Scott Stanford

Background

Scott Stanford is the Co-Founder and Partner of ACME Capital, an early-stage venture firm based in San Francisco (with Stanford relocating to Los Angeles) ¹. He has been focused on the internet and technology sector for over 25 years as an advisor, operator, and investor ¹.

Stanford grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana, where he taught himself to program at age 13, built and operated a dial-up BBS, taught computer courses, and started a personal computer consulting business ². He attended Harvard College, earning an A.B. with Honors in Social Studies, and then Harvard Business School for his MBA (1996–1998) ². During business school, he coded prototype applications for two startup ideas and spent a summer as an Associate at General Atlantic Partners focused on technology venture capital ².

His career at Goldman Sachs began in the Fixed Income Group (1993–1995) in New York, where he developed software applications and structured interest rate derivatives for municipal clients ³. He transitioned into the Technology, Media, and Telecommunications Investment Banking Group before pursuing his MBA ³. From 1999 to 2004, Stanford was an early employee at LookSmart, helping build the company from startup to a NASDAQ-listed public company ². He rejoined Goldman Sachs in 2004, spending 12 years as co-head of Goldman Sachs’s Global Internet Investment Banking business in San Francisco, where he advised on over $80 billion in equity and debt financings and strategic transactions for clients including Facebook, Uber, Google, Airbnb, Zillow, LinkedIn, Palantir, Square, DST/Mail.ru, Demand Media, and iCrossing ¹².

In March 2013, Stanford co-founded Sherpa Capital (initially called SherpaVentures) with Shervin Pishevar ⁴. Sherpa closed its first fund at $154 million in July 2014 ⁵, and in 2016 raised $470 million across two vehicles: Sherpa Ventures Fund II ($172 million, early-stage) and Sherpa Everest Fund ($298 million, mid-stage) ⁶. The firm invested in Uber, Airbnb, SpaceX, Shyp, Munchery, Zendrive, Cue Health, Doctor On Demand, and quip, among others ⁴⁷.

In December 2017, co-founder Shervin Pishevar resigned from Sherpa Capital following multiple sexual misconduct allegations ⁸. Stanford continued to manage the firm and, in 2018–2019, restructured it as ACME Capital, bringing in Hany Nada—a co-founder of GGV Capital—as a new partner ⁹. ACME raised Fund III at $181 million in 2019, and in February 2022 announced the close of two additional vehicles: a $240 million early-stage Fund IV and a $60 million Opportunity Fund, totaling over $300 million ¹⁰¹¹.

Stanford also co-founded Silicon Foundry, a corporate innovation advisory firm ¹. He has served on the board of directors of Astra Space ¹².

Stated Thesis

(Self-reported: These represent what Stanford says publicly about his investment approach. See Inferred Thesis for analysis of actual investment behavior.)

Stanford describes ACME’s investment focus as “scale transformation”: “solving massive challenges, with technology breakthroughs and novel approaches, that aim to benefit society, whether that’s space exploration, quantum computing, medical diagnostics, financial access, or flexible childcare” ¹⁰.

On founder partnership, Stanford has stated: “We dare our founders to dream big and swing hard, promising them impactful value-add and to be their trusted partner at every step of their journey, from ideation to IPO.” ¹⁰

Stanford describes ACME’s sweet spot as “late seed, Series A,” with check sizes from $1 million to $15 million, typically targeting $5 million to $10 million and taking a board seat ¹¹. He frames their approach as an “off-Broadway strategy”—investing across a wide variety of sectors rather than narrowing to one domain ¹¹.

On risk philosophy, Stanford has said that roughly 40% of early-stage investments should fail—if fewer fail, the fund isn’t taking sufficient risk—and that ACME targets “a pretty believable path to a 10x return” ¹³.

On founder selection, Stanford looks for founders with genuine passion for technology, describing his team as “technologists, geeks at heart.” He is deliberate about not completing founders’ sentences during pitches, emphasizing that ideas must originate from the founders themselves ¹³.

On technology and society, Stanford emphasizes what he calls “enlightened tech”—balancing innovation benefits against labor displacement concerns—and advocates for broader societal dialogue about technology rather than regulatory hostility that he argues drives innovation offshore ¹³.

Stanford has also described the core investment test as: does this company sit at the intersection of “disruption at the core” (disruptive business model) and “disruptive technology”—avoiding incremental improvements ¹³.

Inferred Thesis

Based on 20 verified investments across Sherpa Capital and ACME Capital eras, publicly confirmed via press releases, Crunchbase, and firm announcements. Sample size is limited; ACME reports 127+ total investments; this table covers ~16% of the known portfolio. Patterns are directional, not statistically definitive.

Sector distribution (20 verified investments): - Healthtech / digital health: 6 of 20 (30%) — Cue Health, Doctor On Demand, Tia, Brightside Health, Carrot Fertility, Canopy - Deep tech / aerospace / quantum: 4 of 20 (20%) — IonQ, Astra, Muon Space, Sphere Semi - Fintech / consumer finance: 3 of 20 (15%) — Robinhood, DraftKings, Forte (blockchain gaming/fintech) - Consumer: 3 of 20 (15%) — quip, Airbnb, Uber - Enterprise / SaaS: 3 of 20 (15%) — OpenGov, Laurel, Braintrust - Web3 / crypto: 2 of 20 (10%) — Braintrust (token), Forte

Stage distribution: Predominantly seed and Series A (stated sweet spot). Sherpa-era investments skew later (Series B/C follow-ons in Uber, Airbnb). ACME-era investments are concentrated at seed and Series A for new entries, with the firm writing follow-on checks into growth rounds of existing portfolio companies.

