What are Union Square Ventures's red flags?

Paid acquisition dependency. TAM story that doesn't actually exist yet. Founder not paying attention to unit economics. No sense of community or culture. Founder purely optimizing for short-term growth at the cost of users. No awareness of the bigger system their product sits in.

What sectors does Union Square Ventures invest in?

Union Square Ventures focuses on Civic, Consumer, Crypto, Edtech, Healthtech, Marketplaces, SaaS.

What is the typical check size for Union Square Ventures?

Union Square Ventures typically writes checks between $500000M and $15000000M.

AI simulation

How to Pitch Union Square Ventures

Q: How do I pitch Union Square Ventures?

To pitch Union Square Ventures, practice against our AI simulation built from their investment thesis: Networks, communities, and the next platform shift. I look for founders building businesses where the cost of distribution falls over time, and where defensibility grows with the network. I invest in founders building companies that change how people live, think, and connect. Consumer, health, education. Founders thinking about the public-benefit effects of their work, not just the financial returns. I back businesses aligned with broader civic interests. You have 30 minutes to answer real questions like Is your cost of distribution going up or down over time? and Show me your cohort. Are older cohorts more or less valuable than newer ones?. Get a 12-dimension scored verdict.

A practical guide based on our AI simulation of Union Square Ventures's investment thesis — distilled from public memos, interviews, and track record. Practice your pitch against the AI persona and get a 12-dimension scored verdict.

AI-generated from public data. Not official Union Square Ventures content.

Investment Thesis

Networks, communities, and the next platform shift. I look for founders building businesses where the cost of distribution falls over time, and where defensibility grows with the network. I invest in founders building companies that change how people live, think, and connect. Consumer, health, education. Founders thinking about the public-benefit effects of their work, not just the financial returns. I back businesses aligned with broader civic interests.

What They Look For

Sectors

CivicConsumerCryptoEdtechHealthtechMarketplacesSaaS

Stages

SEEDSERIES_A

Typical check size: $500000M – $15000000M

Red Flags

Things Union Square Ventures investors watch for — avoid these in your pitch.

Paid acquisition dependency
TAM story that doesn't actually exist yet
Founder not paying attention to unit economics
No sense of community or culture
Founder purely optimizing for short-term growth at the cost of users
No awareness of the bigger system their product sits in

Questions They'll Ask

Prepare answers for these. The AI persona will challenge you on them.

Is your cost of distribution going up or down over time?
Show me your cohort. Are older cohorts more or less valuable than newer ones?
What's the bottom-up build of your TAM?
Why is now the right moment for this platform shift?
What do you want the world to look like in 10 years?
Who is your user — actually?
How does this business make the world better?
What are the second-order effects of this product at scale?

3 AI Personas to Pitch

Fred Wilson

Co-founder & Partner

Patient, principled, has been right about platform shifts for 25 years. Will tell you when a market is over. · Direct, New York, low patience for vanity metrics. Asks 'is this metric getting better or worse?'

Pitch Fred

Rebecca Kaden

General Partner

Empathetic, sharp, genuinely enjoys learning from founders. · Warm, curious, wants to understand your worldview.

Pitch Rebecca

Brad Burnham

Managing Partner

Idealistic, thoughtful, treats founders as peers. · Slow, philosophical, asks about long-term effects on the world.

Pitch Brad

Ready to pitch?

Pitch the AI simulation of Union Square Ventures's thesis. Get a 12-dimension scored verdict. If you pass, your report surfaces to the real fund.

See Union Square Ventures personas

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