# Audacious Ventures

> Audacious Ventures is a San Francisco venture firm founded by Nakul Mandan in April 2020. It backs pre-seed and seed technology companies and runs recruiting searches for its portfolio, alongside support for go-to-market planning and subsequent fundraising. Its second fund, announced in April 2024, was $150 million.

- **Founded:** 2020
- **Headquarters:** San Francisco, United States
- **Founders:** Nakul Mandan (Founder & Partner)
- **Products:** Pre-seed and seed venture investment, Portfolio recruiting, Go-to-market support, Follow-on fundraising support, Seed to Series A Operating Plan
- **Notable:** Announced a $150 million second fund on April 4, 2024., Reported 36 portfolio hires during its first three years of investing, as of April 2024., Published a reusable Seed to Series A Operating Plan in September 2024.

## Products & services

- **Pre-seed and seed venture investment** — Early-stage capital for technology founders, with a broad B2B portfolio. The firm leads or co-leads rounds.
- **Portfolio recruiting** — Role definition, proactive candidate sourcing, engagement, pre-screening and support through hiring for engineering and go-to-market roles. The firm describes targeting 150+ candidates per role.
- **Go-to-market support** — Sales and marketing advisor network and operating guidance for moving beyond founder-led sales.
- **Follow-on fundraising support** — Introductions to later-stage investors, narrative preparation and relationship building ahead of a raise.
- **Seed to Series A Operating Plan** — Public spreadsheet connecting growth targets, sales hiring, operating expenses and runway; a customizable framework rather than a prescribed forecast.
- **Knuckle Up with Nakul** — Public interviews about company building, hiring, culture and founder leadership.

## Achievements

- Announced a $150 million second fund on April 4, 2024.
- Reported 36 portfolio hires during its first three years of investing, as of April 2024.
- Published a reusable Seed to Series A Operating Plan in September 2024.
- Current portfolio includes WorkOS, Reflection AI, Decagon and Maxima; inclusion does not establish investment returns.

## Latest updates

- **2025-02** — Published a detailed analysis of common recruiting mistakes.
- **2025-03** — Samantha Price published her framework for timing offers around mutual conviction.
- **2025-08** — Advertised an Applied AI Engineer role to build internal investing and recruiting automations.
- **2026-03** — Management company filed its annual Form ADV amendment on March 27; its principal office is listed at 215 Second Street, San Francisco.

## Links

- Website: https://www.audacious.co/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/audaciousventures
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/audacioushq
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@KnuckleUpHQ

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/audacious-ventures
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-27