Kearny Jackson

Kearny Jackson Research Document Investment Thesis Kearny Jackson is an early-stage venture capital firm specializing in ambitious technology founders building the next generation of B2B companies. The fund's core thesis is partnered with the bold to create timeless companies. Founded in 2018 by Sunil Chhaya and Sriram Krishnan, the firm positions itself as both day-zero company builders and seasoned boardroom investors, blending hands-on operator experience from companies like Spotify and Tinder with institutional VC expertise. The fund seeks founders with exceptional clarity of vision and conviction who are building transformative technology products. They explicitly target founders who are product-first, technically deep, and driven by an internal spark—that moment when a founder becomes so obsessed with solving a problem that bringing it to life becomes the only path forward. Sunil Chhaya articulates this philosophy clearly: "I look for the same spark that founders look for when they start a company, which is that moment when you start to dream about a possible product or experience. It torments you to the point where the only way forward is to bring it to life." The fund's approach emphasizes hands-on partnership, particularly in early stages. They position themselves as "trusted advisors" supporting founders through every stage of the company's journey, drawing on deep industry networks developed through years of participation in breakout successes including Gong, New Relic, and Wavefront. Sector Focus Kearny Jackson maintains a diversified but focused investment approach across three primary sectors: Enterprise Software (SaaS) - Including collaborative design tools (Figma), revenue intelligence (Gong), management platforms (Notion), finance management (Monarch Money), and operating systems for teams (Rhythms). The fund targets companies solving critical pain points in productivity, finance, and team operations. Infrastructure & Developer Tools - Including observability platforms (Cortex), data infrastructure (MotherDuck, Localstack), incident response systems (Incident.io), thermal management (Akash Systems), and other foundational systems enabling developer productivity and system reliability. Fintech & Embedded Finance - Including embedded finance platforms (Unit, Array), spend management (Airbase - acquired by Paylocity), personal finance management (Monarch Money), fraud prevention (FrankieOne), and solutions for financial inclusion (Khatabook - serving MSMEs in emerging markets). The portfolio demonstrates secondary interest in: AI-powered tools (Genesis Computing with $5M seed led by Kearny Jackson in March 2025, CodeReview.ai in their pipeline) No-code/design platforms (Framer, QueryPal) Media and entertainment technology (reflected in early portfolio participation in companies like Sorare) The fund explicitly avoids consumer-focused startups, focusing entirely on B2B business models with enterprise or developer/infrastructure value propositions. Stage Focus Kearny Jackson is a dedicated early-stage investor with primary focus on pre-seed and seed investments. The fund explicitly targets companies at the moment of conception or with early working products and initial traction. Stage Preferences: Pre-Seed: Concept stage companies with founding teams and problem clarity Seed: Early product-market validation with initial customers or users Series A: Selective participation in follow-ons of portfolio companies demonstrating strong product-market fit Recent activity shows active deployment at both pre-seed and seed stages, with occasional Series A participation (e.g., Sandstone's $10M seed round led by Sequoia with Kearny Jackson participation in Jan 2026, co-leading Genesis Computing's $5M seed round in March 2025). Check Size Based on public filings and recent disclosed investments, Kearny Jackson writes initial checks in the following range: Pre-Seed: $250K-$1M Seed: $1M-$5M (typical: $1.5M with target 6-10% ownership) Series A follow-ons: Variable, typically $2M-$5M Overall check size range: $100K-$5M across all stages, with most common investments in the $1M-$3M range at seed stage. The fund targets 6-10% ownership stakes in companies, positioning them as significant stakeholders in early-stage rounds. Lead Tendency Kearny Jackson demonstrates a clear lead tendency in seed-stage investments. Analysis of recent portfolio activity shows: Leadership: Fund leads or co-leads most seed and pre-seed rounds ($1M-$5M typical) Participation: Occasional participation in larger Series A rounds led by other top-tier investors (Sequoia, Bain Ventures) Conviction-Based Approach: Partnership model suggests lead investor positioning with operational involvement rather than passive participation Recent examples confirm lead positioning: Led $5M seed in Genesis Computing (March 2025) Led $10M seed in Sandstone (January 2026, co-lead with Sequoia) Regular lead positions in pre-seed/seed investments documented in website portfolio Recent Activity Kearny Jackson is in active deployment from Fund III ($65M, closed July 2024, exceeding $60M target). The fund demonstrates consistent investment velocity with approximately 8-10 annual investments documented across 2024-2026 period. Recent Notable Investments (2025-2026): January 2026: Co-led $10M seed in Sandstone (AI-powered financial forecasting) with Sequoia Capital, SV Angel, Webb Investment Network March 2025: Led $5M seed in Genesis Computing (autonomous AI agents for enterprise) with Snowflake Ventures and Bob Muglia participating Late 2024/Early 2025: Multiple seed-stage investments in portfolio companies demonstrated on website Fund Status: Actively deploying from Fund III with consistent deal flow and announcement velocity. No indication of fundraising pause or fund closure - fund appears to be in prime deployment mode with 2-3+ years remaining in investment period. Historical Fund Performance: Fund II ($14M, closed 2023) backed by Sequoia Capital and Bain Ventures Fund I participating in companies like Goldcast (Series A in 2022) Cumulative portfolio includes 40+ companies with demonstrated exits (Airbase to Paylocity, Datakin to Astronomer, Opstrace to Gitlab) Portfolio Highlights Disclosed Portfolio: 40+ Active Companies The portfolio demonstrates exceptional breadth across enterprise SaaS, infrastructure, and fintech verticals: Notable Unicorn/Breakout Companies: Figma - Design