Check size: Stated $5M–$10M target for initial check; full range $1M–$15M; the firm has also led or co-led rounds as large as $36.5M (Laurel Series B) and $50M (Brightside Health Series B) in later follow-on positions ¹⁴¹⁵.

Geography: Primarily San Francisco Bay Area and New York-based companies, with LA ecosystem interest (Stanford is based in LA) ¹³.

Founder profile patterns: Strong preference for technical founders or those with deep domain expertise. Notable pattern of investing in founders building in regulated industries (healthcare, finance, government tech, aerospace), where Stanford’s Goldman Sachs network in enterprise partnerships is a stated value-add ¹². The firm has publicly committed to diverse founding teams: 60% of ACME investments have been in companies with at least one non-male and/or non-white founder, as stated in the 2022 fund announcement ¹¹.

Co-investor patterns: Frequent co-investors include Andreessen Horowitz (IonQ, Forte), Samsung Catalyst Fund (IonQ), Threshold Ventures (Tia), Anthos Capital (Laurel), Mousse Partners (Brightside Health), Griffin Gaming Partners (Forte), XL Innovate (Zendrive) ^1617141518.

Notable patterns not in stated thesis: Sherpa-era portfolio (Shyp, Munchery, Beepi, Storehouse) included several on-demand logistics/delivery companies that subsequently shut down, suggesting a strong on-demand thesis that did not persist into ACME era. ACME-era portfolio shows a marked shift toward deep tech (quantum, aerospace, defense), digital health, and web3—sectors largely absent from Sherpa’s public-facing positioning.

Portfolio

Sources are footnote references; all entries confirmed via press releases, firm announcements, or database records.

Note: This table represents approximately 16% of ACME’s reported portfolio. Uber, Airbnb, and Robinhood were invested in during or before the ACME/Sherpa period; the precise ACME-entity investment vehicle may differ from the Sherpa-entity vehicle. Years marked “~” are approximate based on available sources.

In Their Own Words

On investment criteria and ACME’s mission:

“Scale transformation is our cornerstone investment criteria: solving massive challenges, with technology breakthroughs and novel approaches, that aim to benefit society, whether that’s space exploration, quantum computing, medical diagnostics, financial access, or flexible childcare.” ¹⁰

On founder partnership and support:

“We dare our founders to dream big and swing hard, promising them impactful value-add and to be their trusted partner at every step of their journey, from ideation to IPO.” ¹⁰

On why Laurel (then Time by Ping) fit ACME’s thesis:

“The most disruptive companies change the way we live, learn, and work. With time automation, TBP has the potential to measure, analyze, and unlock the most valuable non-renewable resource in the universe.” ¹⁴

On early-stage risk philosophy (LA Venture podcast, December 2020 — paraphrased from podcast summary; transcript not publicly available):

Stanford has explained that roughly 40% of early-stage investments should fail—if fewer fail, the fund isn’t taking sufficient risk—and that ACME targets “a pretty believable path to a 10x return” ¹³.

On the investment decision framework (LA Venture podcast, December 2020 — paraphrased):

Stanford has described ACME’s focus as companies at the intersection of “disruption at the core” (disruptive business model) and disruptive technology, particularly avoiding incremental improvements ¹³.

On moving fast for founders (LA Venture podcast, December 2020 — paraphrased):

Stanford has described ACME’s speed: the firm can produce a “term sheet out overnight if needed” and requires only two partners advocating for an investment to proceed ¹³.

On technology and society (LA Venture podcast, December 2020 — paraphrased):

Stanford advocates for what he calls “enlightened tech”—balancing innovation benefits against labor displacement concerns—and has argued that regulatory hostility drives innovation offshore ¹³.

What Founders Say

Carolyn Witte, CEO of Tia (women’s health platform, ACME portfolio company), on working with the ACME team:

“From the beginning–even before they invested–the ACME team, especially Aike, has been a friend of Tia, following our company closely and always there to offer helpful counsel.” ²⁷

“I have particularly benefited from Aike and Stanford’s willingness to roll up their sleeves and help us navigate complex business decisions, such as structuring financial deals with health systems.” ²⁷

Jonathan Dyer, founder of Muon Space (aerospace, ACME portfolio company), on ACME’s involvement:

ACME demonstrates involvement “in good times and bad,” offering strategic guidance on regulatory matters, customer connections, and market insights that exceed the financial investment alone. ²⁸

Note: Direct founder quotes specifically about Scott Stanford (as opposed to the broader ACME team) are limited in publicly available sources. The Tia quote references both Aike Ho and Stanford. Additional founder testimonials may exist in non-public or paywalled sources.

Connections

• Board member, Astra Space — Scott Stanford served on the board of directors of Astra Space following ACME Capital’s early investment ¹²
• Co-founder, Sherpa Capital (2013–2018) — alongside Shervin Pishevar; the firm invested in Uber, Airbnb, SpaceX, Shyp, Munchery, and Zendrive ⁴
• Co-founder, Silicon Foundry — corporate innovation advisory firm co-founded alongside Sherpa Capital ¹
• Co-founder, ACME Capital — alongside Hany Nada (formerly co-founder of GGV Capital) ⁹
• Former Goldman Sachs (1993–1995, 2004–2016) — 12 years co-heading Global Internet Investment Banking; advised Facebook, Google, Uber, LinkedIn, Palantir, Square ¹
• Frequent co-investors: Andreessen Horowitz, Samsung Catalyst Fund, Threshold Ventures, Anthos Capital, Mousse Partners, Griffin Gaming Partners, XL Innovate ^1614151817

Sources