Founders Circle Capital
Founders Circle Capital is a San Francisco-based growth-stage venture capital firm founded in 2012, managing nearly $1 billion across three funds. It provides primary and secondary financings, employee liquidity programs, and The Circle leadership community for growth-stage executives.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2012
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Founders Circle Capital does
Founders Circle Capital is a venture capital firm founded in 2012 and headquartered in San Francisco that invests in growth-stage technology companies. The firm is structurally distinct from conventional growth-stage investors in that it provides both financial capital — combining primary and secondary financings in a single vehicle — and "human capital" through The Circle, a private leadership community for growth-stage CXOs. As of late 2025, the firm manages three venture funds totaling nearly $1 billion in assets under management, with Fund III closing at $355 million in 2024. The portfolio spans 93 companies across enterprise software (Airtable, Algolia, ClickHouse), consumer technology (DoorDash, Strava, BARK), fintech (Robinhood), healthcare (Ambience Healthcare), and AI (Jasper), with 21 IPOs and 19 strategic acquisitions to date.
The firm's core offerings are Employee Liquidity Programs (secondary transactions enabling employees and early stakeholders to sell vested shares), Flexible Capital (primary and secondary financing solutions adapted to company needs), Investor Liquidity for early backers, and The Circle community. The Circle includes more than 300 executives with approximately 5,400 touchpoints annually and claims 400+ member companies, with 86% of members outside the portfolio — converting community into a deal-flow and content-distribution engine. Liquidity program execution follows a codified 9-step methodology co-developed with Morgan Stanley at Work and supported by Nasdaq Private Market data, with a vetted partner network of law firms (Cooley, Fenwick & West, Gunderson Dettmer, Goodwin) and tax advisor Andersen Tax.
Revenue mechanics combine traditional VC fund management fees on the three vehicles, carried interest on portfolio exits, and transaction-related fees from structuring employee liquidity programs. The firm was co-founded by Ken Loveless (previously a product developer at SVB who invented founder-liquidity products) and Mike Jung (previously corporate strategy and business development at Ask.com and partner at JPMorgan Partners/Panorama Capital), with Mark Dempster — a 21-year Sequoia Capital marketing veteran — founding The Circle. In December 2025, the firm was admitted to Qatar Investment Authority's $1 billion Fund of Funds program as the seventh growth investor, securing its first sovereign wealth fund LP relationship and committing to open its first international office in Doha.
Founders Circle Capital firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Founders Circle Capital
- Legal name
- Founders Circle Capital, LLC
- Website
- https://founderscircle.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2012
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Founders Circle Capital is a San Francisco-based growth-stage venture capital firm founded in 2012, managing nearly $1 billion across three funds. It provides primary and secondary financings, employee liquidity programs, and The Circle leadership community for growth-stage executives.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Founders Circle Capital industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Venture Capital / Growth Equity
- NAICS
- Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Other Financial Investment Activities (5239)
- SIC
- Investment Advice (6282)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Late-Stage Venture Capital (Series C+) (FSANAAAC)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Early-Stage Venture Capital (Series A/B) (FSANAAAB)
Keywords
Where Founders Circle Capital is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices3 records
Markets served
Founders Circle Capital business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Fund Management: Management fees from managing three venture funds totaling nearly $1B under management. Carried interest from successful portfolio exits.
- Employee Liquidity Programs: Secondary transactions enabling employees and early investors to sell shares. Fees from structuring and executing tender offers and liquidity programs for portfolio companies.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels5 records
Founders Circle Capital product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Founders Circle Capital is a venture capital firm that invests in growth-stage technology companies through three funds totaling nearly $1B in AUM. It provides flexible capital by packaging primary and secondary financings, with a particular focus on employee and investor liquidity programs that allow employees, founders, and early backers to sell vested shares. The firm complements its capital deployment with The Circle, a private leadership community for 300+ growth-stage CXOs offering peer-driven insights and networking.
Product overview
Founders Circle Capital is a venture capital firm for growth-stage companies offering a suite of liquidity and capital solutions. The core offerings include Employee Liquidity Programs (secondary transactions for employees to sell vested shares), Flexible Capital (primary and secondary financing adaptable to company needs), Investor Liquidity (for early financial backers), and The Circle (a private leadership community for CXOs). Supporting educational resources include the Liquidity Guide and Hiring Playbook series.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Employee Liquidity Programs Secondary market transactions enabling employees and early stakeholders to sell vested shares, providing personal liquidity while companies continue building toward their public life. Offered to employees of growth-stage portfolio companies and structured through a 9-step process covering eligibility, pricing, 409A valuation, tax, and legal implications.
- Flexible Capital (Primary & Secondary Financing) Primary and secondary financing solutions that adapt to company needs throughout the growth lifecycle, including preferred stock purchases and debt facilitation. Investment check sizes range from $20M to $150M. Targets growth-stage companies closer to their public life than their prototyping days.
