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    Backstage Capital

    Los Angeles, California, United StatesFounded 2015
    backstagecapital.comLinkedIn
    ConsumerE-Commerce & MarketplaceFood & AgricultureTravel & HospitalityMedia & EntertainmentDeveloper ToolsHR & TalentFintechHealthcareAIHardware & Semiconductors

    Backstage Capital is a venture capital fund that invests in startups led by underrepresented founders — women, people of color, and LGBTQ+ founders. Founded in 2015 by Arlan Hamilton, the firm has invested in over 200 companies and is launching a $200 million fund in 2025 in partnership with 360 Venture Collective.

    Their most common stage is seed (42% of deals). Average disclosed round size is $5.5M (across 46 rounds with reported amounts).

    Find people at Backstage Capital on Goldilocks AI

    Portfolio

    46

    Fund Size

    $200M

    Top Stage

    Seed

    Last 12 Mo

    0

    Team

    Arlan Hamilton

    Arlan Hamilton

    Founder + Managing Partner

    Brittany Davis

    Brittany Davis

    General Partner

    Jocelyn Goldfein

    Jocelyn Goldfein

    Zetta Venture Partners

    Bethany Herwegh

    Bethany Herwegh

    Christina Yang

    Christina Yang

    Christophe Fraise

    Christophe Fraise

    David Abrams

    David Abrams

    David Onek

    David Onek

    Holly Levow

    Holly Levow

    Holly Lui

    Holly Lui

    Ian Spivey

    Ian Spivey

    Insiyah Saeed

    Insiyah Saeed

    Portfolio Breakdown

    Stage Distribution

    Sector Distribution

    Investment Activity

    DealsAvg Round Size

    Portfolio

    52 investments
    CompanyRoundAmountDate
    Akash Systems logoAkash SystemsSeed$3.1MNov 2024
    BoldHue logoBoldHueSeed$3.4MJul 2024
    Hello Alice logoHello AliceSeries C—Apr 2024
    Guava logoGuavaPre-Seed$2.4MJul 2022
    Mahmee logoMahmeeSeries A$9.2MMay 2022
    SSekrSeed$2.3MFeb 2022
    Sēkr logoSēkrSeed$2.3MFeb 2022
    Career Karma logoCareer KarmaSeries B$40MJan 2022
    Guava logoGuavaUnknown$2.4MJan 2022
    7th Ave logo7th AveSeed$2.5MNov 2021
    Shop Latinx logoShop LatinxPre-Seed$1MOct 2021
    A Kids Co. logoA Kids Co.Series A$7MAug 2021
    AA Kids Company AboutSeries A$7MAug 2021
    A Kids Company About logoA Kids Company AboutSeries A$7MAug 2021
    Nickson logoNicksonSeries A$12MJun 2021
    Bookclub logoBookclubSeries A$20MJun 2021
    Upsie logoUpsieSeries A$18.2MMay 2021
    Gumroad logoGumroadSeries A$6MMar 2021
    FFrequency MachineSeed—Jan 2021
    Modern Picnic logoModern PicnicPre-Seed$900KJan 2021
    SShearshareSeed$2.3MDec 2020
    Undock logoUndockSeed$1.6MNov 2020
    Edlyft logoEdlyftSeed$1.4MOct 2020
    SShearshareSeed$2.3MOct 2020
    The Juggernaut logoThe JuggernautSeed$2MOct 2020
    Page 1 of 3

    Top Co-Investors

    Precursor Ventures8 shared
    Debut Capital6 shared
    Y Combinator5 shared
    Emerson Collective5 shared
    M255 shared
    Techstars5 shared
    Gaingels4 shared
    Menlo Ventures4 shared
    S3 Ventures4 shared
    Bread & Butter Ventures3 shared
    Kapor Capital3 shared
    MaC Venture Capital3 shared
    Social Capital3 shared
    Bumble Fund2 shared
    Rise of the Rest Seed Fund2 shared
    Hustle Fund2 shared
    Alumni Ventures2 shared
    AARP2 shared
    Heron Rock2 shared
    Crescent Ridge Partners2 shared

    Last updated: 20 October 2026