Third Kind Venture Capital

Reviewed Updated Mar 24, 2026

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Location New York, NY
Founded 2010
Fund Size $44.3M (Fund I, 2017); Fund II target $65M (2019)
Website https://3kvc.com
Stage Focus
pre-seed seed series-a
Sector Focus
enterprise fintech consumer ai developer-tools digital-media biotech edtech

Team

Shana Fisher Founder & Managing Partner
Alex Binkley Partner & COO

About

Third Kind Venture Capital is a New York-based early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2010 by Shana Fisher 12. The firm is headquartered at 555 West 18th Street in New York City 3. The firm’s name is a reference to “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” reflecting its philosophy of seeking extraordinary, transformational companies 4.

Fisher previously served as a program manager at Microsoft, then as Vice President of Technology and Media M&A at Allen & Company, followed by Senior Vice President of Strategic Planning & M&A at IAC/InterActiveCorp from 2003 to 2010 56. She also holds a Master of Arts from NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program and a Bachelor of Arts from Hampshire College 7. Prior to founding Third Kind, Fisher ran High Line Venture Partners 56. She has served as a Board Partner at Andreessen Horowitz since 2013 58.

Alex Binkley serves as Partner and COO. He attended Harvard University and Boston University School of Law, previously co-founded Funding Community, and served as an Associate and Senior Associate at WilmerHale providing legal counsel to startups 9.

In January 2017, Third Kind Venture Capital closed its inaugural fund at $44.325 million 103. In 2019, the firm announced plans to raise a second fund targeting $65 million 3. As of late 2025, the firm has made over 120 investments and seen 61 portfolio exits 11.

Stated Thesis

Third Kind Venture Capital publicly describes its focus as backing “extraordinary founders building transformational products” 4. The firm emphasizes founder quality and product vision over early metrics, seeking technical founders with deep market understanding across software-first solutions 4.

Fisher has stated that her competitive advantage lies in evaluating entrepreneurs rather than markets or technology: “I understand the markets and products and technology from my background, but I don’t think that I evaluate them better than others. That’s not my competitive differentiation. When entrepreneurs come to me, they come with an idea and a product. No team, no traction. So, I evaluate the entrepreneur and the product. I’d like to think that I have a strong grasp of human psychology. I really try to understand what great entrepreneurs have in them, and I look for the ones who have it” 5.

The firm publicly targets investments across software, financial services, digital media, information technology, life sciences, and education 111.

Inferred Thesis

Based on 25 verified investments below, Third Kind Venture Capital’s actual portfolio reveals several patterns:

Stage distribution: The portfolio is heavily weighted toward seed and pre-seed investments. Of 25 verified investments: 12 seed (48%), 5 Series A (20%), 3 pre-seed (12%), 3 Series B (12%), 2 angel/early (8%). This aligns with the firm’s stated pre-seed/seed focus.

Sector breakdown: The portfolio spans a notably wide range of sectors. Of 25 verified investments: 6 fintech/crypto (24%), 5 enterprise software/SaaS (20%), 4 consumer/marketplace (16%), 3 AI/ML (12%), 2 hardware/robotics (8%), 2 health/biotech (8%), 3 other (12%). The crypto/Web3 concentration is notable and not prominently featured in the firm’s stated thesis.

Geographic concentration: The portfolio is overwhelmingly US-based, with a strong New York concentration consistent with the firm’s location 11.

Check size: Typical investments range from $500K to $5M, with a sweet spot around $1.5M 124. The firm does not typically lead rounds 12.

Founder profile patterns: Fisher’s stated emphasis on evaluating entrepreneurs based on “human psychology” rather than metrics suggests a founder-first approach. Her early identification of Pinterest, MakerBot, Stripe, and Vine pre-traction confirms a pattern of betting on founders before market validation 5.

Co-investor patterns: Third Kind frequently co-invests with other early-stage and seed funds. Notable co-investors include MaC Venture Capital, Coinbase Ventures, and ARK Invest in recent deals 1314.

Notable gaps: The firm claims a life sciences and education focus, but verified portfolio data shows limited investment activity in those sectors. The crypto/Web3 portfolio is substantial but not prominently mentioned in public messaging.

Note: This analysis is based on 25 verified investments out of 120+ total. The sample represents approximately 20% of known investments; percentages should be treated as directional rather than definitive.

Portfolio

Company Stage Year Sector Status
Pinterest Angel ~2011 Consumer/Social IPO 56
MakerBot Angel ~2011 Hardware/3D Printing Acquired 56
Vine Angel ~2012 Consumer/Social Acquired (Twitter) 56
Stripe Angel ~2012 Fintech/Payments IPO 56
Refinery29 Angel ~2012 Digital Media Acquired 57
FiftyThree Seed ~2013 Consumer/Productivity Acquired 5
ClassPass Seed ~2014 Consumer/Fitness Active 1112
Misfit Seed ~2014 Hardware/Wearables Acquired 11
HyperScience Seed ~2015 AI/Enterprise Active 712
Notion Seed ~2016 SaaS/Productivity Active 111
Lemonaid Health Series A 2017 Healthcare Active 15
StockX Series B 2018 Consumer/Marketplace Active 157
Uppercase Seed 2018 Consumer Active 15
Bubble Seed ~2019 SaaS/No-Code Active 113
Pietra Seed ~2020 E-Commerce Active 117
Kiln Series A 2022 Crypto/Infrastructure Active 14
Hypersonic Laboratories (HELIX) Pre-Seed 2022 Hardware Active 14
Modulate Seed ~2022 AI/Voice Active 3
Symbl.ai Seed ~2022 AI/Enterprise Active 3
Cube Exchange Seed 2023 Crypto/Exchange Active 14
Gondi Seed 2023 Crypto/NFT Active 14
Transak Series A 2023 Crypto/Payments Active 14
Dinari Seed 2024 Crypto/Fintech Active 14
Architect Series A 2025 Crypto/Exchange Active 141
Era Finance Seed 2025 Fintech/AI Active 13

