Nelstone Ventures

Nelstone Ventures is an investment fund founded by Rich Nelson for the purpose of investing in various stage technology companies. Nelstone Ventures' investment focus is consumer internet, enterprise software and technology enabled business-to business companies.

Rich Nelson

Founder and MD

Past deals in Dating

Ticketbis

Series E in 2015
Ticketbis enables users to purchase and sell tickets for concerts, festivals, theater plays, sporting events, and more. It has more than one million customers worldwide. Ticketbis was launched by Jon Uriarte and Ander Michelena in December 2009 and its main operations are based in Madrid, Spain with presence in other countries such as Italy, Portugal, United Kingdom, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, India, Japan, New Zealand, and more.

ClinOne, Inc.

Seed Round in 2015
ClinOne clinical trial management solution designed to access to mission-critical clinical trial details through web & mobile devices.

Journey Meditation

Seed Round in 2018
Journey Meditation, Inc. offers a meditation application for providing meditation classes to individuals and organizations. It offers a Journey LIVE app, a group meditation application with live instructors, and real-time classes to the public that enables users to join a group meditation video live streams scheduled throughout the day where teachers from various backgrounds and meditation styles guide participants. The company was founded in 2015 and is based in New York, New York.

Coinbase Support

Series C in 2015
Coinbase is an online platform that allows merchants, consumers, and traders to transact with digital currency. It allows its users to create their own bitcoin wallets and start buying or selling bitcoins by connecting with their bank accounts. In addition, it provides a series of merchant payment processing systems and tools that support many highly-trafficked websites on the internet. Coinbase was launched in 2012 with a mission to create an open financial system for the world. It is operated from San Francisco, California.

EquipmentShare

Series B in 2017
EquipmentShare creates proprietary technology and end-user applications that empowers contractors and optimizes for productivity across the commercial construction sector. Fleet managers, general contractors, service techs, heavy equipment mechanics, drivers, operators, safety managers are all experiencing new ways to work along with the benefits of a connected jobsite with EquipmentShare's tech-enabled product suite.

Carta

Series A in 2015
Carta is a transfer agent for private companies that enables seed-stage to pre-IPO companies to manage equity electronically with the participation of their shareholders, employees, auditors, and legal counsel. It digitizes paper stock certificates along with stock options, warrants, and derivatives to create a real-time image of who owns what at a startup. Carta receives funding from a group of investors, including Draper VC, Expansion VC, k9 Ventures, Elefund, Subtraction Capital, Scott Banister, XG Ventures, Kima Ventures, Andy Palmer, and Structure Capital. It was founded by Manu Kumar and Henry Ward in 2012 as eShares, Carta is based in Mountain View, California.

Coinbase Support

Series A in 2013
Coinbase is an online platform that allows merchants, consumers, and traders to transact with digital currency. It allows its users to create their own bitcoin wallets and start buying or selling bitcoins by connecting with their bank accounts. In addition, it provides a series of merchant payment processing systems and tools that support many highly-trafficked websites on the internet. Coinbase was launched in 2012 with a mission to create an open financial system for the world. It is operated from San Francisco, California.

Fabriq

Venture Round in 2021
Fabriq develops fab-rik, an online tracking application for real life social needs. The tool keeps you connected to the most important people in your life without the noise and stress of social media. The company was founded in 2019 and is based in Denver, Colorado.

Palantir Technologies

Corporate Round in 2020
Palantir Technologies offers a suite of software applications for integrating, visualizing, fighting fraud, and analyzing information. The software allows analysts within and between government organizations to collaborate and to analyze large quantities of data. Stephen Cohen, Alexander Karp, Garry Tan, Nathan Gettings, and Peter Thiel established the company in Denver, Colorado in 2003.

Symmetry Systems

Series A in 2021
Symmetry Systems delivers Data Store and Object Security (DSOS) purpose-built to provide full visibility and unified access control over your most valuable data assets, no matter where or how they are stored. Symmetry DataGuard maintains authority over data even when all else fails, whether that be exploited insider credentials, malicious applications, or security fatigue from the rapid onset of remote work.

Optimus Ride

Venture Round in 2019
Optimus Ride is a self-driving vehicle company based in Boston, MA. It designs technologies to enable efficient, sustainable, and equitable mobility systems and solutions. As an MIT spinoff company, it combines over 30 years of interdisciplinary university research in self‑driving technologies (DARPA Urban Challenge), electric vehicles (CityCar), and Mobility-on-Demand Systems. The team includes a decade of industrial and entrepreneurial experience that combines manufacturing robots, urban design, and shared vehicle fleet management.

