Apply for Designer Fund Partnership

The best design support and investment offer of up to $1 million for Pre-seed to Series A startups

What we offer

Designer Fund is a design and venture partner investing in early stage tech companies using design to improve health, sustainability, and prosperity for all. We approach our relationship with founders and companies as long-term partnerships, not deals. When we invest in you, we become an extension of your design team and apply the best practices we’ve learned over the past decade investing in multi-billion dollar companies like Stripe, Gusto, Notion, Commure and Netlify.

Through Designer Fund Partnership, founders receive:

  • Up to $1M investment with flexible ownership terms
  • Guidance on creating a world-class product and brand
  • Help hiring and managing exceptional design talent
  • Fundraising support to close more investors
  • Access to our network of top design leaders across tech
  • Intros to angel investors from companies like Figma, Notion, Stripe

Unicorn Logo Pile

How we work with founders

We help you create a world-class product and brand

Meet with our team and network of design experts for on-demand office hours tailored to what you need most. Instead of cookie cutter advice, we provide feedback based on the unique context of your product, team, and company including:

  • Product testing and reviews of end-to-end flows
  • Guidance on key initiatives like establishing a design system and rebranding
  • How to leverage design strategically across your company from product to sales, recruiting, and culture
Jesse Vaughan Designer Fund knows what sets it apart—superlative design acumen—and the team focuses on delivering value to its portfolio companies where it uniquely excels. Jesse Vaughan, Co-founder of Kopperfield

We help you hire and manage exceptional design talent

Bringing on a designer early on will help you move faster, produce higher quality work and identify the right problems to solve. We provide hands-on support throughout your design hiring process, from reviewing your JD to sitting in on interviews, including:

  • Referrals for freelancers, studios, and designers actively seeking new opportunities
  • Promotion of your design roles via our job board, newsletter, and social channels
  • Coaching and mentorship by design leaders who've managed high performing teams from early to growth stages
Cecilia Uhr Designer Fund has a vast network of highly accomplished and skilled designers and advisors. They're a powerful resource if you need help with hiring designers or networking in the industry. Cecilia Uhr, Co-founder of Bezi

We hone your pitch and help you close more investors

We aim to be one of the most valuable investors on your cap table and earn the right to continue investing in your company from Pre-seed stage through Series B. We support your fundraising process by improving your story and developing an outreach plan including:

  • Help finding a lead VC and value-add investors through warm intros and shared references
  • Curated lists of recommended co-investors including top-tier angels, seed funds, and VC firms
  • Pitch feedback sessions and intros to deck designers
Eugene Johnson Designer Fund has been by our side throughout our fundraising process when others weren't. They helped improve our story, make introductions and be a reference to close new investors. Eugene Johnson, Founder of Revi

We connect you to our network of top design leaders

As part of our investment, we invite you to join Designer Fund Collective, our vibrant community of 300+ successful founders, advisors, and design leaders from top companies like Stripe, Airbnb, Slack, and Instagram. Our in-person and online community includes:

  • Private Slack workspace where you can ask questions and make meaningful connections
  • Private resource library featuring curated advice on common founder questions
  • Member-only events including virtual workshops, AMAs with industry leaders, and in-person meetups
Kamini Iyer The Designer Fund community has been something that has made our design team feel much larger than it actually is. It feels a lot less lonely to have a wider network to tap into—being a small team of two, you need that sometimes. Kamini Iyer, Design Lead at Lumen Energy
A few highlights from our community events, workshops, and founder retreats

What we look for

Selection criteria

  • Early stage startups, Pre-seed to Series A
  • Companies working to improve health, climate, or prosperity for all
  • Mission-driven founders who value design
  • Products that are 10x better compared to alternatives
  • Multi-billion dollar addressable markets with poor user experiences

Our focus on health, climate, and prosperity

We believe that design is a powerful tool to address the world’s most pressing challenges, from tackling climate change to improving health and well-being for all people. We invest in teams focused on building businesses that solve these critical issues, using design and technology to accelerate progress toward a healthier, more sustainable, and more equitable future.

FPO
How we work with climate companies
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How we work with health companies

👉🏼 Know a world class founder building an amazing startup? Refer them here!


