Sarah Smith Fund
Sarah Smith Fund is a pre-seed and seed venture capital firm founded in 2022 that invests $250K+ into founder CEOs across AI, fintech, robotics, and biotech, supplementing capital with People Ops Office Hours, CEO 360 Reviews, and a portfolio job board.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2022
- HeadquartersMenlo Park, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Sarah Smith Fund does
Sarah Smith Fund is a pre-seed and seed venture capital firm founded by Sarah Smith in late 2022 and based at 885 Oak Grove Ave in Menlo Park, California. The fund invests $250,000 or more into what it characterizes as "irrationally intense" founder CEOs, with roughly half of its portfolio historically including a Stanford-affiliated founder. The firm operates Fund 1 after incubating its portfolio through a rolling fund vehicle that made 13 initial investments; the current portfolio comprises 40+ companies spanning AI infrastructure, generative media, fintech, robotics, biotech, climate, and developer tools, with career-total deployment approaching $50 million across 70+ companies.
The fund's core product is capital, but its differentiation comes from two tiered portfolio service modules: People Ops Office Hours (available to investments over $100K) and the proprietary CEO 360 Review (available to investments over $250K). CEO 360 interviews direct reports, a board member, and a newer hire to produce a 2-3 page anonymized report covering "spike areas" and "blind spots." The fund also operates a portfolio-wide job board at jobs.sarahsmith.fund, powered by Getro, currently listing 57 open roles across 36+ portfolio companies.
The business model is conventional venture economics: management fees on committed capital plus carried interest from portfolio exits. The fund generates deal flow through Sarah Smith's personal brand on LinkedIn and Twitter/X, her teaching of ENGR 245: Lean Launchpad at Stanford, and her hosting of GSB venture fellows each summer. Board seats at Lime and Archive Resale supplement the Stanford ecosystem as sources of insight and referrals. The firm has 1-10 employees with Sarah Smith as the sole named partner, reflecting a deliberately small, operator-style investment platform.
Sarah Smith Fund firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Sarah Smith Fund
- Legal name
- Sarah Smith Fund LLC
- Website
- https://sarahsmith.fund
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2022
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Sarah Smith Fund is a pre-seed and seed venture capital firm founded in 2022 that invests $250K+ into founder CEOs across AI, fintech, robotics, and biotech, supplementing capital with People Ops Office Hours, CEO 360 Reviews, and a portfolio job board.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Sarah Smith Fund industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Venture Capital
- NAICS
- Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)
- SIC
- Investment Advice (6282)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Venture Capital Fund-of-Funds / Multi-Manager Platforms (FSANAAAJ)
Keywords
Where Sarah Smith Fund is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Menlo Park
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Sarah Smith Fund business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Investment Returns / Carried Interest: Sarah Smith Fund generates returns through equity investments in early-stage startups. Returns are realized through portfolio company exits (acquisitions, IPOs). The fund operates as Fund 1 after launching from a rolling fund structure in late 2022 that made 13 investments.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
Sarah Smith Fund product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Sarah Smith Fund is a pre-seed and seed venture capital fund that invests $250K+ into 'irrationally intense' founder CEOs building transformative companies. The fund supplements capital investments with hands-on people operations support, including People Ops Office Hours for investments over $100K and a proprietary CEO 360 Review for investments over $250K. It also operates a portfolio job board aggregating open roles across its 40+ portfolio companies.
Product overview
Sarah Smith Fund is a differentiated pre-seed and seed venture fund, not a software product company. Its core offering is a venture fund providing $250K+ capital investments to 'irrationally intense' founder CEOs. The fund supplements its financial investment with two primary service modules: People Ops Office Hours (for investments over $100K) and CEO 360 Review (for investments over $250K). Additionally, the fund operates a portfolio job board — powered by Getro Inc. — that aggregates career opportunities across its 36+ portfolio companies spanning AI, robotics, biotech, fintech, and climate tech sectors.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Sarah Smith Fund Core Investment Fund A pre-seed and seed venture fund that invests $250K+ into early-stage founder CEOs, targeting 'irrationally intense' founders with approximately half the portfolio having a Stanford-degree founder. The fund provides capital and people operations expertise to portfolio companies across AI, robotics, fintech, and biotech sectors.
