What MAVA Ventures does

MAVA Ventures is an early-stage investment fund headquartered at 450 Lexington Ave in New York City, founded by David Mortamais to deploy pre-seed and seed capital into B2B SaaS and Fintech startups. The firm operates with a lean team of 1-10 employees and applies a horizontal investment thesis that screens for technological disruption (AI, 5G, undigitized verticals), regulatory disruption (cannabis, cleantech), and geographical disruption, with a stated requirement that each target market be worth at least $1B. The fund explicitly does not lead rounds and does not take board seats, and advertises investment decisions within days to two weeks of first founder contact, positioning itself as a non-controlling, founder-friendly partner.

The portfolio has grown to 30+ companies, with over 30% of investments based in large emerging markets—specifically Nigeria, Kenya, and India—and the remainder primarily in the United States and other geographies. Notable investments include MoonPay, BuyPower, Tizeti, Pezesha, Prospa, Authologic, Back4App, Canix, CarbonChain, and CNote, spanning fintech, SaaS infrastructure, cannabis tech, and emerging-market consumer services. David Mortamais's operating background as the founder of LTI Telecom (built from 1998 to 120+ employees and €30M ARR before its 2013 acquisition by Altice) is the central credibility asset the fund leverages in its deal sourcing and portfolio support.

The business model follows standard venture fund economics—management fees on assets under management plus carried interest from portfolio exits—with no publicly disclosed AUM, fund size, or fee structure. Distribution is direct-to-founder via the firm's website (mavavc.com), a "Let's Talk" contact form, and David Mortamais's LinkedIn presence, with no intermediated deal sourcing or institutional co-investment partnerships disclosed.

Name

MAVA Ventures

Legal name

MAVA Ventures

Website

https://mavavc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

MAVA Ventures is a New York-based early-stage investment fund founded by David Mortamais that provides pre-seed and seed capital to B2B SaaS and Fintech startups, managing a 30+ company portfolio across the US, Nigeria, Kenya, and India.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital / Early Stage Investment

NAICS

All Other Financial Investment Activities (52399)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Early-Stage Venture Capital (Pre-Seed/Seed) (FSANAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Micro-VC & Angel Funds (FSANAAAI)

Keywords

• Venture capital funding
• Early stage investing
• Pre-seed investments
• Seed round capital
• Startup funding

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

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, Others

Revenue model

1. Portfolio Returns: MAVA Ventures generates returns through successful portfolio company exits, including acquisitions and IPOs. Their portfolio of 30+ early stage B2B SaaS and Fintech companies represents their primary investment returns.
2. Management Fees and Carried Interest: As an investment fund, MAVA Ventures likely generates revenue through standard fund management structures including management fees and carried interest from portfolio company exits.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

MAVA Ventures is an early-stage investment fund operating out of NYC that provides pre-seed and seed round capital to B2B SaaS and Fintech startups. The fund invests as a founder-friendly partner without leading rounds or taking board seats, and acts as a sounding board leveraging 16 years of entrepreneurial experience from founding to exit. Investment decisions are made quickly, typically within a few days to two weeks from the first founder call.

Product overview

MAVA Ventures is an early-stage investment fund operating out of NYC, focused on B2B SaaS and Fintech startups. The firm specializes in pre-seed and seed rounds, providing capital and strategic support to founders during the critical first 2-3 years of a startup's journey. The fund does not lead investments or take board seats, positioning itself as a founder-friendly partner. Their portfolio spans over 30 companies across various sectors including SaaS, fintech, and emerging market opportunities in Nigeria, Kenya, and India.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Pre-Seed Investment Funding Capital provided to early-stage B2B SaaS and Fintech startups at the pre-seed stage. MAVA Ventures acts as a non-leading investor and sounding board, typically investing quickly within days to two weeks from the first founder call.
• Seed Round Investment Funding Capital provided to early-stage B2B SaaS and Fintech startups at the seed stage. MAVA Ventures focuses on companies entering verticals through technological, regulatory, or geographical disruption, targeting minimum $1B market opportunities.
• Founder Advisory and Sounding Board Strategic guidance and mentorship for portfolio company founders, leveraging 16 years of entrepreneurial experience from founding to exit. Provided without board seats or leading roles, focused on the crucial first 2-3 years of a startup's lifecycle.

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Flybridge: Long-standing NYC seed and early-stage venture firm with broad sector coverage including B2B SaaS. Overlaps with MAVA's stage but invests across a wider portfolio.
• Techstars: Global pre-seed/seed accelerator and investor with active Fintech and SaaS programs. Comparable on early stage and Fintech thesis, though operates a more structured accelerator model.

Direct peers

• Notation Capital: NYC-based early-stage venture firm focused on pre-seed and seed B2B SaaS and infrastructure software. Closely comparable to MAVA on stage, geography, and category focus.
• Lerer Hippeau: NYC seed-stage venture fund investing across B2B SaaS, consumer, and fintech. Highly comparable on stage and geography to MAVA, though typically leads rounds.
• Founder Collective: Seed-stage venture firm investing in B2B SaaS, consumer, and frontier-tech. Similar thesis breadth and pre-seed/seed entry point as MAVA.
• Betaworks: NYC-based early-stage investor and studio focused on transformative technology and SaaS startups. Comparable stage and B2B thesis overlap with MAVA.
• Service Provider Capital: Pre-seed and seed B2B SaaS-focused fund, often investing as a first check. Directly comparable to MAVA's seed-check, B2B SaaS positioning.
• Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator (ERA): NYC-based pre-seed/seed investor and accelerator with strong B2B SaaS and Fintech orientation. Directly comparable stage and category focus to MAVA.

Emerging players

• Highline BETA: Seed-stage investor focused on early-stage consumer and B2B startups with an emerging-markets tilt. Comparable seed stage; partial overlap on emerging-market thesis.
• Lumen Ventures: Micro-VC focused on B2B SaaS and Fintech seed investments. Similar thesis to MAVA at the pre-seed/seed tier of the market.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mava-ventures

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments8 records

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

Frequently asked questions about MAVA Ventures