How our application works

Apply by October 4, 2024

The final application deadline is October 4, 2024 at 11:59pm PT. However, we encourage you to apply early as we evaluate companies on a rolling basis. Founders who apply earlier typically receive a faster response and have more time to get to know us.

Application process

  1. Application review — We’ll review the info, deck and materials you shared with us as soon as possible. We typically respond within two weeks on whether or not it makes sense to do an intro call.
  2. Intro meeting — If there’s a potential fit, we’ll schedule an intro meeting to learn more about your team, market and product.
  3. Q&A and references — We'll then follow up with questions about key risks and/or setup a second meeting. In addition, we usually speak with a handful of target customers and founder references.
  4. Finalize investment — Lastly we'll finalize our investment terms depending on stage, valuation, and other factors.


Apply by October 4, 2024

Who we are

ben and enrique (3)

Our team has decades of experience helping some of the most iconic companies succeed with design. Ben was the 5th product designer to join Facebook and played a pivotal role in scaling the company from college campuses to billions of users by leading product, brand, and growth teams. Enrique was a designer at top-performing funds like Venrock, Facebook's fbFund, and 500 Global, where he worked with Lyft, Life360, and TalkDesk at the seed stage before they became unicorns.

extended team (3)

Robyn previously led marketing at IDEO where she helped scale OpenIDEO's community to over 200K members worldwide and has grown audiences for YC-backed Welcome, Skoll Foundation, and 1776 Ventures. Marissa was a Senior Product Designer at Stripe focusing on $1B+ of carbon removal by 2030 and previously designed features to optimize the Amazon delivery experience and tools for third-party sellers. Santhi was VP of Engineering at Gradient where she built breakthrough heat pump technology. She was previously Co-founder and CTO of Moxxly, a Designer Fund portfolio company that was acquired by Medela.

Get in front of top design angels

In addition to the Designer Fund team, we collaborate with select top angels who have operating experience at companies like Figma, Notion, WhatsApp, Instagram, Snap, and Dropbox. If there's a potential match, we’ll share your application and invite them to invest in your company alongside us or independently, giving you the chance to add more investors who value design to your cap table.

Meet our Design Angels

  • Adrian James

    Omada Health
    Board Director, Co-founder

    Adrian James

    Omada Health
    Board Director, Co-founder

    • Akshay Kothari

      Notion
      Co-founder

      Akshay Kothari

      Notion
      Co-founder

      • Andy Budd

        Seedcamp
        Investor, Advisor, Coach

        Andy Budd

        Seedcamp
        Investor, Advisor, Coach

        • Dan Becker

          Google
          Design Leadership

          Dan Becker

          Google
          Design Leadership

          • Daniel Scrivner

            ClassDojo
            Head of Design

            Daniel Scrivner

            ClassDojo
            Head of Design

            • Jared Erondu

              Lattice
              SVP of Marketing & Design

              Jared Erondu

              Lattice
              SVP of Marketing & Design

              • Jenny Wen

                Figma
                Senior Design Manager

                Jenny Wen

                Figma
                Senior Design Manager

                • Kai Gradert

                  Hero
                  Co-Founder & Designer

                  Kai Gradert

                  Hero
                  Co-Founder & Designer

                  • Mihika Kapoor

                    Figma
                    Product Lead

                    Mihika Kapoor

                    Figma
                    Product Lead

                    • Mike Davidson

                      Microsoft
                      Corporate Vice President, Design & User Research, AI

                      Mike Davidson

                      Microsoft
                      Corporate Vice President, Design & User Research, AI

                      • Nayan Jain

                        Heartbeat Health
                        Co-founder

                        Nayan Jain

                        Heartbeat Health
                        Co-founder

                        • Randy Hunt

                          Notion
                          Head of Design

                          Randy Hunt

                          Notion
                          Head of Design

                          • Samihah Azim

                            WhatsApp
                            Staff Product Designer

                            Samihah Azim

                            WhatsApp
                            Staff Product Designer

                            • Santhi Analytis

                              Designer Fund
                              Advisor

                              Santhi Analytis

                              Designer Fund
                              Advisor

                              • Stephanie Engle

                                Snap
                                Head of Monetization Design

                                Stephanie Engle

                                Snap
                                Head of Monetization Design

                                • Yi Wei

                                  Navigate AI
                                  Designer

                                  Yi Wei

                                  Navigate AI
                                  Designer

                                  FAQ