Better Tomorrow Ventures

Reviewed Updated May 6, 2026

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Location San Francisco, CA
Founded 2019
Fund Size $75M (BTV I, 2019); $225M (BTV II, 2022); $140M (BTV III, 2025)
Website https://www.btv.vc
Stage Focus
pre-seed seed
Sector Focus
fintech embedded-finance payments banking insurance lending infrastructure

Team

Jake Gibson Founding Partner
Sheel Mohnot Co-Founder & General Partner
Nihar Bobba Partner
JC Bahr-de Stefano Principal
Yoni Lateiner Head of Talent

About

Better Tomorrow Ventures (BTV) is a San Francisco-based venture capital firm founded in 2019 by Jake Gibson and Sheel Mohnot, focused exclusively on fintech investing at the pre-seed and seed stage 12. Gibson co-founded NerdWallet (Nasdaq: NRDS), and Mohnot built and sold two fintech companies before founding the 500 Fintech accelerator 34.

BTV raised its debut fund (BTV I) at $75 million in 2019 2. In February 2022, the firm closed BTV II at $225 million — triple the size of its first fund — during the fintech boom 5. In October 2025, BTV closed its third fund at $140 million, bringing total AUM to approximately $450 million 26.

The fund III is smaller than fund II by design, reflecting the post-2022 fintech correction. BTV III targets 30-35 companies with check sizes of $500K to $4 million 2. The firm always leads or co-leads initial rounds 7.

The team includes Partner Nihar Bobba, who was recruited by Mohnot to drop out of Wharton’s MBA program to join the firm, and Principal JC Bahr-de Stefano 38. Yoni Lateiner serves as Head of Talent 3.

BTV also operates The Mint, an incubation program for fintech founders, often engaging before a company even has a name 4.

Stated Thesis

BTV publicly describes itself as an operator-led fintech fund, emphasizing that every team member is a former founder 14. Mohnot has articulated a core thesis that “everything is fintech” — vertical SaaS companies increasingly derive revenue from payments and financial services rather than software subscriptions 7. He cites Toast as an example: the restaurant software company now derives 83% of its revenue from financial services 7.

Mohnot has stated: “I think it all comes down to a founder and their ability to iterate fast… Are they tenacious? Are they breaking through walls to make stuff happen?” 7

The firm publicly states it looks for companies at the intersection of finance and software, with a particular interest in AI-powered financial services and embedded finance 27. Mohnot has noted that about 20% of global GDP is financial services and “it’s still not digital enough,” arguing that “the massive digitization opportunity is still ahead of us” 7.

Inferred Thesis

Based on 12 featured and verified portfolio companies from BTV’s website and press coverage 19:

Sector distribution: Of 12 verified investments: 4 accounting/finance automation (33%), 3 cards/banking/payments (25%), 3 infrastructure/embedded finance (25%), 2 other/healthcare (17%). The firm is deeply specialized in fintech — Tracxn reports 55 fintech investments and 43 enterprise application investments across the full portfolio 9.

Stage distribution: BTV exclusively leads at pre-seed and seed, with follow-on investment through Series B and occasionally Series C 7. Featured companies include Unit (Series B), Coast (Series B), and Relay (Series B), suggesting active follow-on participation 1.

Check size: $500K to $3.5 million for initial investments, with BTV III checks ranging $500K to $4 million 27.

Geographic focus: Primarily US-based companies, with some presence in Latin America (Brazil, Mexico), Europe, and Israel (for US-focused operations) 7.

Founder profile patterns: The firm strongly favors founders with prior operating experience in financial services or adjacent industries. The “operators backing operators” positioning suggests a preference for repeat founders or those from fintech incumbents.

Co-investor patterns: Portfolio includes companies also backed by Ribbit Capital, QED Investors, and a16z — suggesting BTV sits in the fintech-specialist ecosystem alongside these larger funds.

Notable emphasis areas: Accounting automation (Basis, InScope, Layer) appears to be a concentrated bet within the portfolio, likely reflecting a thesis about the accountant shortage and AI-driven transformation of financial back-office work 7.

Portfolio performance: BTV reports Q1 2025 was its best quarter ever, following a difficult 2022-2023 period when generalist funds pulled back from fintech 7. The portfolio includes 12 unicorns according to Tracxn 9.