Optimus Ride

Series B in 2019
Optimus Ride is a self-driving vehicle company based in Boston, MA. It designs technologies to enable efficient, sustainable, and equitable mobility systems and solutions. As an MIT spinoff company, it combines over 30 years of interdisciplinary university research in self‑driving technologies (DARPA Urban Challenge), electric vehicles (CityCar), and Mobility-on-Demand Systems. The team includes a decade of industrial and entrepreneurial experience that combines manufacturing robots, urban design, and shared vehicle fleet management.

Penrose Hill

Series A in 2017
Penrose Hill is an independent winery that eliminates the middleman to give customers exclusive access to small-batch wines. Penrose Hil transforms the wine market by empowering consumers to experience wine in a whole new way through their flexible subscription-based service model customizes wine shipments according to the individual member’s taste, schedule, and budget. They launched Firstleaf as their premier wine service in partnership with Time Inc. across the magazine conglomerate’s portfolio of leading publications, a multiplicity of marketing channels, and a vast subscriber base. Penrose Hill was founded by Philip James in 2015 in California.

Octane AI, Inc.

Seed Round in 2020
Octane AI, Inc. develops a conversational marketing automation platform for e-commerce. It offers a platform for merchants and businesses to create engaging quizzes, data collection, and personalized Facebook Messenger and SMS automation. Its platform is used for chatbot creation; and enables users to add content, customer service, and discussions; fill out forms; and showcase merchandise and more to their chatbot. The company’s platform also allows users to integrate Youtube, Soundcloud, blogs, medium, Facebook videos, Google Sheets, and more to their chatbot. Octane AI, Inc. was founded in 2016 and is based in Irvine, California.

Woolsey Pharmaceuticals

Venture Round in 2020
Woolsey Pharmaceuticals is a pharmaceutical company that specializes in reinventing ways to treat some of the world’s most challenging diseases. The company's approach allows them to accelerate the delivery of medicines for the benefit of all humankind. The company was founded in 2019 and is headquartered in New York, United States.

Smartcat

Series A in 2018
Smartcat Platform Inc. provides a platform that connects linguists, companies, and agencies to streamline the translation of various content into different languages on demand. It serves translation companies, businesses, game localization services markets, freelancers, and universities. The company was incorporated in 2016 and is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts with operations in Moscow, Russia; and Limassol, Cyprus.

Journey Meditation

Seed Round in 2018
Journey Meditation, Inc. offers a meditation application for providing meditation classes to individuals and organizations. It offers a Journey LIVE app, a group meditation application with live instructors, and real-time classes to the public that enables users to join a group meditation video live streams scheduled throughout the day where teachers from various backgrounds and meditation styles guide participants. The company was founded in 2015 and is based in New York, New York.

ClassPass Inc.

Seed Round in 2014
ClassPass Inc. provides an online fitness class booking service. It offers an online subscription service that provides access to a network of boutique fitness studios and gyms, including cycling, Pilates, yoga, strength training, dance, martial arts, and more. ClassPass Inc. was formerly known as Classtivity Inc. and changed its name to ClassPass Inc. in March 2014. The company was incorporated in 2011 and is based in New York, New York. It has locations in North America, Europe, Asia, and the Oceania.

Kangaroo

Venture Round in 2020
Kangaroo is an electronics company that provides simple home security systems. It offers flexible, app-enabled, and affordable security systems. It aims to make the world safer. It extends to ensuring data is secure and privacy is protected. They take several extra steps to ensure total security. Kangaroo was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Manus Biosynthesis

Series A in 2017
Making nature accessible and affordable for a growing society.It is estimated that the world’s population will increase by more than 35% by 2050, reaching 9 billion people. Crop production will need to more than double in order to feed these people and meet the consumer needs of a developing world. With very little land remaining for agricultural expansion, they as a society need to find ways to maximize the use of their world’s resources. Plants produce a variety of rare natural products which are used in their daily lives as flavors, fragrances, food ingredients, cosmetics, vitamins, pharmaceuticals and agricultural chemicals. They strive to reduce their dependence on land- and resource-intensive practices by recreating natural processes through biotechnology.