- CEO 360 Review
Quantifiable outcome
- Nearly $50M invested into 70+ companies across career
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Sarah Smith Fund
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Sarah Smith Fund technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Sarah Smith Fund partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Sarah Smith Fund competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Tribe Capital: Early-stage and growth-stage VC known for small-team deployment and concentrated thematic bets; overlaps with Sarah Smith Fund on AI and fintech investing.
- Hustle Fund: Pre-seed and seed VC deploying small checks into a high volume of early-stage startups; comparable on check size, stage focus, and solo/small-team structure.
- Pioneer Fund: Rolling-fund-style pre-seed and seed investor with a similar solo-GP operator profile; matches Sarah Smith Fund on fund structure, check size, and thesis on exceptional founder-CEOs.
- Pear VC: Pre-seed and seed VC firm founded by Pejman Nozad and Mar Hershenson with deep Stanford roots; invests in Stanford-affiliated founders at similar check sizes and stages, making it a near-direct comparable.
- Initialized Capital: Early-stage-focused venture firm that began as a seed-only manager and overlaps on AI, developer tools, and fintech theses; comparable on stage and founder-CEO targeting.
- Female Founders Fund: Operator-led pre-seed and seed fund with a similarly small team structure and concentrated, differentiated thesis; comparable on fund scale and stage focus.
- Designer Fund: Operator-style early-stage fund supporting technical and design-driven founders with hands-on value-add; matches Sarah Smith Fund on solo-GP structure and productized support model.
Broad incumbents
- Bain Capital Ventures: Multi-stage venture firm where Sarah Smith previously worked; comparable as a broader incumbent with overlap in fintech, AI, and infrastructure investing.
- Khosla Ventures: Large, established VC with heavy AI and deep-tech exposure; many Sarah Smith Fund portfolio companies (e.g., Pravah) are co-invested with Khosla, making it a relevant broader-incumbent comparator.
Emerging players
- South Park Commons: Founder community and pre-seed investor with strong Bay Area and Stanford-adjacent networks; comparable as an early-stage community-plus-capital model rather than a pure financial investor.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Sarah Smith Fund social profiles
Digital presenceSarah Smith Fund financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Sarah Smith Fund leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Sarah Smith Fund funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Sarah Smith Fund M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments16 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Sarah Smith Fund
What does Sarah Smith Fund do?
Sarah Smith Fund is a pre-seed and seed venture capital fund that invests $250K+ into 'irrationally intense' founder CEOs building transformative companies. The fund supplements capital investments with hands-on people operations support, including People Ops Office Hours for investments over $100K and a proprietary CEO 360 Review for investments over $250K. It also operates a portfolio job board aggregating open roles across its 40+ portfolio companies.
Is Sarah Smith Fund a public or private company?
Sarah Smith Fund is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Sarah Smith Fund founded?
Sarah Smith Fund was founded in 2022. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Sarah Smith Fund based?
Sarah Smith Fund is headquartered in Menlo Park, United States, in the North America region.
How does Sarah Smith Fund make money?
One revenue line is on record: investment Returns / Carried Interest.
Who are Sarah Smith Fund's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Tribe Capital, Hustle Fund, Pioneer Fund, Pear VC, Initialized Capital, Female Founders Fund and Designer Fund. Broad incumbents are Bain Capital Ventures and Khosla Ventures. South Park Commons is listed as an emerging player.
Does Sarah Smith Fund have an API?
No public API is recorded for Sarah Smith Fund.
What industry is Sarah Smith Fund in?
Sarah Smith Fund's product category is Venture Capital. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSANAAAJ, Venture Capital Fund-of-Funds / Multi-Manager Platforms. Its NAICS code is 523940 and its SIC code is 6282.