Kickstart Fund
Kickstart Fund is a private early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2008, providing pre-seed and seed funding to technology startups in Utah and Colorado. Operating as the Mountain West's first seed fund, it backs regional founders with capital, mentorship, and ecosystem access.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2008
- HeadquartersSalt Lake City, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Kickstart Fund does
Kickstart Fund is a privately held venture capital firm founded in 2008 and headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, operating as the Mountain West's first seed fund. The firm provides pre-seed and seed-stage equity capital to technology startups based primarily in Utah and Colorado, targeting bold founders building companies within the regional ecosystem. It is not a technology company and does not sell products, platforms, or SaaS; its underlying "product" is investment capital paired with mentorship, network access, and operating expertise from a partner team composed largely of former founders. The firm's revenue mechanics are those of a traditional VC fund vehicle, generating returns through equity ownership in portfolio companies, with realizations occurring through acquisitions, IPOs, or secondary sales, alongside standard fund-level management economics (management fees and carried interest, though not disclosed in the source material). The portfolio spans healthcare (Sondermind, Nomi Health, Nursa), enterprise SaaS (Podium, Spiff, Galileo, Alianza, Lucid), consumer and media (Angel Studios, LEAP), and AI-adjacent companies (RadAI, Gestalt Diagnostics), indicating thematic diversification within a geographically concentrated thesis. The firm maintains a regional office in Denver, an LP login portal, an active podcast and content presence, and a sub-brand called Campus Founders Fund that targets campus-based founders, collectively forming its go-to-market motion for sourcing and supporting deal flow.
Kickstart Fund firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Kickstart Fund
- Legal name
- Kickstart Fund
- Website
- https://kickstartfund.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2008
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Kickstart Fund is a private early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2008, providing pre-seed and seed funding to technology startups in Utah and Colorado. Operating as the Mountain West's first seed fund, it backs regional founders with capital, mentorship, and ecosystem access.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Kickstart Fund industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Venture Capital
- NAICS
- Grantmaking Foundations (813211)
- SIC
- Investment Advice (6282)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Early-Stage Venture Capital (Pre-Seed/Seed) (FSANAAAA)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Accelerators & Incubators (Investor-Operated) (FSANAAAM)
Keywords
Where Kickstart Fund is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Salt Lake City
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Kickstart Fund business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Investment Returns: Kickstart Fund generates returns through equity investments in early-stage startups. As a seed fund investor, they provide capital to portfolio companies in exchange for equity ownership, with returns realized through exits (acquisitions, IPOs) or secondary sales.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels5 records
Kickstart Fund product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Kickstart Fund is the Mountain West's first seed fund, providing pre-seed and seed equity capital to early-stage tech founders building companies in Utah and Colorado. Founded in 2008, the firm invests in bold founders, offers mentorship from partners who are themselves former founders, and provides access to a regional network across its Salt Lake City and Denver offices.
Product overview
Kickstart Fund is a venture capital firm, specifically the Mountain West's first seed fund, focused on early-stage investing in Utah and Colorado. The firm provides pre-seed and seed funding to bold founders building companies in the Mountain West ecosystem. As an investment firm rather than a product company, Kickstart Fund does not offer technology products, platforms, or SaaS services — it offers capital, mentorship, and strategic support to portfolio companies.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Campus Founders Fund: A fund initiative focused on campus-based founders, operated in partnership with campusfounders.com
Products and services
- Pre-seed Funding Equity capital provided to the earliest-stage founders in the Mountain West region (Utah and Colorado), targeting founders before product-market fit. Capital is exchanged for equity ownership, with returns realized through exits or secondary sales.
- Seed Funding Equity capital for seed-stage tech companies in Utah and Colorado, accompanying pre-seed investments and providing founders with regional ecosystem access, mentorship, and strategic support.
- Portfolio Founder Mentorship and Network Access Operational support provided to portfolio founders by Kickstart partners, many of whom are former founders themselves, combined with access to the Mountain West regional network across Salt Lake City and Denver.
- Campus Founders Fund A fund initiative focused on supporting campus-based founders, operated by Kickstart Fund in partnership with Campus Founders (campusfounders.com).
