FireStarter Fund

What FireStarter Fund does

FireStarter Fund is a privately-held, self-managed early-stage investment fund formed in 2012 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It was founded by a group of Chicago technology entrepreneurs — including Matt Moog, Brian Hand, Troy Henikoff, and Sam Yagan as administrative members — alongside 38 other members drawn from the local startup and operating community. The fund raised $5.7 million in committed capital from its 42 members and structures itself without management fees or carried interest, so realized investment returns flow directly to members. Its investment focus is digital media and marketing, software-as-a-service (SaaS), and e-commerce companies leveraging web, social, mobile, and big-data technologies, primarily at the Series A and Series B stages.

The fund's core product is its investment process: deal flow is sourced through the 42-member network and relationships with national venture funds, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders, then evaluated through due diligence and a member-voting mechanism, with the four administrative members funneling deals, overseeing votes, and authorizing cash disbursements. Individual investment sizes range from $25,000 to $500,000 per company, with typical cumulative investment between $150,000 and $350,000 over the life of an investment. Members are free to co-invest personally and to provide mentorship and board participation, which the fund treats as a key element of its value proposition to portfolio companies in the greater Chicago area, Illinois, and the upper Midwest. FireStarter co-invests alongside leading venture capital firms and counts roughly 18 publicly disclosed portfolio companies, including SpotHero, Hireology, Home Chef, GiveForward, Shiftgig, Right At School, and Cartavi (acquired by DocuSign in 2013).

Commercially, FireStarter does not operate a traditional GTM or revenue model: there are no management fees, no carried interest, and no product pricing. As of January 24, 2019, the fund announced it is fully invested and not currently accepting new investment opportunities, so the entity is now in a portfolio management and realization phase rather than active capital deployment. There is no evidence of a successor fund or ongoing fundraising activity in the available data.

Name

FireStarter Fund

Legal name

FireStarter Fund

Website

https://firestarterfund.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

FireStarter Fund is a self-managed, Chicago-based early-stage investment fund formed in 2012 that deployed $5.7 million from 42 entrepreneur-members into Series A/B digital media, SaaS, and e-commerce companies in the upper Midwest. The fund is fully invested as of January 2019 and is no longer accepting new opportunities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Early-Stage Venture Capital

NAICS

Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

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

Keywords

• Early-stage venture capital
• Technology startup investing
• Angel investment network
• Seed stage funding
• Entrepreneur mentorship program

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Others, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Investment Returns: The fund makes equity investments in early-stage technology companies and receives returns through exits. As a self-managed fund with no carried interests or fees, all investment returns flow to members.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

FireStarter Fund is a self-managed, member-funded early-stage investment vehicle focused exclusively on technology companies in digital media and marketing, SaaS, and e-commerce. The fund pools $5.7 million in committed capital from 42 Chicago-area technology entrepreneurs, deploying $25,000 to $500,000 per company (typical cumulative $150,000–$350,000) and supplementing capital with hands-on mentorship from its operator-members.

Product overview

FireStarter Fund is a single, unified early-stage investment fund rather than a multi-product platform. It is a self-managed venture fund that provides investment capital to technology companies, with typical cumulative investments between $150,000 and $350,000 per portfolio company, ranging from $25,000 to $500,000 per investment. The fund focuses on Series A and B rounds for companies at or near revenue generation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• FireStarter Fund Investment Program Self-managed early-stage equity investment program pooling $5.7M from 42 members, deploying $25,000 to $500,000 per company (typical cumulative $150,000 to $350,000) into digital media and marketing, SaaS, and e-commerce startups, with operator mentorship from the member collective.

Named customers18 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Direct peers

• Lightbank: Chicago-based early-stage venture fund (founded by the founders of Groupon). Invests in early-stage tech companies in Chicago and shares FireStarter's member-led, operator-driven approach to venture investing.
• OCA Ventures: Chicago-based early-stage venture fund investing across technology, digital media, and e-commerce — the same verticals FireStarter Fund targets. Both funds are Chicago-centric, Series A/B-focused angel-style vehicles.
• Corazon Capital: Chicago-based early-stage venture firm co-founded by Sam Yagan (an admin member of FireStarter Fund). Corazon invests in early-stage tech companies out of Chicago, directly overlapping with FireStarter's thesis and member network.
• MATH Venture Partners: Chicago-based early-stage venture fund led by Troy Henikoff (an admin member of FireStarter Fund). Both funds invest in early-stage technology companies in the Midwest, share overlapping LPs/advisors, and operate in the same Chicago tech ecosystem.
• Chicago Ventures: Chicago-focused early-stage venture fund backing tech startups at the Seed and Series A stages. Operates in the same Chicago tech ecosystem and shares overlapping portfolio themes in SaaS, digital media, and marketplaces.
• Techstars Chicago: Chicago-based accelerator also managed by Troy Henikoff. Both Techstars Chicago and FireStarter Fund source Series A/B-ready tech startups from the Chicago ecosystem and frequently co-invest in the same companies.
• Hyde Park Venture Partners: Chicago-focused early-stage venture fund investing in technology companies across the Midwest. Operates in the same geographic footprint and stage as FireStarter Fund and frequently co-invests with Chicago-based syndicates.
• Founder Equity: Chicago-area founder-led angel collective and early-stage fund. Operates on a similar syndicate-style, member-driven model investing in early-stage Chicago technology companies, directly comparable in structure and ethos to FireStarter Fund.

Broad incumbents

• Pritzker Group Venture Capital: Larger Chicago-based private investment platform backing technology startups across stages. Broader portfolio and larger check sizes, but operates in the same Chicago tech ecosystem and overlaps with FireStarter's digital media and SaaS themes.

Regional players

• M25: Chicago-based early-stage venture fund focused on Midwest tech startups. Operates in the same Chicago/Midwest geography and similar Series A/B stage, making it a direct regional competitor to FireStarter Fund.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/firestarterfund
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/firestarter-fund

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments19 records

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

Frequently asked questions about FireStarter Fund