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OUR APPROACH
Your AI-native company is breaking new ground. We're in it with you.
Hiring, pricing, selling, running the company on AI, and fundraising are changing by the week. We connect you to founders who have already solved what’s in front of you, then turn what one company learns into something the whole portfolio can use.
QUESTIONS WE TACKLE TOGETHER
The questions that keep founders up at night.
These aren't theoretical. They show up in board meetings, hiring plans, pricing experiments, and the founder stress-dreams that hit around 3 a.m. We work through them with you, combining partner judgment from two decades of B2B investing with real-time signal from across the portfolio.
What does Bonfire do after it invests?
Bonfire works alongside founders to turn important decisions into practical next steps. A conversation about pricing can become a working session on the model itself. A discussion about a leadership hire can lead to introductions and help interviewing candidates. The team goes beyond offering a point of view to helping founders put it into practice.
Working sessions help Bonfire understand where it can be most useful. Founders work directly with their partner, with support from the broader team and access to relevant expertise across Bonfire’s network and founder community. The relationship continues through Series A and beyond, with support that evolves as the company grows.
For a practical example, read How to Build a Startup Team: VC-Backed Guide for Seed Stage Hiring.
How hands-on is Bonfire?
Bonfire stays close without taking over. The team gets into the details and asks direct questions, with the aim of being a trusted first call rather than just a presence at board meetings. A founder should be able to bring an unfinished idea to their partner and work through it together.
That trust matters most when things aren’t going to plan. Bonfire combines candid feedback with calm, constructive support, so difficult news can lead to a useful conversation about what to do next. Founders lead their companies. Bonfire challenges their thinking and helps them move forward without taking over.
What platform support does Bonfire offer?
Bonfire’s platform team helps founders find useful resources and connections without having to build every relationship from scratch. When a company needs a recruiter or specialist, the team can help founders navigate vetted providers and connect with relevant experience across the network.
Founders can also access practical playbooks and company-building resources, along with perks that can reduce the cost of getting started. The platform team helps founders navigate what’s available and find support relevant to their stage, complementing the work they do with their Bonfire partner.
How does Bonfire help companies raise a Series A?
Bonfire helps founders build toward a Series A well before the fundraising process begins. The starting point is what the next lead investor will need to believe about the business. If that means proving customers keep using the product and expand what they spend, Bonfire helps founders make that a priority—not just find a way to explain it in a deck.
As the company gets ready to raise, Bonfire works with founders to turn that progress into a clear, credible story. The team helps build relationships with potential investors and makes targeted introductions to firms whose interests and investment size fit the company. Preparation follows the needs of the business rather than a fixed timetable.
Read more about what to expect from a seed partner: Same Term Sheets, Very Different Leads.
Does Bonfire take a board seat?
Bonfire typically takes a board seat in the rounds it leads. The firm views board engagement as a core part of how it adds value, not a formality. Partners come to board meetings prepared, engaged, and willing to have hard conversations when necessary.
What is the Bonfire founder community?
When a company joins Bonfire’s portfolio, its founders become part of a community of B2B founders who can learn from one another’s experience. Someone making a first leadership hire can talk with a founder who has already been through it—not start from scratch.
Private Slack channels and peer leadership circles make those conversations accessible, while in-person gatherings help build the trust behind them. The goal is a peer group founders can turn to for candid perspective from people who understand the work.
See the community in practice: A Few Days in Ojai With the Bonfire Founder Community.
What is Bonfire’s track record?
Companies in Bonfire’s first fund have grown their annual recurring revenue 96-fold since Bonfire invested. Portfolio company Boulevard raised an $80 million Series D in July 2025 at a reported valuation of nearly $800 million.
The partners’ experience also predates Bonfire. Before founding the firm, they backed founders behind companies including The Trade Desk, TaxJar, MNTN, and Scopely.
Read more: Bonfire IV: $245M to Back the Builders Reshaping B2B Software.
THE COMMUNITY
What the community actually looks like.
We keep the portfolio small on purpose, so founders can know and help one another. Through peer circles, private channels, and working sessions, they share what worked, what failed, and what they'd do differently.
How founders learn from each other
Recurring Leadership Circles - Small, confidential groups where CEOs, product and engineering, and marketing leaders work through the decisions specific to their roles.
AI in Practice - Tactical sessions where operators open up their AI stack and walk through exactly how they are using it to build products and run their companies.
The Bonfire Founder Summit - Our flagship gathering brings founders building AI-native B2B companies together to find their people, work through hard questions, and have some fun along the way.
A Private Slack - The always-on channel where someone has usually already solved the thing you're stuck on.
The practical lifts where Bonfire steps in
Customer and Talent Introductions - Warm introductions to potential customers, senior talent, and recruiters who understand the stage, so your first enterprise deals and key hires move faster.
Vendor Access - AI and cloud credits, preferred pricing, and access to the teams behind the tools you are already using, so your runway goes further.
