lobby capital
Lobby Capital is a Palo Alto-based venture capital firm making Series A investments in transformative technology companies, leveraging a 2,000+ entrepreneur community built around its Lobby Conference unconferences while continuing to manage its legacy August Capital portfolio.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2007
- HeadquartersPalo Alto, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What lobby capital does
Lobby Capital is a Palo Alto, California-based venture capital firm that invests in Series A rounds backing entrepreneurs building transformative technology companies. The firm was founded as a spinoff of predecessor firm August Capital, with partners David Hornik, Eric Carlborg, Buddy Arnheim, Howard Hartenbaum, and others continuing to manage the August Capital legacy portfolio (including BILL, Box, GitLab, SentinelOne, and Splunk) while making all new investments through Lobby Capital. The firm operates a partner-led, hands-on model and draws deal flow from a community of 2,000+ entrepreneurs built around its annual unconference properties — The Lobby (founded 2007), Lobby:Enterprise (launched 2014), and the Lobby: Elevate Female Founders Summit.
The firm's core "products" are its community platforms (conferences, The Fabric Podcast) and a 30-company active portfolio spanning cybersecurity (Mesh Security), enterprise AI (Stack AI, Faros AI), robotic vision (Apera AI), ML testing (Kolena), generative search (Vantage Discovery), logistics (Better Trucks), consumer apps (Feed, ForeVR Games, CarbonVoice), and aerospace sensors (Hidden Level). Marketing and distribution are community-led: deal flow enters via conference relationships, direct founder outreach to [email protected], and advisor referrals, rather than through a traditional sales pipeline.
Revenue mechanics follow the standard venture capital model: management fees charged on committed capital cover fund operations, and carried interest (typically ~20%) on successful portfolio exits represents the primary economic driver of returns. The firm employs roughly 12 staff across investment (8 GPs and venture partners) and operations (General Counsel, Director of Portfolio Management, Director of Finance, Executive Assistant). Geographic reach spans the United States, Canada, Israel, and Egypt based on portfolio composition, though the firm does not assert a formal global footprint claim.
lobby capital firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- lobby capital
- Legal name
- August Capital Master Management Company, LLC
- Website
- https://lobby.vc
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2007
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Lobby Capital is a Palo Alto-based venture capital firm making Series A investments in transformative technology companies, leveraging a 2,000+ entrepreneur community built around its Lobby Conference unconferences while continuing to manage its legacy August Capital portfolio.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
lobby capital industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Venture Capital
- NAICS
- Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259), Other Financial Vehicles (525990)
- SIC
- Investment Advice (6282)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Venture Capital Fundraising Placement (FSAEALAC)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Institutional Capital Introduction (LP/Family Office/Endowment Matching) (FSAEALAI)
Keywords
Where lobby capital is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Palo Alto
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
lobby capital business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Management Fees: Standard VC management fees charged on committed capital to cover operational expenses of fund management.
- Carried Interest: Performance-based carried interest (typically 20%) on profits from successful portfolio company exits. Primary economic driver of VC returns.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels4 records
lobby capital product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Lobby Capital is a venture capital firm that makes Series A equity investments in early-stage technology companies across enterprise software, AI/DevOps, cybersecurity, fintech, insuretech, marketplaces, commerce, consumer internet, and gaming. The firm pairs capital with partner-led board support, strategic guidance, and access to a community of 2,000+ entrepreneurs built through the long-running Lobby Conferences. It also continues to manage the legacy August Capital portfolio for the August family.
