Draft Ventures

Draft Ventures is a seed-stage venture fund that operates as both a direct investment vehicle and an institutional fund, positioning itself at the intersection of early-stage capital deployment and hands-on venture studio support.[3][6] Founded in 2015 by Artia Moghbel and David Rodriguez, the firm has established itself as a selective investor in pre-seed and seed-stage technology companies, with a particular focus on Web3, climate, proptech, and fintech sectors.[2][6] The fund's track record speaks volumes: it has invested in eight unicorns including Notion, Protocol Labs, Dfinity, FabFitFun, and Thrive Market, all at the seed stage, demonstrating an exceptional ability to identify breakout companies early in their lifecycle.[3]

What distinguishes Draft Ventures in a crowded venture landscape is not just capital deployment but active value creation. The firm operates as a venture studio, meaning it doesn't simply write checks—it incubates, advises, and works closely with founders to shape company trajectories from inception.[6] This hands-on approach reflects the partners' background as Series A/B investors, lending institutional rigor to seed-stage decision-making that typically operates with lighter diligence standards.

High-Level Overview

Draft Ventures operates with a dual mission: deploying capital into exceptional early-stage founders while simultaneously providing operational support, strategic guidance, and network access that accelerates company growth.[3][6] The fund's investment philosophy centers on selectivity and impact—the team invests only in companies where they can directly add value and influence outcomes, rather than pursuing a spray-and-pray approach common in seed investing.[3]

The firm's sector focus spans Web3, climate technology, proptech, and fintech, reflecting both emerging market opportunities and the partners' conviction in these domains.[2] By maintaining this thematic concentration, Draft Ventures develops deep domain expertise and network effects within each vertical, enabling better deal sourcing and more informed investment decisions. The fund's impact on the startup ecosystem extends beyond capital provision; by identifying and nurturing unicorn-caliber companies at their earliest stages, Draft Ventures has helped shape the trajectory of some of the most influential blockchain, productivity, and climate tech companies of the past decade.

Origin Story

Draft Ventures was established in 2015 by Artia Moghbel and David Rodriguez, two operators with deep experience in venture capital and startup scaling.[3][5][6] Rather than launching as a traditional institutional fund from day one, the firm began by investing personal capital directly into promising founders, allowing the partners to refine their investment thesis and build conviction around their approach before raising institutional capital.[3]

This bootstrapped origin story proved prescient. The direct investment fund generated exceptional returns—a 4.57x multiple on invested capital with a 70.43% IRR—validating the partners' ability to identify and support breakout companies.[3] This early success provided the foundation for raising institutional capital, leading to the creation of Draft Ventures Fund I and subsequently a rolling fund structure on platforms like AngelList.[5] The evolution from personal capital to institutional vehicles reflects the firm's growing credibility and the market's recognition of their track record. Notably, some of their most celebrated investments—Notion, Protocol Labs, and Dfinity—were made during these early years, establishing the fund's reputation as a unicorn factory at the seed stage.

Core Differentiators

Exceptional Return Profile

Draft Ventures' direct investment fund has delivered a 4.57x multiple with a 70.43% IRR, while the institutional fund achieved 5.82x multiple with 60.51% IRR.[3] These figures significantly outpace typical seed fund returns, reflecting both superior deal selection and the value-add support provided to portfolio companies. On AngelList's rolling fund program, the firm's syndicate investments have generated 9.67x multiples with 69.6% IRR, demonstrating consistent excellence across multiple fund vehicles.[5]

Venture Studio Model

Unlike traditional venture funds that maintain arm's-length relationships with founders, Draft Ventures actively incubates and advises companies, functioning as a venture studio.[6] This model allows the firm to shape company strategy, recruit talent, and provide operational guidance from day one—advantages that compound significantly over a company's early years. The partners' willingness to work closely with CEOs and founders, combined with their Series A/B investor background, enables them to apply institutional-grade diligence to seed-stage deals.[3]

Rigorous Deal Selection

The fund applies higher diligence standards than typical seed investors, following processes similar to Series A/B investing.[3] This rigor extends to ensuring fair terms and reasonable valuations in syndicated rounds, protecting both the fund and founders from the valuation inflation that plagues some seed rounds. The selectivity is evident in the portfolio: eight unicorns among a curated set of investments rather than a spray-and-play approach.

Thematic Expertise

By concentrating on Web3, climate, proptech, and fintech, Draft Ventures develops deep domain knowledge that informs better investment decisions and enables more valuable support to founders.[2] This focus creates network effects—the fund's portfolio companies benefit from peer learning, shared resources, and introductions within each vertical.

Founder Alignment

The fund leads demonstrate personal commitment through quarterly GP contributions of at least $5,000, with management fees partially waived to fund this commitment.[5] This skin-in-the-game approach aligns incentives with founders and LPs, signaling genuine conviction rather than fee-driven capital deployment.

Role in the Broader Tech Landscape

Draft Ventures operates at a critical inflection point in venture capital: the recognition that seed-stage investing requires more than capital, and that the best returns come from identifying and nurturing exceptional founders before the market recognizes their potential. The firm's success in Web3 and climate tech reflects broader market trends—the decentralization movement and the urgency around climate solutions are reshaping how capital flows through the startup ecosystem.

The fund's portfolio demonstrates prescient timing. Notion's rise as a productivity powerhouse, Protocol Labs' emergence as a foundational Web3 infrastructure player, and Dfinity's positioning in decentralized computing all represent bets on transformative technologies made years before mainstream adoption. By identifying these companies at seed stage, Draft Ventures has influenced the broader ecosystem's capital allocation patterns—their success validates the thesis that exceptional founders in emerging categories deserve institutional support early.

The venture studio model itself represents an evolution in how seed capital operates. As competition for deal flow intensifies and founder expectations rise, the ability to provide operational support, strategic guidance, and network access becomes a competitive advantage. Draft Ventures' approach suggests that the future of seed investing lies not in passive capital deployment but in active partnership with founders.

Quick Take & Future Outlook

Draft Ventures has established itself as one of the most successful seed-stage investors of the past decade, with a track record that combines exceptional returns with genuine impact on the companies it backs. The firm's dual focus on capital deployment and venture studio support positions it well for continued success as the startup ecosystem increasingly demands more from early-stage investors than capital alone.

Looking forward, several trends will likely shape the firm's evolution. First, the maturation of Web3 and climate tech—sectors where Draft Ventures has concentrated—will create both opportunities and challenges. As these categories move from emerging to established, the fund's early-stage expertise will remain valuable, but the competitive landscape will intensify. Second, the venture studio model will likely become more prevalent, as other seed funds recognize that value-add support drives superior returns. Draft Ventures' early adoption of this approach gives it a structural advantage.

The firm's future likely involves continued focus on pre-seed and seed-stage companies while potentially expanding its venture studio capabilities—perhaps through dedicated operating partners or portfolio company services. The rolling fund structure on AngelList also suggests an evolution toward democratizing access to the fund's deal flow, allowing smaller investors to participate in the firm's investment theses.

Ultimately, Draft Ventures represents a broader shift in venture capital toward quality over quantity, founder partnership over passive investing, and thematic expertise over generalist approaches. As the startup ecosystem matures and capital becomes more abundant, the firms that survive and thrive will be those that can identify exceptional founders early and provide the support necessary to turn vision into reality. Draft Ventures has already proven it can do both.