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I am thrilled to announce the launch of Dria Ventures Fund I, investing at the pre-seed and seed stage in founders solving America's rising cost challenges. We have raised $8 million, focusing on two sectors crucial to economic growth and stability: healthcare and main street productivity. Our investments back companies that strengthen Americans' financial resilience, and we look forward to continuing to grow together.
The name Dria honors both my grandmothers — Dorothy, who at 96 still lives independently in Memphis, and Sylvia, an immigrant from St. Vincent who passed away in 2022. They represent the resilience and practical wisdom that I look for in founders: the ability to solve real problems for real people in America's core industries.
My conviction in healthcare and main street productivity isn't just professional — it's deeply personal. When my mother's medical practice was hit with fraud by her administrative assistant, it changed our entire family dynamic, including how I would pay for college. I had a nagging feeling that something could have helped her identify that financial drain. Years later, when I watched my grandmother Dorothy — then about 90 and living with diabetes in Memphis — receive a Livongo device that could meaningfully improve her care, I realized we're at a tipping point. Technology is finally reaching the average American and the underbelly of America's manufacturing space in ways we've never seen before.
What makes Dria different is our approach to partnership. Rather than managing dozens of investments, we work intimately with a select group of companies, providing not just capital but hands-on support in two critical areas: leveraging our network to accelerate customer acquisition and building the relationships and metrics foundation needed for successful Series A fundraising.
This focused approach allows us to be the go-to partner for founders solving deep-rooted problems in America's most essential industries. As a solo GP, I can move quickly on decisions while ensuring every portfolio company receives meaningful attention and support.
To help founders scale customer acquisition and secure Series A fundraising, we leverage deep domain expertise across an extensive network of industry leaders. Our institutional healthcare practice is led by Dr. Richard Goldstein, MD, PhD, a surgeon with a Master's in Healthcare Management from Harvard and former Senior Vice President of Yale New Haven Health System. Additionally, our advisory network includes executives from Livongo, Grammarly, and Samsara, as well as healthcare leaders from institutions like Stamford Health and Yale New Haven Health System.
We wouldn't be here without the support and belief from our Limited Partners, including institutions such as Next Legacy Partners, Global Endowment Management, Spring Point Partners, Stardust, General Catalyst, and Handmade Capital, as well as individuals such as Elad Gil, Katherine Boyle, Glen Tullman, Lee Shapiro, Diogo Monica, and Jules Maltz, among others.
My journey to Dria spans over ten years of investing across early and growth stage companies. I began my career with a degree in Economics from Columbia University and four years at Morgan Stanley, later earning my MBA from Harvard Business School. Most recently, I was an investor at General Catalyst, a venture capital firm with over $30Bn in AUM, where I served as a board observer for companies including Livongo (acquired by Teladoc for $18.5Bn), Samsara (IPO), and Grammarly, while also investing in Pulley, Mina Protocol, Celo, Bitwise, Commure, and Stripe.
Through experiences like spearheading Livongo's IPO process, building KPI frameworks at rapidly scaling companies, and developing investment theses in emerging sectors like crypto, I've learned what it takes for companies to navigate from startup to scale. Working alongside exceptional investors at General Catalyst showed me the power of institutional venture capital — and sparked my desire to work more intimately with founders at the earliest stages. That's why I built Dria to complement the ecosystem: smaller, more focused, and deeply involved with each founder's journey from day one.
Today, we invest in founders solving high-cost problems for the communities that need it most, specifically healthcare and main street productivity. In healthcare, this includes companies like Karoo Health, rebuilding value-based care in ambulatory cardiovascular care; Juniper Genomics, unlocking a faster and more affordable IVF journey through whole genome sequencing; Vibrant Practice, an AI-powered operating system for personalized medicine; and Olira, applying deep-tech to better understand and respond rapidly to the health of active oncology patients at home.
Additionally, our productivity investments include Revin AI, AI agents built to recover revenue lost from gaps in front-office labor for residential services; Kintow, an AI copilot built specifically for small to mid-size restauranteurs; PitPro, robotics automation to transform the economics of auto repair; and Terial, modernizing commercial roofing software. We’ve also invested in Enigma, the first data, community, and research platform for Unidentified Aerial Phenomena; Popcall, a messaging app that simplifies how creators and coaches get paid to communicate directly with their audiences; and Quotient, a developer tool that improves engineering team productivity and potential.
We are excited to continue partnering with our founders, limited partners, and co-investors to build an institution that will be the foundation of success for the next generation of entrepreneurs.
