01 Advisors Research
Investment Thesis & Core Philosophy
01 Advisors (01A) is a venture capital firm founded in 2018 by former Twitter CEO Dick Costolo and former Twitter COO Adam Bain, later joined by former Facebook CRO David Fischer as a third General Partner in 2023. The firm is built on the principle that proven scaled operators are uniquely positioned to help hyper-growth companies reach the next level.
The founding team brings extraordinary operating experience: Dick Costolo scaled Twitter's headcount 400% and boosted annual revenue from $28 million to $2.25 billion as CEO. Adam Bain, as COO, helped scale Twitter from zero to $1B+ in revenue as fast as any consumer tech company in history. David Fischer spent 11 years at Facebook, serving as VP of Marketing and later Chief Revenue Officer. Combined, they have grown companies from $0 to $123 billion in yearly combined revenue and created $1 trillion of public company market cap.
01A's unique approach was inspired by legendary business coach Bill Campbell, who advised the founders at Twitter. Campbell famously declined a board seat at Twitter, saying "I don't want to be on the board because I want to know what's going on in the company." This philosophy of staying close to founders without formal board constraints became a cornerstone of 01A's model.
Investment Stage & Check Size
01 Advisors focuses primarily on Series B investments, with selective Series A and occasional Series C follow-ons. They come in right after companies have found product-market fit and are ready to scale go-to-market operations.
Stage Focus:
- Primary: Series B
- Secondary: Series A (selective)
- Follow-ons: Series C for existing portfolio
Check Size:
- Typical range: $2M - $15M
- Series A: $2M-$5M (target ownership: 15-20%)
- Series B: $8M-$15M (target ownership: 15-20%)
- Sweet spot: $6M according to recent data
The firm operates a highly concentrated portfolio model, backing approximately 20 companies per fund. This concentration allows for deep, hands-on engagement with each portfolio company.
Recent Activity & Fund Status
01 Advisors closed its third fund in November 2023 with $395 million in capital commitments, bringing total assets under management to approximately $920 million (across three funds totaling $920M).
Fund History:
- Fund I (2019): $135 million
- Fund II (2021): $325 million from 81 investors
- Fund III (2023): $395 million
Fund Status: Actively deploying Fund III, though deployment pace has slowed significantly. In 2024, they added only two new core positions, and in 2023, only two new core positions. This reflects both market conditions and their highly selective approach.
Recent Notable Activity (2024-2025):
- October 2025: Participated in Sublime Security Series C
- July 2024: Led $20M financing for Haus (causal attribution measurement)
- October 2025: Investment in BuildOps (co-led with Fika Ventures)
- September 2025: Active at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025
According to Tracxn data as of October 2025, 01A has invested in 43 companies total, with 7 new investments in the last 12 months, confirming their selective, concentrated approach.
Sector Focus & Investment Criteria
01 Advisors invests primarily in B2B software and fintech companies, with a strong preference for businesses with proven product-market fit that need operational expertise to scale.
Primary Sectors:
- Enterprise Software (SaaS, workflow automation, vertical SaaS)
- Developer Tools & Infrastructure (observability, CI/CD, API platforms)
- Fintech & Payments (payment processing, finance automation)
- Security & Compliance
- Marketing & Sales Tech
- HR Tech
Secondary Interest:
- Digital Health
- Proptech
- Consumer platforms with strong unit economics
Anti-Thesis:
- Consumer social networks (despite their backgrounds)
- Pre-product companies
- Pure hardware plays
- Companies that don't need operational scaling expertise
Portfolio Highlights
The firm has built an impressive portfolio of 40+ companies, with several reaching substantial valuations:
High-Value Stakes:
- Tipalti: Finance automation platform, valued at $8.3B (2021)
- SpotOn: Restaurant and small business payments, valued at $3.6B (2022)
- HoneyBook: Client management for small businesses, valued at $2.4B (2021)
- Airtable: No-code platform, multi-billion dollar valuation
- Navan (formerly TripActions): Corporate travel, multi-billion valuation
Notable Growth Companies:
- Linear: Project management, valued at $400M (September 2023)
- Render: Cloud infrastructure platform
- Attio: CRM platform
- Baseten: ML infrastructure
- Modern Health: Mental health benefits platform
- Haus: Marketing attribution and analytics
Other Portfolio Companies Include: BuildOps, Sublime Security, Laurel (AI operations), Levelpath, Micro1 (AI talent), Postscript, CommonRoom, Protect AI, Observe.ai, Siro, Zafran, Collectors, HiveWatch, Transcend, Metropolis, SiteRx, Capchase, Stream, Masterclass, Rho, Literati, Bitdrift, Papaya, Density, Open Envoy, Semsee, Origin, Mythical Games, Firefly, Electric.ai, Rarible, PlayVS, Planet Howl, BrightHire, Future, Nomad Homes, Certn, Wheelhouse, Explorium, Saturn, Split.io, Opendoor.
