-stage enterprise software investments. The firm operates as a platform of services for enterprise founders rather than a traditional software product company. Core offerings include: (1) Seed fund investments in enterprise software startups across AI/ML, cybersecurity, infrastructure/dev tools, and vertical/horizontal enterprise applications; (2) GTM Playbooks - tactical guides for sales, marketing, procurement, and SOC II processes; (3) Research publications including the AI Snapshot report and industry-specific AI opportunity analyses; (4) Community platforms including the NY Enterprise Tech Meetup, NYC Pre-Seed GTM Summit, and Cofounders.NYC for connecting enterprise founders, operators, and Fortune 500 executives. The firm's Fund IV is a $160M vehicle with $2M-$4M check sizes for Seed-stage investments.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Work-Bench Fund IV Work-Bench Fund IV is a $160M seed-stage venture capital fund that invests $2M-$4M checks in early-stage enterprise software startups, primarily NYC-based. The fund is raised from institutional limited partners and deployed into portfolio companies that also receive hands-on enterprise GTM advisory, Fortune 500 buyer introductions, and community access. Fund IV targets enterprise AI infrastructure, cybersecurity, developer tools, vertical SaaS, fintech infrastructure, and healthcare IT companies at the Seed stage.
Companies that use Work-Bench
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Work-Bench technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Work-Bench partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Work-Bench competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Lerer Hippeau: NYC-based seed-stage venture firm focused on early-stage enterprise and consumer software. Lerer Hippeau co-leads enterprise Seed rounds in the same NYC ecosystem and has co-invested directly alongside Work-Bench (e.g., AIR Platforms).
- Boldstart Ventures: NYC- and Miami-based seed fund specializing in enterprise software, dev tools, and infrastructure from day one. Boldstart is one of Work-Bench's closest direct comparables in thesis and stage, with similar check sizes and enterprise-buyer network.
- Primary Venture Partners: NYC-based seed-stage investor backing enterprise software founders at inception. Primary competes with Work-Bench for the same NYC enterprise seed deal flow, with comparable community-driven value-add and check sizes.
- Flybridge Capital: Boston- and NYC-focused seed and early-stage venture firm with a strong enterprise software, AI, and infrastructure thesis. Flybridge is a comparable early-stage enterprise specialist with overlapping portfolio categories.
Broad incumbents
- FirstMark Capital: NYC-based venture firm investing across enterprise software, consumer, and frontier tech from seed to growth. FirstMark operates at a larger AUM and broader stage range than Work-Bench but competes for the same NYC enterprise founders.
- Battery Ventures: Global venture firm with deep enterprise software, infrastructure, and security franchise from seed to growth. Battery is a broader incumbent with overlapping enterprise portfolio categories (security, dev tools, AI) but larger check sizes than Work-Bench.
- Insight Partners: Large-scale growth and venture firm with deep enterprise software and AI franchise. Insight Partners participates in Work-Bench's portfolio at Series A and beyond (e.g., GovWell), making it both a downstream co-investor and adjacent incumbent.
- Accel: Global venture firm with a strong enterprise SaaS, security, and infrastructure franchise from seed to growth. Accel competes for NYC enterprise seed opportunities and operates as a broader incumbent in Work-Bench's thesis areas.
- Felicis Ventures: Early-stage venture firm with a long-standing enterprise software, AI, and infrastructure thesis. Felicis is a comparable enterprise seed specialist with similar check sizes and overlapping category focus.
- Greylock Partners: Established venture firm with a deep enterprise software and AI franchise, particularly at the seed and Series A stages. Greylock is a broader incumbent peer that competes for the same category-leading enterprise founders.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Work-Bench social profiles
Digital presenceWork-Bench financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Work-Bench leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
Work-Bench funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Work-Bench M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments96 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Work-Bench
What does Work-Bench do?
Work-Bench is a NYC-focused seed-stage venture capital firm that invests $2M-$4M in early-stage enterprise software startups across AI, cybersecurity, developer tools, and vertical SaaS. The firm pairs capital investment with hands-on go-to-market support, providing portfolio founders access to a decade-plus library of enterprise sales playbooks, a 10,000+ member community of Fortune 500 executives and operators, and direct buyer introductions. Fund IV, the firm's $160M fourth fund announced in May 2025, continues the firm's enterprise-GTM-specialist thesis originating from its 2013 founding by Jonathan Lehr and Jessica Lin.
Is Work-Bench a public or private company?
Work-Bench is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Work-Bench founded?
Work-Bench was founded in 2013. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Work-Bench based?
Work-Bench is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does Work-Bench make money?
One revenue line is on record: venture Capital Fund Management.
Who are Work-Bench's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Lerer Hippeau, Boldstart Ventures, Primary Venture Partners and Flybridge Capital. Broad incumbents are FirstMark Capital, Battery Ventures, Insight Partners, Accel, Felicis Ventures and Greylock Partners.
Does Work-Bench have an API?
No public API is recorded for Work-Bench.
What industry is Work-Bench in?
Work-Bench's product category is Venture Capital. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSANAAAB, Early-Stage Venture Capital (Series A/B), with a secondary code of FSANAAAD, Sector-Focused Venture Capital (Vertical Specialists). Its NAICS code is 52394 and its SIC code is 6282.