Portfolio

Company Stage Year Sector Status Source
Unit Seed (co-led) 2020 Infrastructure/Embedded Finance Active (Series B) 110
Coast Seed (led, $6M) 2021-07-07 Payments/Fleet Management Active (Series B) 11516
Relay Seed 2020 Banking/SMB Neobank Active (Series B) 1
Basis Seed (led, $3.6M) 2023-10 Accounting/AI Active (Series B, $1.15B valuation) 11314
InScope Seed 2022 Accounting/Reporting Active (Series A) 1
Layer Pre-seed (led, USD 2.3M; angels from Square, Plaid, Unit, Check; founders Justin Meretab + Daniel O’Neel) → Seed (participant, USD 6.6M; Emergence Capital led; 2025-07-09) 2024-05-15 Accounting/Embedded Active 12021222324
Mendel Seed 2022 Cards/Expense Management Active (Series A) 1
Monk Seed (led, USD 4M; GTMfund + Rerail participated; George Kurdin CEO + Joe Zhou co-founder) 2025-10-08 AI / Accounts Receivable Active (Series A April 2026, USD 25M co-led by Footwork + Acrew; BTV follow-on) 1252627
Lunar Seed 2022 Healthcare/Hospital Software Active (Series A) 1
Deck Seed (co-led with Golden Ventures, USD 4.5M / CAD 6.2M; Luge Capital participated; founders Yves-Gabriel Leboeuf CEO, Frédérick Lavoie, Julien Belisle, Bruno Lambert — ex-Flinks founders) 2024-10-15 Data / Utility Access (Montreal) Active (Series A April 2025, USD 12M led by Infinity Ventures; BTV follow-on) 1282930
Outpost Seed (led, ~USD 3M / EUR 2.5M; disclosed retrospectively in Series A press as “less than a year” before March 2026 → circa mid-2025; founder Will Mahon-Heap ex-Revolut international expansion + Wayflyer CBO) ~2025 (exact seed date not independently announced) Payments / Cross-border Commerce (London) Active (Series A 2026-03-11, USD 17.5M / EUR 15M led by Ribbit Capital; BTV follow-on; angels from Revolut, Uber, Affirm, Airwallex, Checkout) 1313233
Meroka Seed 2024 Healthcare/Medical Group Active 1
InstaSwitch Seed (participated) 2026-05-05 Fintech/Banking Infrastructure Active 1112
Nebex Seed (participated; GV led, $30M) 2026-06-29 Fintech/Space Economy Active 171819

This table represents 12 of approximately 85 known pre-seed and seed investments across three funds 2. BTV’s website lists 150+ companies across its full portfolio 1.

In Their Own Words

“I think it all comes down to a founder and their ability to iterate fast… Are they tenacious? Are they breaking through walls to make stuff happen?” — Sheel Mohnot, Co-Founder & General Partner, Tearsheet podcast, 2025 7

“Founders want to work with founders… everyone on our team is a founder, operator.” — Sheel Mohnot, Tearsheet podcast, 2025 7

“2016 to 2021 was like a straight line upward… then it crashed pretty hard in 2022-2023… Q4 into Q1 of this year, they were back.” — Sheel Mohnot, on fintech funding cycles, Tearsheet podcast, 2025 7

What Founders Say

“Their network is unbeatable, and they went out of their way to help us in every critical area.” — Itai, Founder & CEO (portfolio company), BTV website 1

“They offer so much beyond capital… remarkably responsive and hands-on support.” — Mary, Founder & CEO (portfolio company), BTV website 1

“BTV is my first phone call for a range of strategic issues.” — Daniel, Founder & CEO (portfolio company), BTV website 1

“This is my 3rd company, and I’ve never worked with investors who have been more accessible — and every BTV company will say the same.” — Unnamed founder, reported via BTV marketing 4

Note: These testimonials are sourced from BTV’s own website and marketing materials. No independently sourced founder testimonials were found outside of firm-controlled channels.