- The Circle Private leadership community for growth-stage CXOs providing peer-driven insights, content, and networking. 86% of members are outside the portfolio, creating relationship density and proprietary deal flow pipeline for the firm.
- Investor Liquidity Liquidity solutions for early financial backers including family, friends, angels, incubators, and pre-seed investors seeking to realize partial returns on positions in growth-stage private companies.
Quantifiable outcome
- Zero portfolio companies shut down across 73 investments
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Founders Circle Capital
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Founders Circle Capital technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
Founders Circle Capital partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.
- Morgan Stanley at WorkflagshipNotable partner in conducting employee liquidity programs. Co-developed the 9-step Definitive Guide to Employee Liquidity with insights from Nasdaq Private Market data.
- Nasdaq Private MarketcoreData partner for liquidity program analytics; facilitated record 90 transactions in 2020. NPM identifies factors that trigger employee liquidity programs.
- CooleycoreLaw firm partner for employee liquidity programs and corporate governance matters.
- Fenwick & WestcoreLaw firm partner for securities law and M&A aspects of liquidity programs.
- Gunderson DettmercoreLaw firm partner for venture capital and startup-related legal work.
- GoodwincoreLaw firm partner for private equity and venture capital practice areas.
- Andersen TaxcoreTax advisory partner for liquidity program tax implications and structuring.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Founders Circle Capital competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Forge (formerly SharesPost): Technology-led secondary marketplace enabling employee and investor liquidity; competes directly with Founders Circle's employee liquidity offering while operating a platform model rather than a fund-based model.
Direct peers
- Insight Partners: Large-scale growth and late-stage venture investor with similar check sizes ($20M-$150M+) and a focus on software/tech-enabled growth companies; competes directly for many of the same DoorDash/Jasper/ClickHouse-style opportunities.
- Coatue Ventures: Growth-stage technology investor deploying primary and secondary capital across rounds comparable to Founders Circle's $20M-$150M range; co-invested with Founders Circle in Jasper and targets similar growth-stage software companies.
- IVP (Institutional Venture Partners): Late-stage venture firm focused on growth equity in technology companies with comparable check sizes and stage focus; competes for the same category-leading growth-stage software investments.
- Bessemer Venture Partners: Multi-stage venture investor with strong growth-stage franchise in cloud and enterprise software; co-invested with Founders Circle in Jasper and targets similar growth-stage opportunities with comparable check sizes.
- Tiger Global Management: Aggressive late-stage growth investor writing large checks in similar rounds to Founders Circle; direct competitor on the most competitive growth-stage software deals.
- Index Ventures: Growth-stage venture investor with comparable stage focus and check size profile; competes for many of the same consumer and enterprise software growth investments.
- Sapphire Ventures: Growth-stage venture firm with comparable AUM scale and stage focus; the Founders Circle CFO Anthony Matusich previously scaled Sapphire from $500M to multi-strategy funds, indicating direct operational comparability.
Broad incumbents
- General Atlantic: Large, established growth equity investor with broader sector coverage and larger fund vehicles; competes in late-stage growth rounds but with a more diversified sector mandate.
- TPG Growth: Growth equity arm of TPG with comparable late-stage investment focus but a broader PE-style mandate and substantially larger fund vehicles than Founders Circle.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Founders Circle Capital social profiles
Digital presenceFounders Circle Capital financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Founders Circle Capital leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles23 records
Founders Circle Capital funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Founders Circle Capital M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A2 records
Investments63 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Founders Circle Capital
What does Founders Circle Capital do?
Founders Circle Capital is a venture capital firm that invests in growth-stage technology companies through three funds totaling nearly $1B in AUM. It provides flexible capital by packaging primary and secondary financings, with a particular focus on employee and investor liquidity programs that allow employees, founders, and early backers to sell vested shares. The firm complements its capital deployment with The Circle, a private leadership community for 300+ growth-stage CXOs offering peer-driven insights and networking.
Is Founders Circle Capital a public or private company?
Founders Circle Capital is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Founders Circle Capital founded?
Founders Circle Capital was founded in 2012. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Founders Circle Capital based?
Founders Circle Capital is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does Founders Circle Capital make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Fund Management is the primary driver. The others are employee Liquidity Programs.
Who are Founders Circle Capital's main competitors?
Forge (formerly SharesPost) is listed as an emerging player. Direct peers are Insight Partners, Coatue Ventures, IVP (Institutional Venture Partners), Bessemer Venture Partners, Tiger Global Management, Index Ventures and Sapphire Ventures. Broad incumbents are General Atlantic and TPG Growth.
Does Founders Circle Capital have an API?
No public API is recorded for Founders Circle Capital.
What industry is Founders Circle Capital in?
Founders Circle Capital's product category is Venture Capital / Growth Equity. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSANAAAC, Late-Stage Venture Capital (Series C+), with a secondary code of FSANAAAB, Early-Stage Venture Capital (Series A/B). Its NAICS code is 523940 and its SIC code is 6282.