# Max Heald

> Max Heald is an investor at Boldstart Ventures, the enterprise-first seed firm behind Snyk, BigID, and Tessl. Based in Miami and steeped in the early-stage game since his days at Union Square Ventures, Heald zeroes in on developer-first infrastructure, AI-native tooling, and the emerging protocols he describes as 'toll roads for the internet.' He came up through Phillips Exeter and Northwestern, cut his teeth analyzing board decks at USV, and has since backed and advised founders building the unglamorous but essential plumbing of the modern internet.

- **Role:** Investor at Boldstart Ventures
- **Organizations:** Boldstart Ventures, Union Square Ventures
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** High School, Phillips Exeter Academy, Bachelor of Arts (Radio/TV/Film, English, Entrepreneurship), Northwestern University
- **Known for:** Part of Boldstart Ventures team that backed Snyk, one of the most successful developer security companies, Published influential piece '6 Ways Great Companies Use Board Decks to Their Advantage' at USV, Contributed to Boldstart's growth from $157M AUM to one of the leading enterprise seed funds

## Career timeline

- **Pre-2017** — Graduated Northwestern University; attended Phillips Exeter Academy
- **2017** — Interned at Union Square Ventures; published 'How Great Companies Use Board Decks'
- **2017** — Joined Boldstart Ventures as analyst
- **2018** — Published 'Cold Emails' on Medium; developed angel investing and consulting practice
- **2019-2022** — Worked closely with Livepeer and Ceramic on go-to-market, grants, and community architecture
- **2023-2024** — Joined Boldstart as founder-in-residence; expanded investment focus to AI-native software development
- **2024** — Involved in Boldstart's seed investment in Tessl ($25M seed led by Boldstart and GV)
- **2025-2026** — Based in Miami, FL; active investor at Boldstart Ventures focusing on developer tools, AI, and infrastructure

## Achievements

- Part of Boldstart Ventures team that backed Snyk, one of the most successful developer security companies
- Published influential piece '6 Ways Great Companies Use Board Decks to Their Advantage' at USV
- Contributed to Boldstart's growth from $157M AUM to one of the leading enterprise seed funds
- Supported Livepeer and Ceramic in go-to-market and community architecture during early web3 infrastructure boom
- Part of Boldstart team involved in Tessl's $125M raise for AI-native software development

## Latest updates

- **2024-11** — Boldstart's portfolio company Tessl announced $125M raise (including $100M Series A led by Index Ventures) for AI-native software development platform
- **2024-04** — Tessl raised $25M seed led by Boldstart and GV, founded by Snyk's Guy Podjarny
- **2026-01** — Active investor at Boldstart Ventures, based in Miami FL, continuing focus on developer tools, AI infrastructure, and enterprise SaaS

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mheald/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/max_heald

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/max-heald
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-06