What Next Play Ventures does

Next Play Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2017 by Jeff Weiner, the former CEO of LinkedIn, and Brian Rumao, his longtime chief of staff. Headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the firm invests pre-seed, seed, and Series A capital and selectively participates in later-stage rounds, with a stated focus on coaching entrepreneurial leaders building purpose-driven organizations rather than providing capital alone. The firm is small by design, comprising three named principals — Founding Partner Jeff Weiner, Managing Director Brian Rumao, and Venture Partner Sean Mendy — and operates alongside a social impact affiliate, Westbound Equity Partners, and co-founded initiatives including The Compassion Project.

The firm's portfolio spans more than 50 companies across consumer, enterprise SaaS, fintech, healthcare, security, and robotics, with notable names including Notion, Figma, Slack, Zoom, Linktree, Evervault, Century Health, Arbor, and Armstrong. Recent deal activity shows thematic positioning in applied AI (Century Health, Arbor), data infrastructure (Evervault), and robotics (Armstrong). The firm does not build software or proprietary technology; its 'product' is a combination of equity capital and structured executive coaching grounded in Weiner's 'Vision to Values' management framework, delivered through content, courses, and direct founder engagement.

As a private limited liability company, Next Play Ventures generates revenue through traditional venture fund mechanics — management fees on committed capital and carried interest on successful portfolio exits. AUM, fund size, fee structure, and LP composition are not publicly disclosed. Deal flow originates primarily from warm introductions through the team's Silicon Valley and enterprise technology network rather than inbound marketing, and the firm monetizes its brand through thought-leadership content, LinkedIn Learning courses, and speaking engagements at institutions including Stanford GSB, Wharton, and Wisdom 2.0.

Name

Next Play Ventures

Legal name

next play ventures llc

Website

https://nextplayventures.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Next Play Ventures is a Menlo Park-based early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2017 by former LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner and Brian Rumao, investing pre-seed through Series A capital alongside structured executive coaching in purpose-driven startup founders across more than 50 portfolio companies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Early-Stage Venture Capital (Series A/B) (FSANAAAB)

Keywords

• Early-stage venture capital
• Founder coaching services
• Purpose-driven investing
• Seed-stage funding
• Startup leadership development

Headquarters

HQ city

Menlo Park

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Venture Capital Fund Management: As a venture capital firm, Next Play Ventures generates returns through equity investments in portfolio companies. Revenue is derived from management fees and carry (performance fees) on successful exits and distributions. The firm invests capital from limited partners (LPs) and returns profits through portfolio company exits, acquisitions, and IPOs.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Next Play Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests capital and provides executive coaching to founders building world-class, purpose-driven organizations. The firm focuses primarily on pre-seed, seed, and Series A investments, with selective later-stage participation. In addition to capital, portfolio founders receive strategic coaching, leadership development, and access to the firm's network, grounded in proprietary management frameworks developed by founder Jeff Weiner during his tenure as LinkedIn CEO.

Product overview

Next Play Ventures is a venture capital firm focused on coaching and investing in entrepreneurial leaders building world-class, purpose-driven organizations. The firm primarily considers early-stage (pre-seed, seed, and series A) investments and selectively invests in later-stage growth companies. Rather than offering software products, Next Play Ventures provides investment capital and coaching services to founders, with a core belief that doing well and doing good are not mutually exclusive. The firm was founded by Jeff Weiner, former CEO of LinkedIn, and is based in Menlo Park, California.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Westbound Equity Partners: Social impact affiliate of Next Play Ventures, focused on capitalizing underrepresented founders and investing in companies serving underrepresented consumers.

Products and services

• Early-stage venture capital investment Capital investment in pre-seed, seed, and Series A companies, with selective later-stage participation, targeting founders building world-class, purpose-driven organizations.
• Founder coaching and leadership development Hands-on coaching and leadership development provided to portfolio founders, helping them scale from vision to values using proprietary frameworks such as "Vision to Values," Focus principles, and the Six Dimensions of Great Product.
• Westbound Equity Partners (social impact investing affiliate) Social impact affiliate of Next Play Ventures that capitalizes underrepresented founders and invests in companies serving underrepresented consumers, with 50% of net proceeds committed to a foundation closing opportunity gaps.

Quantifiable outcome

• LinkedIn grew from 338 employees and $78M revenue to over 16,000 employees and $7.9B in revenue during Jeff Weiner's tenure as CEO
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Westbound Equity PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWestbound Equity Partners is the social impact affiliate of Next Play Ventures, focused on capitalizing underrepresented founders and investing in companies serving underrepresented consumers. Jeff Weiner is a founding LP and Investment Committee member; Brian Rumao is an LP. The firm commits 50% of net proceeds to a foundation closing opportunity gaps.
• The Compassion ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founded by Jeff Weiner, The Compassion Project is a national initiative to provide compassion education to elementary school students. Over 16,000 schools and 29,000 teachers have registered, impacting almost 400,000 students. Collaboration with EVERFI.
• Boys & Girls Clubs of the PeninsulacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJeff serves on the Advisory Board since 2011 and Brian served on the Board of Directors from 2014 to 2022. BGCP serves 2,500 students in East Palo Alto, Redwood City, and Menlo Park with 90% high school graduation rate.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Greylock Partners: Long-established Silicon Valley VC where Jeff Weiner served as Executive in Residence. Comparable early-to-growth stage focus on enterprise and consumer technology, and overlapping portfolio relationships across rounds Next Play has joined.
• Kleiner Perkins: Established venture firm with overlapping portfolio relationships (Evervault co-investor). Comparable stage focus on purpose-driven enterprise and consumer technology investments.
• Index Ventures: Global venture firm co-investor in Evervault alongside Next Play. Comparable early-to-growth stage investing with similar consumer and enterprise software focus.
• Sequoia Capital: Tier-1 venture firm co-investor with Next Play in Evervault's Series B. While much larger, comparable in supporting purpose-driven founders and serving similar technology categories.
• Accel Partners: Premier venture firm where Jeff Weiner was previously Executive in Residence. Comparable early-stage focus with strong consumer and enterprise technology franchises and overlapping investor networks.

Direct peers

• First Round Capital: Early-stage seed and Series A venture firm known for its community-led approach and founder support programs. Comparable stage focus, founder-first philosophy, and content/thought-leadership marketing similar to Next Play's Vision to Values framework.
• Alumni Ventures: Multi-stage venture firm co-investor with Next Play in Century Health's seed round. Comparable broad-access VC model serving large LP bases with diversified portfolio construction.
• 645 Ventures: Early-stage VC that led Arbor's seed round with Next Play participating. Comparable seed-to-Series A focus on enterprise software and AI infrastructure companies.
• Operator Partners: Operator-led VC that co-invested alongside Next Play in Evervault's Series B. Shares the 'operator-as-investor' model where former operating executives deploy capital and provide strategic guidance to founders.

Emerging players

• Westbound Equity Partners: Social-impact affiliate of Next Play Ventures focused on underrepresented founders. Directly comparable mission, founder coaching model, and investment stage, with overlapping leadership (Sean Mendy, Jeff Weiner, Brian Rumao).

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/next-play-ventures
• Xx.com/nextplayVC

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments84 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Next Play Ventures