Sources

  1. Better Tomorrow Ventures website, accessed March 2026. https://www.btv.vc/↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩

  2. Menlo Times, “Better Tomorrow Ventures Closes BTV III at $140 Million to Fuel the Next Generation Fintech Companies,” October 2025. https://www.menlotimes.com/post/better-tomorrow-ventures-closes-btv-iii-at-140-million-to-fuel-the-next-generation-fintech-companie↩↩↩↩↩↩↩

  3. BTV website, “Team” page, accessed March 2026. https://www.btv.vc/team↩↩↩

  4. BTV website, Sheel Mohnot profile, accessed March 2026. https://www.btv.vc/team-members/sheel-mohnot↩↩↩↩

  5. TechCrunch, “Better Tomorrow Ventures closes on $225M fintech-focused fund, which is triple the size of its last fund,” February 15, 2022. https://techcrunch.com/2022/02/15/better-tomorrow-ventures-closes-on-225m-fintech-focused-fund-which-is-triple-the-size-of-its-last-fund/↩

  6. TechCrunch, “Better Tomorrow Ventures closes $140M, remains bullish on fintech,” October 1, 2025. https://techcrunch.com/2025/10/01/better-tomorrow-ventures-closes-140m-remains-bullish-on-fintech/↩

  7. Tearsheet, “The fintech comeback: Sheel Mohnot on why ‘everything is fintech’ and what’s getting funded in 2025,” 2025. https://tearsheet.co/podcasts/the-fintech-comeback-sheel-mohnot-on-why-everything-is-fintech-and-whats-getting-funded-in-2025/↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩

  8. Venture Unlocked, “Better Tomorrow Ventures, Jake and Sheel on Investing in FinTech, fund construction, and fundraising lessons,” accessed March 2026. https://ventureunlocked.substack.com/p/better-tomorrow-ventures-jake-and↩

  9. Tracxn, “Better Tomorrow Ventures — 2026 Investor Profile, Portfolio, Team & Investment Trends,” accessed March 2026. https://tracxn.com/d/venture-capital/better-tomorrow-ventures/__BnkAOilS6blXqNfntRtQPuqx7X5u6bjxAwOUYG_PTsY↩↩↩

  10. The Spl.it podcast, “Sheel Mohnot on Building Two Fintechs, Starting Better Tomorrow Ventures.” Confirms BTV co-led Unit seed round, committed in Sep 2019. https://www.thespl.it/p/sheel-mohnot-on-building-two-fintechs↩

  11. GlobeNewswire, “InstaSwitch launches account activation infrastructure for business banking and announces $4.7M in funding,” May 5, 2026. $4.7M seed led by Chicago Ventures with 8-Bit Capital, Better Tomorrow Ventures, and Panache Ventures participating. https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/05/05/3287812/0/en/InstaSwitch-launches-account-activation-infrastructure-for-business-banking-and-announces-4-7M-in-funding.html↩

  12. Tech Funding News, “InstaSwitch lands $4.7M from Chicago Ventures, 8-Bit Capital to fix inactive business bank accounts with AI,” May 5, 2026. https://techfundingnews.com/instaswitch-lands-4-7m-from-chicago-ventures-8-bit-capital-to-fix-inactive-business-bank-accounts-with-ai/↩

  13. PR Newswire, “Basis Secures $3.6 Million to Bring AI to Accounting Firms,” October 2023. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/basis-secures-3-6-million-to-bring-ai-to-accounting-firms-301964975.html↩

  14. SiliconANGLE, “AI accounting startup Basis secures $100M at $1.15B valuation as firms adopt agent-based workflows,” February 24, 2026. https://siliconangle.com/2026/02/24/ai-accounting-startup-basis-secures-100m-1-15b-valuation-firms-adopt-agent-based-workflows/↩

  15. TechCrunch, “After selling Bread last year for over $500M, this founder just raised millions for his new fintech startup,” July 7, 2021. Confirms Coast’s $6M seed led by Better Tomorrow Ventures with participation from Avid Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, BoxGroup, Foundation Capital, Greycroft, SciFi VC. https://techcrunch.com/2021/07/07/after-selling-bread-last-year-for-over-500m-founder-sets-out-to-build-the-financial-platform-for-the-future-of-transportation/↩

  16. FinLedger, “Fleet financing startup Coast raises $6 million seed round,” July 7, 2021. https://finledger.com/articles/fleet-financing-startup-coast-raises-6-million-seed-round/↩

  17. Business Wire, “Nebex Raises $30M Seed Round Led by GV to Build Market Infrastructure for the Global Space Economy,” June 29, 2026. Accessed June 2026. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260629317768/en/Nebex-Raises-$30M-Seed-Round-Led-by-GV-to-Build-Market-Infrastructure-for-the-Global-Space-Economy — Primary press release listing Better Tomorrow Ventures as participating investor in Nebex’s $30M Seed alongside GV (lead), Eniac Ventures, 2048 Ventures, Oceans Ventures, AIN Ventures, and others. ↩

