FROM 1ST TIME FOUNDERS TO SERIAL ENTREPRENEURS, WE’VE GOT YOUR BACK
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.
Julie Bornstein
CEO
Dan Cary
CPO
Lisa Yamner Green
CBO
Richard Kim
COO
DAYDREAM IN THE NEWS
TIME MAGAZINE
Daydream just received a Special Mention in TIME Best Inventions of 2025 list↗
Out of thousands of applications, Daydream was recognized as one of the 2025 most promising ideas.
AI-powered curation, content, and search can help customers discover brands and products more effectively—and feel more inclined to make a purchase.
MCKINSEYFounder Julie Bornstein raised $50 million last year to create the ultimate AI shopping experience. Today, it launches in beta.
VOGUE BUSINESSNearly 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 CRUNCHThe platform is launching with more than 200 retail and brand partners, representing more than 8,000 global fashion brands and nearly 2 million products.
WWDLaunched by a retail veteran, Daydream aims to transform the way you shop online.
FAST COMPANYThe 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 FASHIONWhen 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.
FORTUNECo-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
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.
Dr.Nick Edwards
CEO
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
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.
Mark Van Rysvyk
CEO
Martin Butt
CTO
Andrew Callejo
COO
Dr. Judy Chen
CAIO
MISSION
Empower every knowledge worker with an omniscient assistant.
FOUNDER STORY
Sarah Andrabi is a technical founder who built AI/ML powered productivity tools at Dropbox for over a decade, and then 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.
CEO
Sarah Andrabi
MISSION
Deploy dashboards in hours embedded on any site.
FOUNDER STORY
Jeff and Ellie have both worked with data on the web for decades with Jeff as the head of the University of Washington's Interactive Data Lab and a co-founder of Trifacta, and Ellie as the SVP of Product at Tableau Software and as a customer of data tools at Salesloft. They intend to leverage AI and other new technologies to realize a vision of better, faster, and more interactive data on the web.
WHY TFVC
TFVC team had been helpful even before we decided to raise a round. We were oversubscribed from our lead investor and prominent angels, but included TheFounderVC because of their experience and their ability to help us grow.
Ellie Fields
CEO
Dr.Jeffrey Heer
CTO
MISSION
Enable accurate and actionable extreme weather forecasting.
FOUNDER STORY
Dr. Hansi Singh, Climate Scientist created a new data platform accurately predicting extreme weather up to 2 years out, enabling clients to measure and manage the risks associated with climate change.
WHY TFVC
TheFounderVC 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.
Dr. Hansi Singh
CEO
PLANETTE IN THE NEWS
GEEK WIREPlanette’s AI-boosted technology is designed to help businesses plan for weather and climate risks that could impact resources and operations.
PLANETTEPlanette was selected for its physics-informed, AI-powered environmental forecasting technology, which demonstrates that AI can be a powerful force for good.