Notation Capital
Notation Capital is a Brooklyn-based pre-seed venture capital firm founded in 2014, the first dedicated pre-seed fund in NYC. It leads first-round financing into product-focused early-stage founders, deploying into 70+ portfolio companies across health, blockchain, developer tools, and infrastructure, supported by a network of 100+ community investors and institutional LPs.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersBrooklyn, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Notation Capital does
Notation Capital is a Brooklyn-based pre-seed venture capital firm founded in 2014, positioned as the first dedicated pre-seed fund in New York City. The firm invests at the earliest stages — often at the idea stage — typically leading first-round financing into product-focused founding teams. Its stated go-to-market combines direct investment with community-led deal sourcing: Notation curates a network of 100+ community investors (prominent NYC tech operators from Uber, Coinbase, Giphy, DoorDash, USV, and others), portfolio founders, advisors, and Limited Partners (LPs) that collectively source deals and support portfolio companies through follow-on stages.
The firm does not produce proprietary technology. Its "platform" consists of content assets (the Origins podcast on LPs, a public GitHub Operating Manual, and Medium writing), active social presence on Twitter, AngelList, and GitHub, and direct outreach via [email protected]. The core operating team is a three-person group: Alex Lines (hard tech, infrastructure, and product; distributed systems engineer with 10+ years building in NYC), Nicholas Chirls (product, growth, and capital raising; former Head of Seed Investing at betaworks), and Mackenzie Regent (fractional COO).
Notation's economic model is that of a traditional venture fund. Capital is deployed in exchange for equity stakes in 70+ portfolio companies across categories including Health (Photon Health, SimpleHealth, Spruce), Blockchain (Bison Trails, acquired by Coinbase), Developer Tools (QA Wolf), Infrastructure (Parsec, acquired by Unity), and others. The LP base comprises institutional and family-office investors — Accolade Partners, Cendana Capital, Sapphire Ventures ($2.5B AUM), Invesco (S&P 500), Shea Ventures, Brown Advisory, Bodley Group, and Your OCIO — providing fund stability and follow-on capacity. Returns are realized through portfolio company exits (acquisitions and IPOs) and secondary transactions; specific fund terms, management fees, and carry structures are not publicly disclosed.
Notation Capital firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Notation Capital
- Legal name
- Notation Capital
- Website
- https://notation.vc
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Notation Capital is a Brooklyn-based pre-seed venture capital firm founded in 2014, the first dedicated pre-seed fund in NYC. It leads first-round financing into product-focused early-stage founders, deploying into 70+ portfolio companies across health, blockchain, developer tools, and infrastructure, supported by a network of 100+ community investors and institutional LPs.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Notation Capital industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Pre-Seed Venture Capital
- NAICS
- Other Financial Investment Activities (5239), Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259)
- SIC
- Investment Advice (6282)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Early-Stage Venture Capital (Pre-Seed/Seed) (FSANAAAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Early-Stage Venture Capital (Series A/B) (FSANAAAB), Late-Stage Venture Capital (Series C+) (FSANAAAC)
Keywords
Where Notation Capital is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Brooklyn
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Notation Capital business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Portfolio Returns: Notation generates returns through equity ownership in early-stage portfolio companies. As a pre-seed fund, they take equity stakes in exchange for capital investment, with returns realized through exits (acquisitions, IPOs) or secondary transactions.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Pre-seed and seed-stage investments in early-stage companies |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels6 records
Notation Capital product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Notation Capital is a Brooklyn-based pre-seed venture capital fund founded in 2014 that provides early-stage equity capital to product-obsessed founding teams. The firm typically leads the first round of financing and frequently invests at the idea stage, working with founders from day zero. It operates as a community of portfolio founders, advisors, LPs, and broader network members who support one another.
Product overview
Notation Capital is a venture capital firm — a pre-seed fund based in Brooklyn, New York — that invests in early-stage technology startups. It does not offer its own product or service. The company maintains a portfolio of portfolio company investments across sectors including health, blockchain, developer tools, and machine learning.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Origins: A podcast about Limited Partners – the firms and institutions that invest in venture capital funds. Through a series of interviews, it explores what has historically been an opaque corner of the startup ecosystem.