  18. AlleyWatch, “The AlleyWatch Startup Daily Funding Report: 6/29/2026,” June 29, 2026. Accessed June 2026. https://www.alleywatch.com/2026/06/the-alleywatch-startup-daily-funding-report-6-29-2026/ — Independent confirmation of Better Tomorrow Ventures’ participation in Nebex’s $30M Seed. ↩

  19. TheNextWeb, “Nebex raises $30M from GV to build a space exchange,” June 30, 2026. Accessed June 2026. https://thenextweb.com/news/nebex-30m-seed-gv-space-economy — Tier-1 European tech press lists Better Tomorrow Ventures among the participating investors in Nebex’s $30M Seed led by GV alongside Eniac Ventures and 2048 Ventures. ↩

  20. TechCrunch, “Embedded accounting startup Layer secures $2.3M toward goal of replacing QuickBooks,” May 15, 2024. Accessed July 2026. https://techcrunch.com/2024/05/15/embedded-accounting-layer-2-3m-quickbooks/ — Primary press: Layer raised $2.3M pre-seed announced May 15, 2024, led by Better Tomorrow Ventures with participation from executives at Square, Plaid, Unit, and Check. Founders Justin Meretab (ex-Square Banking product lead) and Daniel O’Neel (ex-Wealthfront engineering lead). ↩

  21. Finovate, “Layer Raises $2.3 Million for Embedded Accounting,” May 2024. Accessed July 2026. https://finovate.com/layer-raises-2-3-million-for-embedded-accounting/ — Independent confirmation of the $2.3M pre-seed led by Better Tomorrow Ventures, May 2024. Company later raised a $6.6M seed led by Emergence Capital in 2025 with BTV following on. ↩

  22. The Paypers, “Layer receives USD 2.3 million in pre-seed investment,” May 17, 2024. Accessed July 19, 2026. https://thepaypers.com/fintech/news/layer-secures-usd-23-million-in-pre-seed-investment — Third independent fintech-press confirmation of Layer’s $2.3M pre-seed led by Better Tomorrow Ventures, with executives from Square, Plaid, Unit, and Check joining. Capital used to expand across SME software platforms and grow the team beyond the initial four employees. ↩

  23. Layer blog, “Announcing our $6.6M Seed round led by Emergence Capital,” July 9, 2025. Accessed July 19, 2026. https://www.layerfi.com/posts/announcing-our-6-6m-seed-round-led-by-emergence-capital — Primary company source. Layer announced a $6.6M Seed round on July 9, 2025 led by Emergence Capital with Better Tomorrow Ventures (existing pre-seed investor) participating; brings total raised to ~$9M. Founders: Justin Meretab (CEO) and Daniel O’Neel. Partners include Moxie, Nav, Dripos, Duet, and Carry that have collectively onboarded 30,000+ SMBs. ↩

  24. National Law Review press release wire, “Layer Raises $6.6M Led by Emergence Capital to Bring Embedded Accounting to the SMB Software Stack,” July 9, 2025. Accessed July 19, 2026. https://natlawreview.com/press-releases/layer-raises-66m-led-emergence-capital-bring-embedded-accounting-smb — Independent wire confirmation of Layer’s $6.6M Seed announced July 9, 2025, “led by Emergence Capital, with participation from Better Tomorrow Ventures (BTV).” ↩

  25. Better Tomorrow Ventures blog, “Why We Invested in Monk,” October 8, 2025. Accessed July 20, 2026. https://better-tomorrow-ventures.ghost.io/why-we-invested-in-monk/ — Primary lead-investor announcement: BTV led Monk’s $4M seed round, announced October 8, 2025 as the company exited stealth. Founders George Kurdin (CEO) and Joe Zhou. Investment thesis focused on AI-native contract-to-cash automation for B2B accounts receivable. ↩

  26. SignalBase, “AI-Native Accounts Receivable Platform Monk Raises $4M Seed Funding,” October 8, 2025. Accessed July 20, 2026. https://www.trysignalbase.com/news/funding/ai-native-accounts-receivable-platform-monk-raises-4m-seed-funding — Independent confirmation of Monk’s $4.0M seed round announced October 8, 2025 with Better Tomorrow Ventures named as the lead investor. ↩