Product overview
Lobby Capital is a venture capital firm that funds inspiring entrepreneurs who challenge, disrupt and redefine the technological landscape. The firm does not offer its own product or service offerings; rather, it operates as an investment vehicle supporting portfolio companies across various technology sectors including AI/DevOps, cybersecurity, enterprise software, fintech, e-commerce, and consumer internet. Lobby Capital was born out of the Lobby Conferences community and manages both new investments through Lobby Capital and continues to support the August Capital portfolio. The firm provides access to a network of founders, advisors, technologists, and investors through its partner-led, hands-on approach.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- The Lobby Conference: The flagship 'unconference' bringing together thought leaders from consumer technology ecosystem, founded in 2007
- Lobby:Enterprise
- Lobby: Elevate Female Founders Summit
- The Fabric Podcast
Quantifiable outcome
- Multiple successful exits including BILL (IPO, NYSE: BILL), Box (IPO, NYSE: BOX), GitLab (IPO, NASDAQ: GTLB), SentinelOne (IPO, NYSE: S), and numerous acquisitions
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use lobby capital
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
lobby capital technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
lobby capital partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Kennett ProductionsminorEvent production partner for The Lobby and Lobby:Enterprise conferences. Contact for sponsorship information.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
lobby capital competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Cowboy Ventures: Seed and Series A fund focused on enterprise and consumer software founders, with a strong belief-based, founder-first orientation. Comparable stage and thesis to Lobby Capital.
- Foundry Group: Early-stage venture capital firm focused on enterprise software, infrastructure, and consumer technologies. Comparable to Lobby Capital in fund size, Series A focus, and sector orientation toward B2B SaaS and emerging technologies.
- True Ventures: Early-stage (seed and Series A) venture firm known for deep community engagement, founder support, and a long-running fund model. Highly comparable to Lobby Capital's partner-led, community-centric Series A approach.
- Uncork Capital: Seed-stage venture firm with a customer-centric sourcing approach. Comparable to Lobby Capital's emphasis on founder community and stage focus, though slightly earlier-stage in orientation.
- BBG Ventures: Seed and Series A firm built around a founder community and network-driven sourcing. Highly comparable to Lobby Capital in stage, community-led differentiation, and Series A focus.
- Founder Collective: Seed and Series A venture firm investing in enterprise, consumer, and crypto founders. Aligns with Lobby Capital on stage, check size, and a thesis around partnering with technical founders early.
- Lerer Hippeau: Seed and Series A venture capital firm based in New York with a community-driven, founder-focused model. Compares to Lobby Capital given its emphasis on early-stage enterprise and consumer bets, partner-led engagement, and network-led deal sourcing.
- Costanoa Ventures: Series A venture firm focused on enterprise software, data, and fintech — overlapping themes with Lobby Capital's enterprise/FinTech thesis. Similar fund size and stage.
Broad incumbents
- Andreessen Horowitz: Multi-stage venture capital firm with massive AUM investing across enterprise, consumer, and crypto. While significantly larger and broader than Lobby Capital, both share a community-driven brand strategy and a16z now invests at Series A scale.
- Bain Capital Ventures: Multi-stage venture arm of Bain Capital, investing across seed to growth. Overlaps with Lobby Capital on Series A enterprise software and infrastructure theses but operates from a much broader platform and AUM base.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
lobby capital social profiles
Digital presencelobby capital financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
lobby capital leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles12 records
lobby capital funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
lobby capital M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments23 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about lobby capital
What does lobby capital do?
Lobby Capital is a venture capital firm that makes Series A equity investments in early-stage technology companies across enterprise software, AI/DevOps, cybersecurity, fintech, insuretech, marketplaces, commerce, consumer internet, and gaming. The firm pairs capital with partner-led board support, strategic guidance, and access to a community of 2,000+ entrepreneurs built through the long-running Lobby Conferences. It also continues to manage the legacy August Capital portfolio for the August family.
Is lobby capital a public or private company?
lobby capital is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was lobby capital founded?
lobby capital was founded in 2007. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is lobby capital based?
lobby capital is headquartered in Palo Alto, United States, in the North America region.
How does lobby capital make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Management Fees are the primary driver. The others are carried Interest.
Who are lobby capital's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Cowboy Ventures, Foundry Group, True Ventures, Uncork Capital, BBG Ventures, Founder Collective, Lerer Hippeau and Costanoa Ventures. Broad incumbents are Andreessen Horowitz and Bain Capital Ventures.
Does lobby capital have an API?
No public API is recorded for lobby capital.
What industry is lobby capital in?
lobby capital's product category is Venture Capital. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAEALAC, Venture Capital Fundraising Placement, with a secondary code of FSAEALAI, Institutional Capital Introduction (LP/Family Office/Endowment Matching). Its NAICS code is 5259 and its SIC code is 6282.