About Cold Start
Cold Start is a venture capital firm founded in 2019. It is primarily based out of Lewes, United States. As of Mar 2023, Cold Start has invested in 18 companies. It primarily invests in Seed round in United States based startups. Its investments are spread across a wide range of sectors from Consumer to HealthTech and FinTech. Most recently it participated in the $***** Series A round of Careerist Overall, Cold Start portfolio has seen 4 unicorns and 2 acquisitions including key companies like Cerebral, Veho and Grow Therapy. A lot of funds co-invest with Cold Start, with names like Inspired Capital sharing a substantial percentage of its portfolio. Cold Start has team of 4 people including 3 partners.Key Metrics
Team Members
Portfolio Sectors
Portfolio Locations
Rounds of Entry
Seed & Series A
Portfolio Acquisitions
Portfolio Unicorns
Portfolio Soonicorns
Cold Start's List of Top Investments
Cold Start has a portfolio of 18 companies, including 4 unicorns. Their most notable investmentis in CareeristTheir portfolio spans across and United States. They have invested in Consumer, HealthTech, FinTech and 13 other sectors, across stages such as Seed, Series A stages. Here is the list of top investments by Cold Start:
1. Cerebral
Provider of online counseling services for mental health conditions. The company offers virtual consultation services for users based on online health assessment and provides personalized treatment plans and medications.
Key facts about Cerebral
- Founded Year: 2020
- Location: San Francisco (United States)
- Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Series C
- Total Funding till date: $462M
- Employee Count: 586 as on Jun 30, 2026
- Investors: Silver Lake, Access Industries and 20 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series C, Dec 08, 2021, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
2. Veho
Veho provides AI-enabled last-mile delivery services for e-commerce companies. The company operates a network of crowdsourced drivers having their own vehicles to deliver packages. The company also uses proprietary software tools such as mobile apps for drivers & operational dashboards (with features such as route planning, e-POD, AI-enabled analytics, etc) for delivery managers.
Key facts about Veho
- Founded Year: 2016
- Location: Boulder (United States)
- Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Series B
- Total Funding till date: $300M
- Employee Count: 1,064 as on Jun 30, 2026
- Investors: Industry Ventures, Tiger Global Management and 15 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series B, Feb 15, 2022, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
3. Blank Street
Operator of a chain of coffee shops offering high-quality coffee and food. It sources specialty coffees globally and locally sourced food, aiming for an affordable yet premium experience. The company prioritizes a streamlined operation to minimize costs and maximize barista compensation. The coffee shops are designed to create a daily ritual for customers, focusing on a consistent and enjoyable customer experience. The business model emphasizes efficient ordering and quick service.
Key facts about Blank Street
- Founded Year: 2020
- Location: Brooklyn (United States)
- Stage: Series B
- Total Funding till date: $127M
- Employee Count: 689 as on Jun 30, 2026
- Investors: Tiger Global Management, FJ Labs and 16 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series B, May 02, 2025, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
4. Grow Therapy
Digital platform that connects clients with licensed therapists and insurance companies. It focuses on improving access to mental health services by connecting individuals with licensed therapists through an innovative, provider-centric platform.
Key facts about Grow Therapy
- Founded Year: 2020
- Location: New York City (United States)
- Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Series D
- Total Funding till date: $328M
- Employee Count: 3,083 as on Jun 30, 2026
- Investors: Goldman Sachs, TCV and 19 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series D, Mar 03, 2026, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
5. June Homes
Provider of a managed home rental solution for residential properties. It offers fully furnished individual rooms on a monthly rental basis. Some of the amenities provided include Wi-fi, cable TV, cleaning services, and more. The company claims to verify its applicants before offering them a rental agreement. Property owners can register with the company to monetize their free spaces. The company also inspects and manages the maintenance of properties.
Key facts about June Homes
- Founded Year: 2017
- Location: New York City (United States)
- Stage: Series B
- Total Funding till date: $50M
- Employee Count: 151 as on Jun 30, 2026
- Investors: TQ Ventures, SBVA and 18 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series B, Sep 22, 2021, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
Cold Start's Year-on-Year Investment Trends
Its most recent first time investment was in Careerist.Cold Start's Investments by Stage
Cold Start has made 1 investment in Seed stage with an average round size of $8M and 1 investment in Series A stage with an average round size of $8M.Cold Start's Investments by Sector
Cold Start has a diverse portfolio, with companies operating in the Enterprise Applications, HealthTech and Vertical SaaS. Notably, it has invested in 13 Tech companies, 9 Consumer (B2C) companies, 7 Software companies and at least 6 companies focusing on Enterprise (B2B).Sector | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Enterprise Applications | 1 |
HealthTech | 1 |
Vertical SaaS | 1 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Cold Start's Investments by Geography
Cold Start has made most investments in United States (2).Cold Start's recent investments
Cold Start has not made any investment in 2026 so far.Here are the most recent investments by Cold Start:
Filter this listDate | Company | Location | Round Details | Round Amount | Co-Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mar 30, 2023 | United States | Series A | 5600 | [+4] | |
Sep 13, 2022 | United States | Seed | 4936 | [+6] |
Unicorns in Cold Start's Portfolio
Cold Start has 4 unicorns in its portfolio - Grow Therapy, Veho, Lessen and others. The most recent unicorn in their portfolio is Grow Therapy. It became a unicorn in 2024, 2 years before Cold Start first invested in it.Here is a list of unicorns in Cold Start's portfolio:
Tracxn Score | Company | Short Description | Founded year | Sector | Location | Company Stage | First Investment/ Acquisition Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
59 | Digital platform that connects clients with licensed therapists and insurance companies | 2020 | New York City | Series D | f{alwcj | ||
66 | AI-enable last-mile delivery services for e-commerce companies | 2016 | Boulder | Series B | jljatpg | ||
54 | Provider of property maintenance and improvement solutions for commercial and residential | 2019 | Scottsdale | Series C | aewcisj | ||
74 | Provider of online counseling services for mental health conditions | 2020 | San Francisco | Series C | romzecs |
Acquired companies in Cold Start's Portfolio
2 companies from Cold Start's portfolio have been acquired. The most recent acquisition was MainStreet in May 2025 by Employer for $*****.Here are Cold Start's portfolio companies that got acquired most recently:
Company | Acquisition Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
May 06, 2025 | - | - | 1226 | |
Mar 06, 2024 | - | - | 7202 |
Team profile of Cold Start
Cold Start has a team of 4 members including 3 Partners located in United States. Cold Start's team does not sit on the board of any company as of now.Here is a list of all team members in Cold Start:
Name | Designation | Location | Board Memberships | Contact Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Partner | United States | - | ||
Partner | - | - | ||
Partner | New York City | - |
Co-investors of Cold Start
Over the past 4 years, 18 investors have co-invested in Cold Start's portfolio companies. This includes funds and angels.
- Invested before Cold Start: Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator, Blackstone LaunchPad and 4 others have invested in rounds before Cold Start. There is 1 company where Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator has invested before Cold Start and 1 company where Blackstone LaunchPad has invested before Cold Start.
- Top Co-investors of Cold Start: 12 investors entered a company along with Cold Start. These include investors like Inspired Capital (1 company).
Recent News related to Cold Start
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Canoe Intelligence Announces Five Strategic Senior Hires After Record Year in 2022Business Wire•Apr 04, 2023•Canoe Intelligence, J P Morgan, LPL Financial, S&P Global and 11 others
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Trucker Path founder Ivan Tsybaev's startup raises $8 million in investmentsRusbase•Mar 30, 2023•Careerist, Cold Start, Cathexis Ventures, Xploration Capital and 1 other