Narrative and PR Support - Help sharpening your story for customers, talent, and investors, introducing you to trusted PR partners, and amplifying your milestones through Bonfire's channels.
Series A Introductions - Connections to thesis-aligned investors, often well before you begin raising, plus prep on the metrics and story they'll expect to see.
WE RUN BONFIRE ON OUR OWN AI
Meet Bonnie
We didn’t just write the thesis. We run the firm on it. If we're going to ask you to build an AI-native company, the least we can do is be one.
We built Bonfire to work like the companies we back. An AI system we call Bonnie helps us find companies, do our homework, make decisions, and support founders — and it gets sharper every time we use it. Bonnie also turns portfolio learning into portfolio advantage: across board notes, hiring patterns, pricing experiments, GTM learnings, and Series A prep, it surfaces who’s already faced the problem you’re facing, what they tried, and what worked.
The system surfaces the pattern. The partners bring the judgment.
In their own words
Hear from the people we’ve worked with
“They’re the rare investor who goes beyond advice to actively help us tackle challenges, making them my top recommendation for any startup founder.”
Joseph Rutakangwa
“Bonfire backs far fewer companies than most firms, and I wanted that. Every founder in their portfolio I spoke to told me they’ll actually show up for you."
Kevin Power
“Robotics is a longer, harder road than software. A lot of investors say the right things in the pitch, then get nervous the second a pilot slips. I needed a lead who knew the hard part happens on the floor. You don’t really know if the support is real until after the wire hits. With Bonfire, it has been from day one.”
Manthan Pawar
“Bonfire’s been in my corner across two companies - and for good reason. Mark’s day-to-day support has been a secret weapon, and Brett, Jim, and the team aren’t just present, they’re in the trenches. They are exactly who you want on your cap table when it counts.”
Marcin Kurc
“Direct, honest, no BS. They ask the right questions and are there when you need them.”
Matthew Smith
“Six years ago, partnering with Bonfire became one of the most impactful decisions I’ve made as a founder. Their commitment shines in both the wins and the hard calls. For anything strategic, Brett’s my first call.”
Melanie Fallay
"Hyper-focused on getting you to the A with prep on how to run a board, hire in product & GTM, etc."
Pat Utz
“There’s a rich, real relationship there that goes way beyond ‘Here’s gross profit this month.’”
Robbins Schrader
“From our first meeting in person together, Jen & Jim have felt like an extension of our executive team. Founder-first, decisive, and relentless about unlocking growth for our company.”
Ross Correia
"Partnering with Bonfire was undeniably the best decision we've made at Boulevard."
Matt Danna
“They’re thoughtful, no-ego collaborators with deep B2B SaaS expertise—and they consistently go above and beyond to help us build a high-impact company. We're big fans of the entire Bonfire team.”
Shannon Kay
“In the hard moments, they lean in. No pretense, no posturing, just real commitment to helping you move forward and get back to building."
Shelia Stafford
“Bonfire is exactly who you want at your side when starting a company—low-volume, high-conviction, and high-support.”
Fred Wilson
“Bonfire is by far our most frequent follow-on investor, with eight deals together (including exits to Google and Microsoft),. They’re our go-to firm for enterprise software because, simply put, they put in the work. In good times and bad, they’re proactive, constructive, and fully engaged in helping founders execute and scale. If given the choice, I would bet that every one of those eight founders would pick Bonfire as their lead investor again without hesitation.”
Paul Bricault
“Mark is that rare VC who shows up prepared, asks the hard questions, and still makes founders feel like you’re all on the same team. I’d jump at the chance to work with him again.”
Josh Diamond
“Every founder should have a board member like Brett. He’s prepared, insightful from his operating experience, and never takes himself too seriously.”
Rob Ward
“Brett and I sit on a board together, and Bonfire’s reputation as the go-to seed firm for B2B is well-earned. Brett does what he says he’s going to do, pushes founders to grow, and is a great board partner. At Ensemble, we’re always looking for ways to team up with Bonfire.”
Conrad Shang
“We’ve co-invested with Bonfire on five companies—and I hope it’s 50 someday. They back exceptional founders and show up as real partners, through both the highs and the inevitable lows. They’re not afraid of tough conversations and work shoulder to shoulder with founders to solve real problems.”
Mallun Yen
“We’re always glad to co-invest with Bonfire. Their deep focus and operational expertise consistently help great companies reach their potential. Founders trust them—and so do we.”
Eric Paley
“Bonfire has been a trusted partner across multiple investments. They bring a clear understanding of enterprise business models and a willingness to roll up their sleeves. The team operates with integrity, insight, and a strong sense of partnership.”
Meera Oak
“Mark and Dominique are true partners—thoughtful investors who apply deep operational insight to help founders succeed. They’ve been exceptional collaborators and genuinely great to work with.”