Mint House

Series A in 2019
Mint House is a start-up hospitality company that disrupts the traditional hotel model. The company offers rentals with spacious units with full-service kitchens, pre-arrival fridge stocking, and no-hassle keyless entry, among other features, enabling business travelers to book affordable homes in prime locations. It provides a unique experience that offers the feel of a high-end hotel, with all the comforts and conveniences of a home, all packaged and delivered via technology. Financed and advised by seasoned hospitality executives including the former CEO of Starwood Hotels, President of St. Regis, and CEO of Travelocity, Mint House is in hyper-growth mode expanding around the country and opening new markets every several months. The company is headquartered in New York and operates in multiple locations across the United States. It was founded in January 2017.
True Link is a diversified financial services firm dedicated to protecting and increasing our customers' independence and quality of life. True Link provides greater independence and autonomy to people who are at financial risk when engaging with the world.

Holidog

Seed Round in 2014
Holidog specializes in the fields of pet sitting, pet boarding, pet walking, giftbox, pet media, and startups. It features a software platform that allows pet owners to interact and find the perfect pet sitters, dog walkers, nannies, or trainers at their convenience and close to their home. It was founded in 2012 and headquartered in New York, United States.

Via

Series D in 2017
Via is a re-engineering public transit company that develops and provides on-demand public mobility solutions for commuters. The company transforms public transit, from a regulated system of rigid routes and schedules to a fully dynamic, on-demand network. Via's mobile app connects passengers who are headed the same way, allowing riders to seamlessly share a premium vehicle. The platform operates in the United States and in Europe through its joint venture with Mercedes-Benz Vans, ViaVan. Via's technology is deployed worldwide through partner projects with public transportation agencies, private transit operators, taxi fleets, private companies, and universities, integrating with public transit infrastructure to power cutting-edge on-demand mobility. The company was founded in 2012 and is headquartered in New York, United States.

Petal Card, Inc.

Series C in 2020
Petal Card, Inc. provides and issues credit cards to people who do not have a traditional credit history, students, and immigrants. It offers Petal Visa, a credit card and through its machine learning, it analyzes users' digital financial records which allows them to offer higher credit limits and lower rates than competing cards. The company also provides an application to make payments. Petal Card, Inc. was formerly known as CreditBridge, Inc. The company was founded in 2015 and is based in New York, New York.

Process Street

Seed Round in 2018
Process Street is a SaaS platform that lets non-technical teams create powerful, no code workflows. It provides an easy way to document, track, automate, and optimize human-centric processes. Process Street was founded in 2014 and is based in San Francisco, California.

Twitch

Series C in 2013
Twitch is social video for gamers. It is a video platform and community for gamers where more than 100 million gather every month to broadcast, watch and talk about video games. Twitch’s video platform is the backbone of both live and on-demand distribution for the entire video game ecosystem. This includes game developers, publishers, media outlets, events, user generated content, and the entire esports scene. In February 2014, Wall Street Journal ranked Twitch as the 4th largest website in terms of peak internet traffic in the U.S. fortifying the brand as an entertainment industry leader and the epicenter of social video for gamers.

YoDerm

Seed Round in 2015
YoDerm is a health and wellness startup in US that offers oline dermatology. The treatment of certain visual conditions are easily diagnosed through images. Conditions such as acne, rosacea, anti-aging, or eyelash thinning can be safely and legally treated online. Receive treatment from our U.S. board certified dermatologists at your convenience, without the hassle of waiting weeks for an appointment or traveling to the doctor’s office.

MeUndies, Inc.

Series B in 2015
MeUndies, Inc. manufactures and distributes underwear and loungewear for women and men. The company offers cheeky briefs, bikinis, hipsters, boy’s shorts, thongs, bras, apparel, socks, accessories, and U-back bralette and T-back bralette for women; and undies, boxer briefs, socks, apparel, trunks, and accessories for men. It also offers T-shirts and bottoms, lounge pants, sweat shorts, socks, and terry joggers. The company distributes its products directly from warehouses, as well as online. MeUndies, Inc. was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.

Wove Technologies, Inc.

Seed Round in 2014
Wove envisions a world where brands grow together. To support this vision, Wove is building the world’s largest network for marketing partnerships, where trusted brands reach each other’s loyal customers and make them their own - all while protecting consumer privacy. With backing from August Capital, Partech, and Origin Ventures, Wove enables brands to transform their marketing efforts by unlocking the power of other brands'​ data.

Aaptiv

Seed Round in 2016
Aaptiv Inc. develops an audio-based fitness application. The company offers Aaptiv, an audio-based fitness application that provides personalized fitness instruction. It also sells leggings, sweaters, T-shirts, tank tops, bags, and yoga mats online. Aaptiv Inc. was formerly known as Skyfit Sports, Inc. and changed its name to Aaptiv Inc. in November 2016. The company was incorporated in 2014 and is based in New York, New York.