  27. AlleyWatch, “Monk Raises $25M to Unlock the Trillions Trapped in B2B Accounts Receivable,” May 2026. Accessed July 20, 2026. https://www.alleywatch.com/2026/05/monk-ai-accounts-receivable-contract-to-cash-automation-collectons-ar-automation-platform-george-kurdin/ — Independent Series A press confirming: prior $4M seed led by Better Tomorrow Ventures (spring 2025 close, October 2025 announcement); Series A $25M co-led by Footwork and Acrew Capital with Better Tomorrow Ventures continued participation; total funding to $29M. Founder George Kurdin (CEO). ↩

  28. Luge Capital, “Backing Deck,” October 15, 2024. Accessed July 20, 2026. https://www.luge.vc/backing-deck/ — Primary co-participant announcement: Deck raised $6.2M CAD seed round from Luge Capital, Golden Ventures, and Better Tomorrow Ventures. Founders: Yves-Gabriel Leboeuf, Frédérick Lavoie, Julien Belisle, Bruno Lambert. Montreal-based. ↩

  29. BetaKit, “Flinks co-founders trade open banking for open utility with new startup Deck,” October 15, 2024. Accessed July 20, 2026. https://betakit.com/flinks-co-founders-trade-open-banking-for-open-utility-with-new-startup-deck/ — Independent Canadian tech-press confirmation of Deck’s $4.5M USD ($6.2M CAD) all-equity, all-primary seed financing announced October 15, 2024. Co-led by Golden Ventures (Toronto) and Better Tomorrow Ventures (San Francisco), with Luge Capital (Montréal) participating. Total funding $6.5M USD including prior $2M angel round. ↩

  30. TechCrunch (Marina Temkin), “Deck raises $12M to ‘Plaid-ify’ any website using AI,” April 16, 2025. Accessed July 20, 2026. https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/16/deck-raises-12m-to-plaid-ify-any-website-using-ai/ — Third independent tier-1 tech-press confirmation. Deck’s October 2024 $4.5M seed co-led by Golden Ventures and Better Tomorrow Ventures; April 2025 $12M Series A led by Infinity Ventures with Intact Ventures, Better Tomorrow Ventures, Golden Ventures, and Luge Capital participating. Founders Yves-Gabriel Leboeuf (CEO), Frederick Lavoie (President), Bruno Lambert (CTO) previously created Flinks (acquired by National Bank of Canada 2021 for ~$140M USD). ↩

  31. fintech.global, “Outpost raises $17.5m Series A to simplify global trade,” March 11, 2026. Accessed July 20, 2026. https://fintech.global/2026/03/11/outpost-raises-17-5m-series-a-to-simplify-global-trade/ — Primary Series A press confirming: Outpost’s Series A of $17.5M was led by Ribbit Capital on March 11, 2026, following a $3M seed round led by Better Tomorrow Ventures “less than a year” prior (circa mid-2025). Better Tomorrow Ventures also participated in the Series A. Founder Will Mahon-Heap (ex-Revolut international expansion lead). ↩

  32. TheNextWeb, “British startup Outpost raises €15M to make international selling as simple as domestic commerce,” March 2026. Accessed July 20, 2026. https://thenextweb.com/news/outpost-raises-17-5m — Independent European tech-press confirmation: Outpost’s €2.5M seed was led by Better Tomorrow Ventures approximately mid-2025 (referenced retrospectively in the March 11, 2026 Series A press). Series A of €15M ($17.5M) led by Ribbit; BTV follow-on; angels from Revolut, Uber, Affirm, Airwallex, Checkout.com. ↩

  33. PathFounders, “Outpost aims to do what Deel did for international employees, but with global trade,” March 2026. Accessed July 20, 2026. https://pathfounders.com/p/outpost-aims-to-do-what-deel-did-but-with-global-trade — Third independent long-form profile confirming: Better Tomorrow Ventures led Outpost’s $3M seed round “less than a year” before the March 11, 2026 Series A announcement. Founder Will Mahon-Heap previously launched Revolut’s first international market (Australia) and served as Chief Business Officer at Wayflyer. Note: no primary press release surfaced for the seed round itself — Outpost publicly announced only the Series A, with the seed round referenced retrospectively. ↩