Haystack

Investor type

VC

Founded

2013

AUM

-

Location

United States

Investment Ticket

$1-5 m

Investment Stage

Seed Series A

Region of investment

North America
Investor profile last updated: 11 March, 2022

Profile

I created Haystack in 2013. Back then, I knew I was interested in investing, but I did not know what I was doing. I tried to persuade various venture capital funds to hire me, but they did not — I did not have the right experience to earn a spot. Instead, many of the venture capitalists and founders I had gotten to know and worked with encouraged me to start my own fund and they backed me. That advice and nudging turned out to be transformative. Haystack Funds I and II were fortunate to invest at the key inflection points of outstanding companies, and since then, my interest in investing has mutated from a curiosity to natural obsession.





With a smaller footprint, Haystack is somewhat like a startup — we have to raise funds from investors (limited partners), we have to cover both the fun work (meeting new people) and the not-so-glamorous work (back office administration, paperwork, etc.), and we have to continuously deliver value to all corners of the ecosystem to remain relevant. Now with five years of investing experience in the books, there is even more to learn, more great early-stage founding teams to identify and partner with, and even more challenges in early-stage company building and value creation.

Industry

Education Fintech Marketing and Advertising Security Software Transportation Edtech Fashion/Beauty Financial Services Food and Beverage Foodtech Gaming Healthcare Services Media and Entertainment Other Pharmaceuticals Real Estate Robotics Sports/SportsTech Telecommunications Travel MedTech Technology Life Sciences Infrastructure LegalTech HealthTech AdTech TravelTech

Contacts

Name
Title
Email
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Divya Dhulipala Senior Associate
Senior Associate
d•••@•••
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Semil Shah Founder, General Partner
Founder, General Partner
s•••@•••
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FAQs about Haystack

Haystack is a venture capital firm. It backs companies at Seed and Series A, writing tickets of $1-5 m.
Haystack is located in United States.
Haystack was founded in 2013.
Haystack invests in companies and startups in Education, Fintech, Marketing and Advertising, Security, Software, Transportation, Edtech, Fashion/Beauty, Financial Services, Food and Beverage, Foodtech, Gaming, Healthcare Services, Media and Entertainment, Other, Pharmaceuticals, Real Estate, Robotics, Sports/SportsTech, Telecommunications, Travel, MedTech, Technology, Life Sciences, Infrastructure, LegalTech, HealthTech, AdTech, TravelTech.
Haystack invests in companies and startups in North America.
Haystack invests in companies and startups at Seed, Series A.
Haystack usually invests $1-5 m on average.
Haystack can be reached through its website haystack.vc, its LinkedIn page and its X account. Its general enquiries address is assistant@haystack.vc. Cold-mailing a general inbox rarely reaches a partner, so Private Equity List also lists the investment-team contacts for Haystack — names, roles, verified work emails and LinkedIn profiles — available on a Pro plan from $129/month (see pricing). Contacts are sourced from the firm's website and LinkedIn and re-verified on a rolling cycle. Spot a stale contact, or none at all? Report it — we re-run that firm within 48h and get back to you.
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Private Equity List re-verifies investor profiles on a rolling cycle, pulling from the firm's own website and LinkedIn rather than a one-off import. This profile was last updated on 11 March, 2022. Something out of date here? Report it — we re-run that firm within 48h and get back to you.