Charge Ventures — Investment Thesis & Preferences

Charge Ventures Research

Investment Thesis

Charge Ventures is a data-driven, pre-seed and seed-stage venture capital fund based in New York City, founded in 2015. The firm partners with exceptional founders at the very inception of their entrepreneurial journey, focusing on passionate teams building world-class products. Their core mission is encapsulated in their tagline: "When others wait, we Charge."

The fund employs a distinctive approach combining traditional venture capital expertise with proprietary data-driven technology to identify and reach out to promising founders beyond their immediate network. This technology enables Charge to discover exceptional founders that other VCs might miss, giving them competitive advantage in sourcing early-stage companies.

Sector and Model Focus

Charge demonstrates a clear bias toward data-driven software companies with strong product-market sense and bottoms-up growth. Their specific investment focus areas include:

Low-code/No-code tools: Platforms that enable rapid application development (e.g., Toolkit, HeyBoss, Motion.ai)
AI/ML applications: Both foundational models and applied AI (e.g., Higgsfield, Moveo AI, Fonzi, Slai)
Creator economy tools: Software enabling creators to monetize and scale (e.g., GRIN, Nara Organics, Geologie, Norby)
Marketplaces and platforms: Two-sided networks with network effects (e.g., Transfix, GRIN, Bulletin, Learnexus)
D2C healthcare: Direct-to-consumer health and wellness companies (e.g., Nara Organics, Parsley Health, Enara Health, Curexa, Eliion)
Future of work: Remote work, HR tech, and productivity tools (e.g., Slate, ShareWillow, Learnexus, Sugarwork)
Fintech/Payments: Financial infrastructure and services (e.g., Instnt, Queen, Plenty, Wurthy)
Web3/Blockchain: Early-stage crypto and blockchain infrastructure (e.g., Bison Trails, Few and Far, Ethos Wallet, MSafe, Hypernative, Livepeer, Adapt)
Developer tools and APIs: Infrastructure for developers (e.g., Clay, Hathora, Kumospace, DEV)
Logistics and supply chain: B2B marketplaces and automation (e.g., Transfix, Shippabo)

Stage and Check Size

Charge focuses exclusively on pre-seed and seed stage investments. Their typical investment size is:

Initial investment: $250K - $750K
Follow-on deployment: Often millions via SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle)
Fund structure: They frequently invest alongside angels and are often the first institutional check a company receives

This positions them as essential early-stage supporters, providing crucial validation and capital when founders need it most. The firm explicitly mentions the ability to deploy multiple millions into follow-on rounds through SPVs, indicating strong conviction in their portfolio companies and the ability to scale winners.

Geographic Focus

Charge explicitly focuses on non-traditional startup geographies across America, not just Silicon Valley or coastal hubs. Their specific geographic focuses include:

New York (NYC headquarters)
Chicago
Atlanta
Boston
San Diego
Miami
And emerging startup hubs beyond major coastal metros

This geographic diversification strategy reflects their belief that exceptional talent and founders exist throughout America, not concentrated in traditional VC hubs. The firm's NYC base gives them deep connections to the thriving East Coast startup ecosystem.

Lead Tendency and Decision-Making

Based on their portfolio composition and stage focus, Charge demonstrates a lead tendency toward leading rounds. They frequently invest as first institutional capital, suggesting they take board seats and active involvement. The presence of multiple partners (General Partners, Venture Partners, Researchers) indicates a committee-based decision process with multiple stakeholder input.

Decision timeline: Given their data-driven approach and focus on identifying trends early, they likely make decisions within 2-4 weeks of initial contact, though final terms negotiation may extend this.

