FROM 1ST TIME FOUNDERS TO SERIAL ENTREPRENEURS, WE’VE GOT YOUR BACK

Three smartphone screens showing the Daydream AI shopping app displaying fashion images, editing features, and user interface elements.

MISSION


Bring the whole fashion universe to your fingertips with transformative AI.

FOUNDER STORY


As an early pioneer in Personalized Commerce for Fashion, with Stitchfix IPO and TheYes acquisition by Pinterest, Julie Bornstein is doing it again. She's now harnessing the power of Gen AI to revolutionize the discovery of your favorite fashion items online.

WHY TFVC


We chose to work with TheFounderVC because they are early pioneers in AI-first personalized eCommerce, with deep expertise in 0-to-1 product development and UX. As builders of a GenAI-powered conversational shopping platform, we need investors who understand this space, and TheFounderVC brings that direct experience.

A woman with shoulder-length brown hair wearing a black suit, sitting on a brown ceramic stool outside on a sidewalk with plants and storefronts in the background.

Julie Bornstein

CEO

Headshot of a smiling man with short brown hair, wearing a black blazer and light green dress shirt, against a green background.

Dan Cary

CPO

A woman with shoulder-length dark hair, smiling, wearing a black sleeveless top, standing in a warmly lit room with a bookshelf in the background.

Lisa Yamner Green

CBO

A young man with short, dark hair taking a selfie indoors.

Richard Kim

COO

DAYDREAM IN THE NEWS


GEEK WIRE

Daydream rakes in $50M seed funding to build an AI-powered search engine suited for e-commerce

Daydream, a new e-commerce search engine that uses AI to make search more personalized and useful for people, has raised a massive $50 million seed round.

AI-powered curation, content, and search can help customers discover brands and products more effectively—and feel more inclined to make a purchase.

MCKINSEY

Founder Julie Bornstein raised $50 million last year to create the ultimate AI shopping experience. Today, it launches in beta.

VOGUE BUSINESS

Nearly a year after raising a mega seed round of $50 million, e-commerce veteran Julie Bornstein’s startup Daydream is releasing its AI-powered chatbot for shopping with a focus on fashion.

TECH CRUNCH

The platform is launching with more than 200 retail and brand partners, representing more than 8,000 global fashion brands and nearly 2 million products.

WWD

Launched by a retail veteran, Daydream aims to transform the way you shop online.

FAST COMPANY

The site, co-founded by Julie Bornstein, aims to reimagine online shopping with the capabilities of the large language models underlying AI tools such as ChatGPT.

BUSINESS OF FASHION

When Julie Bornstein was an e-commerce leader at Nordstrom in the early 2000s, she envisioned a world where online shopping would someday live up to the promise of enabling a true personalized experience for each and every shopper.

FORTUNE

Co-founded by Julie Bornstein, Daydream launches Wednesday with more than 200 brand and retail partners — and goals of becoming a discovery hub for emerging labels.

FASHIONISTA
Website homepage for autonomous agents for science, with a cartoonish drawing of a happy blob and a bright green "Get Started Now" button, logos of research universities at the bottom.

MISSION


Autonomous scientific discovery and runaway knowledge production.

FOUNDER STORY


As researcher in Pharma, Dr. Nick Edwards realized the potential of AI to address how slow and expensive it is to conduct primary research. He partnered with Ryan Kosai, a multi-time Founder CTO, to realize the vision to create AI scientists to exponentially increase scientific breakthroughs.

WHY TFVC


The team at TheFounderVC has been super helpful in introducing us to relevant decision-makers in our field. Their go-to-market expertise and support is invaluable

Black and white portrait of a man with short dark hair, wearing a white collared shirt, smiling softly, serious expression, plain background.

Nick Edwards

CEO

Black-and-white portrait of a smiling man with glasses and short hair, wearing a zip-up sweater over a collared shirt.

Ryan Kosai

CTO

POTATO IN THE NEWS


Seattle startup Potato lands $4.5M to automate science experiments using AI assistants and robots ↗

With $4.5 million in fresh funding, Seattle-area startup Potato is sprouting big plans to disrupt scientific research with a fully automated experimental process.

GEEK WIRE
Catchouse logo featuring a stylized house with a star inside

MISSION


An AI home buying concierge that guides you to your dream home.

FOUNDER STORY


CEO (Mark Van Ryswyk) is a seasoned product exec with expertise in gamification and personalization (former CPO of Tinder and led game studios at EA); CTO (Martin Butt) is the former Head of Tech for EA; COO (Andrew Callejo) is a previous founder in real estate tech. They are marrying their passions for real estate hunting to build a personalized buyer-first experience.

WHY TFVC


TheFounderVC sees the full picture—it’s not just about AI, it’s the cultural and consumer shifts that are creating a moment to reinvent what it means to buy a home. TFVC isn't just capital, the team is deeply engaged and is actively helping us to realize the future we envision for Catchouse.

A middle-aged man with short, light brown hair and light blue eyes, wearing a black jacket and hint of a dark shirt underneath, stands against a plain gray background, looking at the camera with a slight smile.

Mark Van Rysvyk

CEO

LinkedIn logo in black and white.
A man with short dark hair, glasses, and a beard, smiling, wearing a beige knit sweater against a plain white background.

Martin Butt

CTO

A smiling man with styled black hair wearing a blue blazer and white shirt, standing in front of a brick wall.

Andrew Callejo

COO

MISSION


Empower every knowledge worker with an omniscient assistant.

FOUNDER STORY


Allen Yang (CEO) and Sarah Andrabi are technical founders who have spent the last decade+ building AI/ML powered productivity tools at Dropbox and Google Docs and jointly envisioned a cross-platform AI-companion for knowledge workers

WHY TFVC


TheFounderVC was the first "Yes" in our pre-seed round. Their diligence pushed us to sharpen our thinking, and Mia's engagement, intros and support made our funding a reality.

A young man standing outdoors in an urban setting, wearing a black Patagonia jacket and a maroon shirt, with buildings and a staircase in the background.

Allen Yang

CEO

Young woman with glasses and long dark hair standing outdoors with arms crossed, wearing a beige cardigan, scarf, and white top, smiling slightly.

Sarah Andrabi

CTO

A black and white illustration of a planet with rings, resembling Saturn, with a stylized logo or text beneath it.
A digital illustration of Earth with weather data visualization overlay, emphasizing weather forecasting technology by Eddy, with text promoting advanced physics and machine learning for long-range weather predictions.

MISSION


Enable accurate and actionable extreme weather forecasting.

FOUNDER STORY


Dr. Hansi Singh, Climate Scientist and Dr Kalai Ramea, Data Scientist partnered to create a new data platform accurately predicting extreme weather up to 2 years to measure and manage the risks associated with climate change impacting every industry.

WHY TFVC


The team has been extremely helpful in our GTM efforts, connecting us to expert LPs and introducing early customers. We're grateful to have their experience in our team.

A woman with short burgundy hair styled with hair clips, wearing a black blazer and gold jewelry, smiling against a black background.

Dr. Hansi Singh

CEO

A woman with dark, wavy hair wearing a maroon sweater and smiling at the camera against a black background.

Dr. Kalai Ramea

CTO

PLANETTE IN THE NEWS


GEEK WIRE

Planette’s AI-boosted technology is designed to help businesses plan for weather and climate risks that could impact resources and operations.

PLANETTE

Planette was selected for its physics-informed, AI-powered environmental forecasting technology, which demonstrates that AI can be a powerful force for good.