Forerunner Ventures

About

Forerunner Ventures is a venture capital firm founded by Kirsten Green in 2012, focused on investing at the intersection of culture and invention with the consumer at the center ¹. The firm is headquartered in San Francisco, California, and has raised nearly $3 billion in total assets under management across seven flagship funds and additional vehicles ².

Forerunner built one of the first specialized “modern consumer” VC practices by focusing almost exclusively on direct-to-consumer commerce when it was still a contrarian niche ³. The firm’s earliest funds coincided with the D2C boom of the 2010s, and Green’s investments in companies like Dollar Shave Club, Warby Parker, and Bonobos established Forerunner as a category-defining consumer investor ⁴.

Key fund milestones include: Fund III (2016 vintage, 22.6% IRR) ³; a $360 million fund in 2018 ⁵; Fund VI, a $1 billion fund with two $500 million vehicles for early-stage and growth-stage investments (closed February 2022) ⁴; and Fund VII, a $500 million early-stage fund announced in 2024 with check sizes of $1 million to $20 million from seed to Series A ². Forerunner is among the first women-led venture capital firms to surpass $2 billion in AUM ³.

As of 2025, Forerunner has invested in over 150 companies and its portfolio has produced 8 unicorns, 4 IPOs, and 47 acquisitions ³.

Stated Thesis

Forerunner publicly describes its focus as investing in “the modern consumer” at the intersection of invention and culture ¹. Kirsten Green has stated: “We had this notion of building a firm with the consumer at the heart because the consumer is driving the vast majority of the economy” — noting that consumer spending accounts for approximately 70% of U.S. GDP ⁴.

Over time, the firm has expanded its definition of consumer investing beyond D2C brands. Green has explained: “Putting the consumer at the center of a company’s strategy no matter its business model” is the guiding philosophy, encompassing B2B platforms that ultimately serve consumers ⁴. As Green put it: “If there’s no user there to receive the content that’s being created, the brand won’t be successful” ⁶.

For Fund VII, Green articulated a thesis around AI and human insight: “We invest at the intersection of invention and culture. We study big shifts in what tech can do and what consumers want” ². She described the current moment: “This creative stage is what innovators live for. Our new early-stage fund is dedicated to this time of imagination and development that will bridge what humans want with what AI will be able to do” ².

The firm invests across health and wellness, commerce, consumer finance, prosumer tools, education, social, and marketplaces ².

Inferred Thesis

Based on 80+ verified investments from the firm’s portfolio page, the following patterns emerge.

Sector breakdown (80+ verified investments): Commerce and consumer brands represent the largest category — approximately 25 of 80+ investments (31%), including Dollar Shave Club, Warby Parker, Glossier, Away, Cotopaxi, and Prose. Platforms and infrastructure represent approximately 25 of 80+ (31%), including companies like Decagon, Anon, webAI, and Arcade. Health and wellness accounts for approximately 10 of 80+ (12%), including Hims & Hers, Ritual, Curology, Prenuvo, and Teal Health. Fintech represents approximately 8 of 80+ (10%), including Chime, Monarch Money, and Balance. Marketplaces account for approximately 8 of 80+ (10%), including Faire, Daydream, and Fora. Education and social represent approximately 5 of 80+ (6%), including KiwiCo, Speechify, and Leland ¹.

Stage distribution: Predominantly seed to Series A. Fund VII check sizes range from $1 million to $20 million ². The firm previously ran growth-stage vehicles alongside early-stage funds ⁴.

Geographic concentration: Investments are concentrated in the United States, with particular density in San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles ³.

Portfolio evolution: The firm has notably shifted from pure D2C brands (Dollar Shave Club, Bonobos, Warby Parker in early funds) toward platforms, infrastructure, and AI-enabled consumer tools (Decagon, webAI, Marklo AI, Mecka AI in recent funds). This evolution suggests the “consumer” thesis is increasingly applied to enterprise and infrastructure companies that serve end consumers ¹².

Notable gaps: Despite the stated consumer focus, a growing share of the portfolio consists of B2B platforms and AI infrastructure companies. The firm rarely invests in crypto or web3, gaming, or deep tech.

Portfolio

This table represents approximately 14% of 161 known investments. Many early-stage investments are not individually documented in press sources.

In Their Own Words

“We had this notion of building a firm with the consumer at the heart because the consumer is driving the vast majority of the economy.” — Kirsten Green, Fortune, September 2022 ⁴

“We invest at the intersection of invention and culture. We study big shifts in what tech can do and what consumers want.” — Kirsten Green, Fund VII announcement ²

“This creative stage is what innovators live for. Our new early-stage fund is dedicated to this time of imagination and development that will bridge what humans want with what AI will be able to do.” — Kirsten Green, Fund VII announcement ²

“If you’re not committed to a category, it makes sense to move on.” — Kirsten Green, on maintaining conviction in consumer investing during the D2C slowdown, Fortune, September 2022 ⁴

“We’re trying to build edited portfolios, we’re trying to be good partners. We’re trying to set ourselves and the teams that we invest in up for success… we think a lot about where are we set up to be really great partners and deliver something that is a good experience to the founder.” — Kirsten Green ⁶

What Founders Say

No independently sourced founder testimonials found from third-party sources. Forerunner’s reputation in the founder community is reflected in the firm’s high concentration of breakout consumer companies and repeated backing by institutional LPs, but specific founder quotes about their experience could not be verified from independent sources.

Sources