collaboration platform (private, high valuation) Gong - Revenue intelligence platform (publicly traded, IPO exit) Khatabook - Digital solutions for Indian MSMEs (major emerging market win) Notion - All-in-one workspace (major category winner) Eventbrite - Event management platform (major marketplace) Vimeo - Video platform (publicly traded) Acquired Companies: Airbase - Acquired by Paylocity (spend management) Datakin - Acquired by Astronomer (data lineage) Opstrace - Acquired by Gitlab (observability) Active Portfolio (Recent Years): Genesis Computing - AI agents for enterprises ($5M seed, Series A likely) Sandstone - AI financial forecasting ($10M seed, Jan 2026) Cortex - Incident response platform MotherDuck - Data infrastructure Monarch Money - Personal finance management Localstack - AWS development environment FrankieOne - Fraud prevention and onboarding Incident.io - On-call and incident response Akash Systems - Thermal management Unit - Embedded finance platform Array - Embedded finance platform Comulate - Broker revenue platform Rhythms - Operating system for teams Framer - No-code design platform QueryPal - AI-powered support SafetyCLI - Python dependency scanning And 20+ additional companies across infrastructure, SaaS, and fintech Portfolio Themes: Strong focus on B2B SaaS solving critical business problems Infrastructure and developer tools concentrated in observability, data, and cloud tooling Fintech emphasis on emerging market financial inclusion and embedded finance Demonstrated success with "category creation" companies (Figma, Gong, Notion) Multiple exits through strategic acquisition and public markets Team Core Partners: Sunil Chhaya - Co-Founder & General Partner Background: Global upbringing (India → Kenya → France → Europe → US) with demonstrated product-first mentality Career: Began venture capital career at age 23, mentored by prolific investors many of whom now back the fund Expertise: Early-stage investment, company scaling, board participation Track Record: Worked closely with companies including Gong, New Relic, and Wavefront from early stages through exits Philosophy: "I look for the same spark that founders look for when they start a company...the moment when you start to dream about a possible product or experience" Sriram Krishnan - Co-Founder & General Partner Background: Deep experience in growth-stage venture and operator expertise from Spotify, Tinder Expertise: Growth strategy, founder coaching, go-to-market advisory Active in public discourse on VC, startups, and technology trends (maintains Substack newsletter) Network: Connected to broader VC ecosystem and technology leaders Supporting Team: Additional investment professionals and operational staff supporting deal sourcing, evaluation, and portfolio company support Team structure suggests dedicated founder support and operational involvement capability Team Strengths: Deep industry networks from Spotify, Tinder, and portfolio companies Hands-on operator experience combined with institutional VC background Multi-continent perspective with global founder relationships Technical depth and product understanding Strong founder empathy and coaching orientation Decision Process Based on public positioning and team structure, Kearny Jackson uses a partnership decision model : Decision Structure: Two co-GPs (Sunil Chhaya and Sriram Krishnan) make primary investment decisions with collaborative review Speed: Fund positions itself as "fast, scrappy" investors - typical deal timelines appear to be 2-4 weeks for seed-stage companies Conviction vs. Data: Investment thesis emphasizes conviction and founder spark over data-driven decision-making Warm Introduction: Warm introductions preferred, though direct outreach possible The firm's public communications ("we partner closely," "trusted advisors") suggest regular partnership model with lead investors maintaining board involvement and advisory relationships through company lifecycle. Geographic Focus Primary Focus: United States (San Francisco Bay Area headquarters with national reach) Secondary Markets: Select international markets (emerging markets interest demonstrated through Khatabook investment in India) Portfolio concentration primarily in US-based companies Founder nationality/background secondary to problem being solved Expansion Potential: Global founder network evident, but explicit geographic concentration in US venture ecosystem. Founder Preferences Kearny Jackson explicitly seeks founders matching the following profile: Required Characteristics: Obsessive about their problem: Must demonstrate the spark/torment of a compelling vision they must bring to life Technical depth: Particularly values technically-founded teams for infrastructure, SaaS, and fintech Product-first mentality: Deep focus on building excellent products, not just raising capital Ambitious vision: Building "timeless companies" and category-defining products B2B focus: Explicit preference for business-to-business business models over consumer Preferred Background: Founders with experience at scale-ups or hyperscalers (implied through portfolio quality) Career transitions from operator roles (as evidenced by GP backgrounds) Multi-disciplinary thinking combining technical depth with business acumen Anti-Profile: Consumer-only businesses (explicit focus on B2B) Financial engineering or arbitrage plays (seek genuine innovation) Founder commitment concerns Co-Investor Network Regular co-investors and syndication partners include: Sequoia Capital - Co-leads major seed rounds Bain Ventures - Fund II investor Marc Andreessen - Fund II/III backer SV Angel - Co-investor in recent rounds Snowflake Ventures - Portfolio company supporter Mantis Venture Capital - Emerging co-investor relationship a16z - Secondary relationship The fund's ability to attract top-tier co-investors (Sequoia, Marc Andreessen) suggests strong brand positioning and deal quality in the market. Investment Thesis Summary "The first investor for ambitious and relentless technology founders" building transformative B2B companies. Kearny Jackson partners with founders at the moment of greatest conviction and product clarity, providing capital ($1-5M typical), strategic guidance, founder coaching, and access to deep networks. The fund prioritizes founder-investor alignment and long-term partnership over financial engineering, explicitly targeting companies that will reshape their categories.