Happie

Seed Round in 2016
Tech Enabled Recruitment Marketing and Services

MeetMindful

Seed Round in 2017
MeetMindful is a dating site platform for people who are into health, well-being, and mindfulness. At MeetMindful, they experience life to its fullest potential they live deeply and with intention. They thrive by exploring, learning, and growing. Here, they bring together a community that encourages them to embrace the friction and vulnerability that comes with growth. Here, can connect with like-minded individuals and enrich their life. It was founded in 2013 and headquartered in Denver, Colorado.

Verbling

Seed Round in 2014
Verbling is an e-learning platform that offers language lessons with professional teachers with the use of video chat. Verbling’s mission is to empower people all over the world to become fluent in a foreign language. Verbling Video connects its users directly to a teacher without needing external apps or tools. Today, Verbling teachers are available 24/7/365, covering all timezones globally. All Verbling teachers are vetted to meet rigorous standards. The average student rating of a teacher is 4.9/5. The company was founded in 2011 and headquartered in San Francisco, California.

SchoolMint

Series A in 2016
SchoolMint provides a cloud-based student enrollment and school choice platform to PreK-12 school systems worldwide. Since its founding in 2013, more than 6,000 schools have chosen SchoolMint to streamline all aspects of student enrollment - student registration management, application, lottery, and school choice management, and digital forms and document uploads. Available online and on mobile devices, SchoolMint integrates with leading student information systems (SIS) and transforms the end-to-end enrollment experience for school staff and parents. Visit http://www.SchoolMint.com to learn more.

TapCommerce

Series A in 2013
TapCommerce specialized in mobile app retargeting and driving revenue & engagement beyond the install. Acquired by Twitter in 2014.

Ad Hoc Labs

Series A in 2013
Ad Hoc Labs, Inc., a mobile software company, develops Burner, a smartphone number platform. It enables users to obtain and manage additional phone numbers for voice, SMS, and MMS communications, as well as allows users to get various numbers, and use each as a private line on iPhone or Android phones. The company was incorporated in 2012 and is based in Los Angeles, California.

Brainscape

Seed Round in 2014
Brainscape is an adaptive mobile education platform that is changing the way people study just about any subject. Founded by cognitive neuroscientists, engineers, data junkies, and executives from the education industry, Brainscape is building the foundations of a comprehensive "knowledge graph" that is helping people learn nearly any topic more efficiently. Brainscape allows professors, thought leaders, and top students to create "smart flashcards" in the Brainscape format and share them within their schools, organizations, and the rest of the world. Brainscape is already installed on several million iOS devices across the K-12, higher ed, corporate training, and lifelong learner markets. The team has developed a successful freemium SaaS revenue model that allows power users to purchase access to advanced content and features. Brainscape's ultimate goal is to map the world of knowledge into bite-sized, learnable chunks -- an initiative it calls the Knowledge Genome Project.

Octane AI, Inc.

Venture Round in 2020
Octane AI, Inc. develops a conversational marketing automation platform for e-commerce. It offers a platform for merchants and businesses to create engaging quizzes, data collection, and personalized Facebook Messenger and SMS automation. Its platform is used for chatbot creation; and enables users to add content, customer service, and discussions; fill out forms; and showcase merchandise and more to their chatbot. The company’s platform also allows users to integrate Youtube, Soundcloud, blogs, medium, Facebook videos, Google Sheets, and more to their chatbot. Octane AI, Inc. was founded in 2016 and is based in Irvine, California.

Dil Mil

Seed Round in 2015
Dil Mil is the fastest growing matchmaking app for South Asian expats, disrupting the broken arranged marriage model and solving the privacy & usability concerns with existing outdated solutions. We're adding over 1,000+ new users per day and growing users & revenue over 50% month over month. Think Tinder meets JDate, but for South Asians. We have a solid team of experienced engineers and advisors who have successfully done this before. Under the hood we are solving one of the most complex real-time search & match problems using proprietary machine learning algorithms. The app is just the tip of the iceberg; the magic happens on the back-end.

Dil Mil

Seed Round in 2016
Dil Mil is the fastest growing matchmaking app for South Asian expats, disrupting the broken arranged marriage model and solving the privacy & usability concerns with existing outdated solutions. We're adding over 1,000+ new users per day and growing users & revenue over 50% month over month. Think Tinder meets JDate, but for South Asians. We have a solid team of experienced engineers and advisors who have successfully done this before. Under the hood we are solving one of the most complex real-time search & match problems using proprietary machine learning algorithms. The app is just the tip of the iceberg; the magic happens on the back-end.