About Me
Hi there! I’m Samit, and I’m a Partner at 1984 Ventures, an SF-based seed fund that backs technical founders using software to solve screaming market needs. We’re currently investing out of our $75M Fund II. I joined the team in 2021, having spent the previous two and a half years at Bain Capital Ventures, a prominent multi-stage fund that’s backed iconic companies like Docusign and Linkedin. Prior to that, I worked at AngelList - a startup building tools for other startups.
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.
My expertise is in helping seed stage companies craft the narrative that best resonates with investors and to help them raise subsequent capital - for which I currently have a 100% success rate. I hope to think that this skillset is complementary and additive to that of my partners Ramy, Aaron and Farzad who are former founders.
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 on:
E.g. product analytics startups like Posthog or procurement software like Fairmarkit
E.g. Consumer marketplaces like Kyte or Teachme.To and B2B marketplaces like Seso and Trusted Health
E.g. trucking startups like Exo Freight, warehousing startups like Flowspace or SaaS for ports like Bluecargo
E.g. payments startups like Routable
E.g. Postscript (SMS marketing for Shopify stores) and Syrup (inventory mgmt for retailers)
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:
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
When we were raising our seed round, we got an introduction to Samit and Ramy with 1984 through a mutual contact. Immediately we loved that they were former operators but more importantly very interested in supply chain. They had a ton of conviction and were extremely founder friendly in getting a deal done with us, so much so that they actually helped us get into YC very shortly after they made an investment. Since the seed round, Ramy and Samit both have been very involved with our business, helping us navigate YC and raise our Series A (including connecting us to our lead, Left Lane Capital). They are have an extremely good reputation in the VC community and having them on our cap table has been amazing. — Kurtis Tryber, CEO @ Exo FreightSamit 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 $150M AUM and are currently investing out of our second fund, which is a $75M vehicle. We invest $500K - $1.2M in pre-seed and seed rounds. We were recently profiled in Fortune magazine.
We are not sector driven but have made 65 investments over the past five 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:
- Postscript - an SMS marketing SaaS tool for Shopify stores (now Series C)
- Posthog — OSS product analytics suite (now Series B)
- Fairmarkit — a SaaS tool to manage procurement (now Series C)
- Trusted Health — a labor marketplace connecting nurses to hospitals (now Series C)
_32/w=3840,quality=80,fit=scale-down)
- Kyte — Uber for car rentals (now Series B)