Team and Expertise

Current Leadership

Brett Martin - Co-Founder and General Partner

Entrepreneur background (founded Kumospace, a virtual office collaboration platform)
Deep experience in early-stage company building and operations
Brings founder perspective to investment decisions

Chris Habachy - Co-Founder and General Partner

Serial entrepreneur and investor
Co-founded Charge Ventures in 2015 alongside Brett Martin
Active in community building (hosts exclusive gatherings for founders and investors)

Thanos Papadimitriou - Co-Founder and Venture Partner

Co-founded Charge Ventures in 2015 with Martin and Habachy
Active investor and strategic advisor

Alessandro Piazza - Quantitative Researcher

Specializes in data science and quantitative analysis
Core member of Charge's proprietary technology platform

Antonis Papantoniou - Venture Partner

Strategic investor and advisor

Christine Chang - Legal Counsel

Manages legal and compliance matters

Investment and Sourcing Philosophy

The team composition reveals several strategic priorities:

Data-driven sourcing: Quantitative researchers and proprietary technology for founder identification
Founder-first mindset: Leadership with strong founder backgrounds (e.g., Brett Martin founded Kumospace)
Operational expertise: Deep understanding of building companies from zero to product-market fit
Community building: Active engagement with founders and investor network through events and thought leadership

Recent Activity and Fund Status

Portfolio scale: 72+ investments with $5B+ total portfolio market cap (as of 2026)

Exit track record: Multiple successful exits including:

Bison Trails (blockchain infrastructure, early exit)
Lexent Bio (liquid biopsy technology, healthcare)
Common Networks (wireless ISP)
Geologie (D2C skincare for men)
Good Uncle (premium meal delivery)
Harbor Lab (maritime software)
Podz (podcast discovery, acquired by Spotify)
Republic (equity crowdfunding platform)
Stream Club (live-streaming platform)
Uncubed (tech career platform)
Snaps (conversational commerce)

Recent investments (2025-2026): Based on portfolio page analysis, actively deploying across their focus sectors. Notable 2025-2026 portfolio additions include significant expansion in AI/ML (Higgsfield, Moveo AI, Slai), creator economy (GRIN, Slate), and Web3 (Hypernative, Livepeer).

Fund status: Actively deploying, with strong momentum. Tracxn data shows 85+ companies invested as of mid-2025, with continued activity.

Portfolio market cap: Cumulative $5B+ portfolio value indicates several breakout companies and multiple successful exits.

Competitive Positioning

Charge differentiates itself through:

Proprietary data technology: Machine learning and data science enable founder discovery beyond traditional network
Non-traditional geography focus: Early betting on secondary cities (Chicago, Atlanta, Miami) now proven to be thriving hubs
Founder-friendly: Frequent first institutional investor with founder expertise, reducing founder friction
Patient capital: Stage focus (pre-seed/seed) and SPV follow-ons demonstrate commitment to winners
Community focus: Active events, thought leadership (Medium blog), and Stats for Startups tool show engagement beyond capital deployment

Investment Decision Process

Based on available information:

Decision structure: Partnership-based with committee input (multiple GPs and Venture Partners)
Timeline: Estimated 2-4 weeks for initial decision, potentially longer for term negotiation
Founder engagement: Active engagement through proprietary sourcing and community events
Due diligence depth: Data-driven screening, founder background verification, market sizing

Founder Preferences and Anti-Theses

Founder preferences:

Exceptional founders with clear vision and execution capability
Passionate teams with strong product sense
Data-driven founders who understand their metrics
Teams tackling real problems with bottoms-up growth potential

Anti-thesis:

Late-stage companies (they explicitly focus on pre-seed/seed)
Non-technical founding teams for developer tools/infrastructure
Geographically concentrated in traditional hubs (they bet on secondary cities)
Traditional B2B sales models without viral/network components

Strategic Observations

Charge Ventures has evolved from a regional NYC fund (2015) into a nationally-focused early-stage investor with exceptional founder relationships and significant exit success. Their combination of data-driven sourcing, founder expertise, and community engagement makes them highly effective at identifying and supporting breakout companies at the pre-seed and seed stages.

The firm's emphasis on non-traditional geographies has proved prescient, with secondary cities like Atlanta, Chicago, and Austin now recognized as major startup hubs. Their continued investment in AI/ML, creator tools, and Web3 infrastructure suggests conviction that these sectors will drive the next generation of breakout companies.

Their portfolio concentration in founders with strong product sense and data-driven growth strategies aligns with their own methodology, creating a natural affinity with their founder base. The firm appears well-positioned to continue supporting exceptional founders at the very inception of their journeys across America.