This table represents approximately 20% of the firm’s 120+ known investments. Many early angel investments made by Shana Fisher through High Line Venture Partners prior to Third Kind’s formal fund structure are included where Third Kind is credited as the investing entity. Years marked with ~ are approximate based on founding year proxies where exact investment dates were not confirmed.

In Their Own Words

“I understand the markets and products and technology from my background, but I don’t think that I evaluate them better than others. That’s not my competitive differentiation. When entrepreneurs come to me, they come with an idea and a product. No team, no traction. So, I evaluate the entrepreneur and the product. I’d like to think that I have a strong grasp of human psychology. I really try to understand what great entrepreneurs have in them, and I look for the ones who have it.” — Shana Fisher, as quoted by Ben Horowitz, Andreessen Horowitz blog, November 2013 5

“Raise money to get your company moving forward by any means necessary.” — Shana Fisher, Y Combinator Startup School New York, 2014 16

“Take as much time as possible to make your product perfect.” — Shana Fisher, Y Combinator Startup School New York, 2014 16

“You control your destiny when you control money!” — Shana Fisher, Y Combinator Startup School New York, 2014 16

What Founders Say

No independently sourced founder testimonials found. Ben Horowitz of Andreessen Horowitz wrote in 2013: “In talking to the many entrepreneurs that we have in common, Shana definitely helps them become great. So much so that she is their first request as a new board member” 5. This is a secondhand characterization from an investor colleague rather than a direct founder statement.

Sources

  1. Crunchbase, “Third Kind Venture Capital Company Profile,” accessed March 2026. https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/high-line-venture-partners↩↩↩↩

  2. SEC IAPD, “Third Kind Venture Capital — Investment Adviser Firm Summary,” accessed March 2026. https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/28809↩

  3. Golden, “Third Kind Venture Capital,” accessed March 2026. https://golden.com/wiki/Third_Kind_Venture_Capital-R9EXP45↩↩↩↩↩↩

  4. F4 Fund, “Third Kind Venture Capital — Investment Thesis,” accessed March 2026. https://f4.fund/firms/third-kind-venture-capital↩↩↩↩

  5. Ben Horowitz, “The Shana Fisher Competitive Advantage,” Andreessen Horowitz blog, November 2013. https://a16z.com/the-shana-fisher-competitive-advantage/↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩

  6. Josh Constine, “Pinterest, Stripe And MakerBot Investor Shana Fisher Joins A16Z As A Board Partner,” TechCrunch, November 20, 2013. https://techcrunch.com/2013/11/20/pinterest-stripe-and-makerbot-investor-shana-fisher-joins-a16z-as-a-board-partner/↩↩↩↩↩↩

  7. Arete Index, “Shana Fisher — Investor Profile,” accessed March 2026. https://www.areteindex.com/angels/shana-fisher/↩↩↩↩↩

  8. VatorNews, “Shana Fisher joins Andreessen Horowitz as board member,” November 20, 2013. https://vator.tv/2013-11-20-shana-fisher-joins-andreessen-horowitz-as-board-member/↩

  9. Crunchbase, “Alex Binkley — Person Profile,” accessed March 2026. https://www.crunchbase.com/person/alex-binkley↩

  10. PitchBook, “Third Kind raises $44.3M fund,” accessed March 2026. https://pitchbook.com/newsletter/third-kind-raises-443m-fund↩

  11. Gilion VC Mapping, “Third Kind Venture Capital — Info, Investments & Portfolio,” accessed March 2026. https://vc-mapping.gilion.com/vc-firms/third-kind-venture-capital↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩

  12. VCSheet, “Third Kind Venture Capital — VC Fund Breakdown,” accessed March 2026. https://www.vcsheet.com/fund/third-kind-venture-capital↩↩↩↩

  13. Pulse2, “Era: $6.2 Million (Seed) Raised For AI-Based Financial Intelligence Platform,” February 2025. https://pulse2.com/era-6-2-million-seed-raised-for-ai-based-financial-intelligence-platform/↩↩

  14. Crypto-Fundraising, “Third Kind Venture Capital (3kvc) — Web3 Venture Capital Portfolio,” accessed March 2026. https://crypto-fundraising.info/funds/third-kind-venture-capital-3kvc/↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩

  15. Signal by NFX, “Shana Fisher’s Investing Profile,” accessed March 2026. https://signal.nfx.com/investors/shana-fisher↩↩↩

  16. Strength in Business, “Early-Stage Entrepreneurial Lessons From Shana Fisher,” accessed March 2026. https://www.strengthinbusiness.com/early-stage-entrepreneurial-lessons-shana-fisher/↩↩↩