Team & Leadership
General Partners:
- Dick Costolo - Former CEO of Twitter (2010-2015), led revenue growth from $28M to $2.25B, 400% headcount scaling. Previously founded FeedBurner (acquired by Google).
- Adam Bain - Former COO and President of Twitter, architect of Twitter's advertising business, scaled revenue from zero to $1B+. Previously at News Corp and Fox Interactive Media.
- David Fischer - Former Chief Revenue Officer at Facebook (11 years), previously VP of Marketing. Joined 01A in 2022 as Operating Partner, became GP with Fund III in 2023.
Other Team Members:
- Dave Rivinus
- Matt Bocci
- Cody Ng
- Maheedhar Gummadi
- Abby Kruse
- Johanna Boyce
- Katie Lampe
- Liat Bycel
- Raquel Buendia
Locations:
- San Francisco: 415 Jackson, San Francisco, CA 94111 (Jackson Square neighborhood)
- New York City: 817 Broadway, New York, NY 10003
Decision Process & Founder Support
Decision Making:
- Partnership model with three GPs
- Highly selective: backs ~20 companies per fund
- Deep diligence on revenue streams and operational dynamics
- Focus on identifying where their operational expertise can drive significant impact
- Post-investment: Uses cognitive psychology assessments to tailor support strategies to each CEO's unique strengths and challenges
Lead Tendency: Both - 01A leads rounds when appropriate and co-invests with other firms. Their concentrated model means they take meaningful positions whether leading or following.
Decision Timeline: Approximately 2-4 weeks for qualified founders, though they are highly selective.
No Board Seats Policy: Unlike most Series B investors, 01A explicitly does not take board seats. This is inspired by Bill Campbell's approach and allows them to:
- Maintain unrestricted access to company information
- Provide frank, confidential advice without board politics
- Be available for informal guidance (e.g., sitting in all-hands meetings to assess messaging)
- Focus on operational coaching rather than governance
Instead of board seats, they help CEOs appoint seasoned operators to board positions and provide intensive operational support from the sidelines.
Typical Involvement: Advisor/Coach - Deep operational engagement without board seat. They describe their model as "venture coaching," providing hands-on support for:
- Revenue scaling and go-to-market strategy
- Team building and organizational design
- Crisis communications and reputation management
- Sales and marketing operations
- Customer success and retention strategies
- Hiring executive talent
Geographic Focus
Primarily United States, with concentration in:
- San Francisco Bay Area
- New York City
- Other major US tech hubs
No explicit international focus, though not exclusionary.
Founder Preferences & Value Proposition
Ideal Founder Profile:
- Has achieved product-market fit with clear traction
- Ready to scale from building a product to building a company
- Needs operational expertise in go-to-market, sales, marketing, and organizational scaling
- Receptive to coaching and operational guidance
- Building B2B software or fintech businesses with strong unit economics
Value Proposition:
- Access to operators who have scaled companies from zero to billions in revenue
- Intensive operational support without board seat constraints
- Network at the highest levels of tech (former C-suite at Twitter, Facebook)
- Cognitive psychology-based leadership assessment and development
- Crisis management expertise ("Do you guys have any experience with crisis communications?" - CEO quote)
- Pattern recognition from building some of the fastest-growing tech companies in history
Warm Intro: Not strictly required - the firm has strong deal flow from their extensive networks, though warm introductions are beneficial given their selectivity.
Market Positioning & Competitive Advantages
01 Advisors has carved out a unique position in the venture landscape:
- Operator DNA: All three GPs have C-suite operating experience at scale, not traditional VC backgrounds
- Post-PMF Focus: They explicitly target the Series B moment when companies transition from product to company building
- No Board Seats: Allows for deeper, more flexible engagement than traditional board-centric model
- Concentrated Portfolio: 20 companies per fund vs. 30-40+ for most Series B firms
- Venture Coaching: Bill Campbell-inspired model of intensive operational support
- Proven Track Record: Their own operating experience (Twitter, Facebook) provides credibility and pattern recognition
Adam Bain noted in early 2024: "The market in 2024 is the Super Bowl moment for 01" - suggesting they see current market conditions as ideal for their operational value-add model when companies need to focus on efficiency and scaling.
Investment Philosophy & Portfolio Management
- Concentrated bets: ~20 companies per fund allows deep engagement
- No secondary sales yet: Have not sold any positions as of late 2023, investing for long-term value creation
- Follow-on reserves: Maintain significant reserves (50%+ of fund) for follow-on investments
- Operational value-add first: Investment decisions driven by where they can add most operational value, not just financial returns
- Series B sweet spot: Focus on companies that have found PMF and need scaling expertise, not earlier or later stages
The firm's approach is summarized by David Fischer: "I've always loved being part of a team and being collaborative" - reflecting their partnership-driven, founder-supportive culture.