Kohala Ventures
Kohala Ventures is a San Francisco-based, seed-stage venture capital firm founded by Eric Del Balso that invests in early-stage companies across aerospace, software, and food technology while providing hands-on operator support through an interdisciplinary advisor network.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2022
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Kohala Ventures does
Kohala Ventures is a privately held, seed-stage venture capital firm headquartered at 50 California Street, Suite 1521, in San Francisco's financial district. The firm is led by Founder and General Partner Eric Del Balso and is staffed by 1–10 employees, operating with a lean team supplemented by two special advisors (Ian Cinnamon of Village Global and Bruno Faviero of Alloy Capital). Per its own vision statement, the firm exists to "help entrepreneurs transform industries by marrying early stage capital with the scale of enterprise markets."
The firm does not develop, license, or sell technology products. Its offering is a combination of seed capital and hands-on operator support, delivered through an interdisciplinary advisor network and a global commercial network that spans industry leaders and mid-level operators. Revenue, to the extent any is generated, comes from traditional venture-fund mechanics — management fees on assets under management and carried interest on investment gains — rather than from product or service sales. There is no publicly disclosed fund size, AUM, fee schedule, or LP roster.
Kohala's disclosed portfolio comprises nine seed-stage companies, with a thematic tilt toward frontier and deep-tech sectors: four aerospace plays (Apex Space, Inversion Space, AstroForge, REGENT), one food-technology investment (Modern Meadow), and four software investments (Embrace, Narrative, Epsilon, Synapse). The firm is also operationally linked to Ignite Advisors, a separate entity also founded by Del Balso that provides operator-advisory services and is cross-promoted on Kohala's own website.
Kohala Ventures firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Kohala Ventures
- Legal name
- Kohala Ventures
- Website
- https://kohalaventures.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2022
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Kohala Ventures is a San Francisco-based, seed-stage venture capital firm founded by Eric Del Balso that invests in early-stage companies across aerospace, software, and food technology while providing hands-on operator support through an interdisciplinary advisor network.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Kohala Ventures industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Venture Capital
- NAICS
- Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)
- SIC
- Investment Advice (6282)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Accelerators & Incubators (Investor-Operated) (FSANAAAM)
Keywords
Where Kohala Ventures is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Kohala Ventures business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Others
Revenue model
- Venture Capital Returns: As a venture capital firm, Kohala generates returns through carried interest on investment gains and management fees. The firm invests in early-stage companies and provides hands-on operational support to help build scale businesses.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Kohala Ventures product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Kohala Ventures is a seed-focused venture capital firm that invests in early-stage companies and provides hands-on operational support to portfolio founders. The firm pairs early-stage capital with enterprise market scale expertise, leveraging an interdisciplinary network of advisors and a global commercial network of industry leaders and mid-level operators to help founders build scalable businesses.
Product overview
Kohala Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm that provides capital combined with hands-on advisory services to help entrepreneurs build scale businesses. The firm leverages an interdisciplinary network of advisors and a global commercial network of industry leaders and mid-level operators. The company does not operate its own product platform; instead it invests in and advises portfolio companies across various sectors.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Seed-Stage Venture Capital
- Hands-On Portfolio Advisory
Companies that use Kohala Ventures
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Kohala Ventures technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Kohala Ventures partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Ignite AdvisorscoreIgnite Advisors is a related entity where Eric Del Balso serves as Founder and Operating Partner alongside his role at Kohala Ventures. The firms appear to operate in concert, with Ignite Advisors listed alongside Kohala on the main navigation.
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Kohala Ventures competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Founders Collective: Seed-stage venture firm that invests across consumer, enterprise, and frontier categories with a small, concentrated team. Highly comparable to Kohala in stage, check size orientation, and sector breadth.
- Precursor Ventures: A seed- and pre-seed-focused fund that writes initial checks across a wide range of verticals with an operator-driven approach. Closely mirrors Kohala's seed orientation and broad sector exposure.
- NFX: Seed-stage venture firm investing in network-effect businesses across software and frontier categories with a hands-on, network-driven model. Comparable to Kohala in stage, network-centric sourcing, and sector agnosticism.
- Lerer Hippeau: Early-stage venture firm based in New York that invests across consumer, enterprise, and frontier categories. Comparable to Kohala as a sector-agnostic seed-stage investor with operator support.
- SV Angel: Seed-stage venture firm founded by Ron Conway that invests broadly across software, consumer, and frontier tech. Directly comparable in seed focus and broad sector mandate.
- Lux Capital: Early-stage venture firm investing in frontier science and technology, with notable aerospace and deep-tech exposure. Comparable to Kohala's aerospace-heavy portfolio orientation (Apex, AstroForge, Inversion).
Broad incumbents
- Khosla Ventures: Large-scale venture firm with a strong seed and frontier-tech practice investing across aerospace, food tech, and software. Broader and better-capitalized than Kohala, but competes in the same categories and stage.
- Founders Fund: Prominent venture firm with early-stage activity across frontier and enterprise categories. Comparable in aerospace/defense-tech deal flow (e.g., SpaceX) and sector breadth, though much larger in fund size.
- Bain Capital Ventures: Multi-stage venture arm of Bain Capital with seed activity in enterprise software and emerging categories. Comparable in early-stage enterprise software exposure and operator support model.
Emerging players
- Y Combinator: Premier accelerator/seed investor with sector-agnostic deal flow and a structured program for early-stage founders. Comparable in seed-stage orientation and broad sector coverage, though Kohala operates as a traditional seed fund rather than a cohort-based accelerator.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat2 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Kohala Ventures social profiles
Digital presenceKohala Ventures financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Kohala Ventures leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Kohala Ventures funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Kohala Ventures M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments10 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Kohala Ventures
What does Kohala Ventures do?
Kohala Ventures is a seed-focused venture capital firm that invests in early-stage companies and provides hands-on operational support to portfolio founders. The firm pairs early-stage capital with enterprise market scale expertise, leveraging an interdisciplinary network of advisors and a global commercial network of industry leaders and mid-level operators to help founders build scalable businesses.
Is Kohala Ventures a public or private company?
Kohala Ventures is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Kohala Ventures founded?
Kohala Ventures was founded in 2022. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Kohala Ventures based?
Kohala Ventures is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does Kohala Ventures make money?
One revenue line is on record: venture Capital Returns.
Who are Kohala Ventures's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Founders Collective, Precursor Ventures, NFX, Lerer Hippeau, SV Angel and Lux Capital. Broad incumbents are Khosla Ventures, Founders Fund and Bain Capital Ventures. Y Combinator is listed as an emerging player.
Does Kohala Ventures have an API?
No public API is recorded for Kohala Ventures.
What industry is Kohala Ventures in?
Kohala Ventures's product category is Venture Capital. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSANAAAM, Accelerators & Incubators (Investor-Operated). Its NAICS code is 523940 and its SIC code is 6282.