Products and services
- Notation Pre-Seed Fund Early-stage equity capital and operational support offered to pre-seed and seed-stage technology startups. Notation typically leads the first round of financing and frequently invests as early as the idea stage, working with product-obsessed founding teams. For use by founders of early-stage companies, primarily in the NYC/Brooklyn ecosystem, across categories such as health, blockchain, developer tools, infrastructure, machine learning, and open source.
Quantifiable outcome
- 70+ companies backed across diverse categories
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Notation Capital
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Notation Capital technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Notation Capital partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Notation Capital competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Susa Ventures: San Francisco-based seed-stage venture firm investing in technical founders across software categories. Chad Byers (Susa GP) appears in Notation's community investor list, signaling meaningful overlap in network and thesis.
- Box Group: NYC-based pre-seed and seed venture firm investing very early in technical founders, with a similar community-driven model and overlapping investor network. Box Group is one of the most direct comparables to Notation in stage, geography, and approach.
- Lerer Hippeau: NYC-based early-stage venture fund focused on seed and pre-seed consumer and enterprise software. Operates in the same NYC pre-seed/seed market with a similar community-oriented LP base and product-focused founder thesis.
- Betaworks: NYC-based startup studio and seed investor that incubates and funds product-led companies from idea stage. Highly comparable: founder Nick Chirls previously led seed investing at betaworks, and Notation's model of day-zero product work closely mirrors betaworks' approach.
- Precursor Ventures: San Francisco-based pre-seed fund focused on generalist seed and pre-seed investments in product-driven founders. Comparable in fund stage, check size, and non-thesis generalist approach to early investing.
Broad incumbents
- First Round Capital: Established U.S. seed-stage venture firm with a strong community platform (First Round Capital Network) and a deep portfolio that includes many pre-seed investments. Operates a similar community-led model but at significantly larger fund size and broader geographic scope.
- USV (Union Square Ventures): NYC-headquartered venture firm investing across seed and growth stages in network-effect businesses. Andy Weissman (USV partner) is listed as a Notation community investor, evidencing direct network overlap and shared NYC pre-seed/seed market focus.
Regional players
- Brooklyn Bridge Ventures: Brooklyn-based pre-seed and seed venture firm explicitly focused on NYC founders, with a similar geographic and stage thesis. Highly comparable regional pre-seed peer sharing the same Brooklyn addressable market.
Emerging players
- Designer Fund: San Francisco-based pre-seed fund investing in founders at the intersection of design and technology. Comparable pre-seed stage and product-obsessed thesis, though focused on a narrower design-centric subset of founders.
- South Park Commons: Community-led fellowship and pre-seed investor for technical founders exploring ideas before company formation. Closely comparable to Notation's day-zero, idea-stage support model and community-of-founders ethos.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Notation Capital social profiles
Digital presenceNotation Capital financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Notation Capital leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Notation Capital funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Notation Capital M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments150 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Notation Capital
What does Notation Capital do?
Notation Capital is a Brooklyn-based pre-seed venture capital fund founded in 2014 that provides early-stage equity capital to product-obsessed founding teams. The firm typically leads the first round of financing and frequently invests at the idea stage, working with founders from day zero. It operates as a community of portfolio founders, advisors, LPs, and broader network members who support one another.
Is Notation Capital a public or private company?
Notation Capital is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Notation Capital founded?
Notation Capital was founded in 2014. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Notation Capital based?
Notation Capital is headquartered in Brooklyn, United States, in the North America region.
How does Notation Capital make money?
One revenue line is on record: portfolio Returns.
Who are Notation Capital's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Susa Ventures, Box Group, Lerer Hippeau, Betaworks and Precursor Ventures. Broad incumbents are First Round Capital and USV (Union Square Ventures). Brooklyn Bridge Ventures is listed as a regional player. Emerging players are Designer Fund and South Park Commons.
Does Notation Capital have an API?
No public API is recorded for Notation Capital.
What industry is Notation Capital in?
Notation Capital's product category is Pre-Seed Venture Capital. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSANAAAA, Early-Stage Venture Capital (Pre-Seed/Seed), with a secondary code of FSANAAAB, Early-Stage Venture Capital (Series A/B). Its NAICS code is 5239 and its SIC code is 6282.