Founders Circle Capital

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.

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

11–50 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

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

• Venture capital
• Growth equity
• Employee liquidity
• Secondary investments
• Private capital

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Fund Management: Management fees from managing three venture funds totaling nearly $1B under management. Carried interest from successful portfolio exits.
2. 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

Core 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

Named customers9 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• Morgan Stanley at WorkflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerNotable 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 MarketcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerData partner for liquidity program analytics; facilitated record 90 transactions in 2020. NPM identifies factors that trigger employee liquidity programs.
• CooleycoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerLaw firm partner for employee liquidity programs and corporate governance matters.
• Fenwick & WestcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerLaw firm partner for securities law and M&A aspects of liquidity programs.
• Gunderson DettmercoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerLaw firm partner for venture capital and startup-related legal work.
• GoodwincoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerLaw firm partner for private equity and venture capital practice areas.
• Andersen TaxcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerTax advisory partner for liquidity program tax implications and structuring.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging 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

• Xx.com/founderscc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/founders-circle-capital

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles23 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&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