Quantifiable outcome
- Mountain West's first seed fund, operating since 2008
Companies that use Kickstart Fund
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Kickstart Fund technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Kickstart Fund partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators1 record
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Kickstart Fund competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Foundry Group: Boulder, Colorado-based early-stage VC focused on seed and Series A investments across the Mountain West. Direct peer because it operates in the same geography and stage as Kickstart Fund with comparable fund sizes and founder-first orientation.
- Boulder Ventures: Boulder, Colorado-based early-stage venture capital firm investing in Colorado technology companies. Direct peer because it operates in the same Colorado half of the Mountain West ecosystem as Kickstart's Denver office.
- Epic Ventures: Salt Lake City / Las Vegas-based early-stage venture capital firm investing across the Intermountain West. Direct peer due to shared Utah base and pre-seed/seed focus on regional tech founders.
- Signal Peak Ventures: Salt Lake City-based venture capital firm focused on seed and early-stage enterprise software investments. Direct peer because it invests at the same stage and in overlapping Mountain West software verticals as Kickstart Fund.
- Pelion Venture Partners: Salt Lake City-based early-stage venture capital firm investing in software and tech startups. Direct peer because it shares Kickstart's Utah base and seed-to-Series A focus, competing for the same regional founder pool.
- Mercato Partners: Salt Lake City-based growth and venture capital firm investing across Utah and the broader Mountain West. Direct peer because it shares the Salt Lake base and provides early- and growth-stage capital to the same regional founder ecosystem.
- Peterson Ventures: Salt Lake City-based early-stage venture capital firm investing in tech-enabled startups with a strong regional Utah focus. Direct peer because it shares Salt Lake City headquarters, pre-seed/seed stage focus, and the Mountain West founder community with Kickstart.
- Highway 12 Ventures: Salt Lake City / Boise-based seed and early-stage venture capital firm focused on the Intermountain West. Direct peer because of overlapping geography (Utah) and similar seed-stage, founder-focused investment thesis.
Emerging players
- Rise of the Rest: Revolution's seed fund focused on startups outside of traditional coastal tech hubs, including the Mountain West. Emerging player because it shares the thesis that regional ecosystems outside Silicon Valley are undervalued, but operates at a larger national scale.
Broad incumbents
- Techstars: Boulder, Colorado-based global accelerator and early-stage investor running numerous programs including in Salt Lake City. Broad incumbent because it operates a much larger accelerator platform but with significant presence in the Mountain West, making it a competitor for early-stage Mountain West deals.
Market position
Weaknesses1 record
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Kickstart Fund social profiles
Digital presenceKickstart Fund financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Kickstart Fund leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Kickstart Fund funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Kickstart Fund M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Kickstart Fund
What does Kickstart Fund do?
Kickstart Fund is the Mountain West's first seed fund, providing pre-seed and seed equity capital to early-stage tech founders building companies in Utah and Colorado. Founded in 2008, the firm invests in bold founders, offers mentorship from partners who are themselves former founders, and provides access to a regional network across its Salt Lake City and Denver offices.
Is Kickstart Fund a public or private company?
Kickstart Fund is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was Kickstart Fund founded?
Kickstart Fund was founded in 2008. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Kickstart Fund based?
Kickstart Fund is headquartered in Salt Lake City, United States, in the North America region.
How does Kickstart Fund make money?
One revenue line is on record: investment Returns.
Who are Kickstart Fund's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Foundry Group, Boulder Ventures, Epic Ventures, Signal Peak Ventures, Pelion Venture Partners, Mercato Partners, Peterson Ventures and Highway 12 Ventures. Rise of the Rest is listed as an emerging player. Techstars is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Kickstart Fund have an API?
No public API is recorded for Kickstart Fund.
What industry is Kickstart Fund in?
Kickstart Fund's product category is Venture Capital. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSANAAAA, Early-Stage Venture Capital (Pre-Seed/Seed), with a secondary code of FSANAAAM, Accelerators & Incubators (Investor-Operated). Its NAICS code is 813211 and its SIC code is 6282.