About Me
Hi there! I’m Samit, and I’m a Partner at 1984 Ventures, an SF-based pre seed and seed fund. We’re currently investing out of our third fund ($70M) and have $250M AUM. Our focus is on investing in AI applications whose value props are 100x better than the status quo. Our core focus areas are vertical software (Postscript, BuildOps, Revv), healthcare (Fay Nutrition, House Rx) and infra/dev tools (Posthog, Cline).
I invest in vertical software companies that are automating labor using AI.
I believe that the next 5 years presents a generational opportunity to remake every single vertical.
Specifically, I believe the biggest opportunity lies in previously uninvestable sectors like services sectors - because they are labor-heavy and are more likely to lack large software incumbents
I have led vSaaS investments across various industries e.g. automotive, audit, debt collection, CRE, home services, recruiting, insurance claims. I believe every B2B sector will be completely reinvented with AI and am on the hunt for founders bringing software chops to antiquated industries.
I joined the team in 2021, having spent ~3 years at Bain Capital Ventures. Prior to that, I worked in sales and ops at AngelList. I credit AngelList for developing my passion for company building and investing. While working there, I helped over 150 founders close funding rounds. I fell in love with the industry because it scratched two itches: my constant desire for learning while simultaneously helping brilliant people invent the future. Since then, I’ve dedicated myself to learning the craft of investing and helping founders win.
You can reach me via email, Linkedin or Twitter.
Blog and Reading List
From time to time, I write about the seed stage venture capital landscape, to help demystify topics for founders. You can find my blog ➡️ here ⬅️.
I also open source a list of interesting content I’ve read here.
Investment philosophy and focus areas
I typically invest $500K - $1.2M into pre-seed and seed-stage startups.
Sector-wise, I focus heavily on B2B SaaS (vertical AI, SMB, enterprise). I also invest in marketplaces.
How I help founders
- Fundraising
- I work closely with founders to craft their pitch decks, narratives and make introductions to upstream investors. I have a strong network of Series A funds given my previous experience at Bain Capital Ventures
- So far, I have a 100% success rate in helping companies I work with raise subsequent capital
- Recruiting
- Helping hire and close candidates (engineering, product, data science sales, marketing)
- Founder therapy
- Being the late-night phone call for any and all concerns
Companies I’m involved with
I am involved with the following 1984.vc companies:
Marketplace for dental hygienists
Quotes from some founders I work with
Since we raised from 1984, Samit has made an immediate impact on our business. He shows up in all the ways you hope a VC would - pulse on the market (allowing me to stay focused on execution), tailored advice for our stage, and a deep network of operators and investors. That said, my favorite part about working with Samit is how thoughtful he is around our actual business/product, regularly texting me with feedback on his experience as an early user and ideas for how to further aspects of the product! I wish I had partnered with him and the 1984 team sooner... —- Teddy Fitzgibbons, CEO @ StreetfairSamit has meaningfully inflected the trajectory and velocity of our company. He’s the definition of an excellent early investor - fast moving, hyper responsive, well networked, likable, high integrity and an all round great person. Afast term sheet was followed by thoughtful contributions during our product build and really helping raise our seed round,including introducing us to our eventual lead. Samit mapped his ever-growing network to his portfolio companies, allowing us to leverage his high-trust relationships with other funds to speed up and smooth out our seed raise. We’re grateful and pumped to have him on our side! — Mario Emmanuel, CEO @ Sucasa
We would not be where we are today without your direct support, candid advice and attentiveness! — Aaron Wang, CEO @ Alex.com
Samit has been one of my most impactful investors in terms of fundraising strategy and overall support. He is always a quick call away when I need advice, fundraising intros, or a brainstorming session. So grateful to have him on the cap table and highly recommend working with him if you have the opportunity!— Kristen Wiley, CEO @ StatusphereOther companies I’m involved with
I am an angel investor in companies like Hey Jane, Sorare, Microacquire, Wintermute and Pipe.
I am also an LP in funds like Dashfund (fintech) and Lattice Capital (crypto).
About 1984 Ventures
1984 Ventures is a seed fund based in San Francisco. We have $250M AUM and are currently investing out of our third fund. We invest $500K - $1.2M in pre-seed and seed rounds. We have been profiled in Fortune magazine.
We are not sector driven but have made 100 investments over the past seven years across B2B SaaS, infrastructure software, fintech, proptech, supply chain/logistics and healthcare.
We are very active investors in Y Combinator, and to-date have five companies (Postscript, Routable, Shelf Engine, Convex, Posthog) listed in YC’s top company list.
Some of our notable investments to date include:
- Posthog — OSS product suite for engineers suite (now Series D)
- BuildOps — ServiceTitan for commercial contractors (now Series C)
- Postscript - an SMS marketing SaaS tool for Shopify stores (now Series C)
