Lakehouse Ventures

Lakehouse Ventures Research Investment Thesis Lakehouse Ventures is a pre-seed venture capital firm founded in 2016 by John Neamonitis that partners with founders innovating the products, services, and software in everyday life. The fund believes that the entrepreneurs who have intimately felt the problem they are solving will create the things consumers want most. Lakehouse backs founders building from a place of insight and passion, with a focus on solving urgent, everyday problems that affect consumer and business users. The firm takes a conviction-based approach, making only a handful of investments per year. They position themselves as first institutional backers, taking board seats from the start and providing early-stage resources, network access, empathy and operational support needed to build important and sustainable businesses. The fund maintains an unusually high representation of women and diverse founders relative to fund size. Stage Focus Lakehouse Ventures focuses exclusively on pre-seed and seed investments: Primary stage : Pre-Seed Secondary stage : Seed Occasional follow-ons for existing portfolio companies The fund is typically the first institutional investor in their portfolio companies and actively takes board seats from investment. Check Size Typical investment range: $1M - $2M (lead checks) Some investments as low as $250K for pre-seed Reported range on VCSheet: $100K - $1M Stated typical: $1M-$2M for lead rounds The fund leads equity financing rounds, preferring to establish board presence and control. Lead Tendency Leads : Lakehouse leads pre-seed rounds as first institutional investor. They take board seats and serve as lead investor in their portfolio companies. This is a core component of their strategy - they want to establish board presence from the earliest stage. Recent Activity Lakehouse Ventures maintains an actively deploying fund (Fund II appears to be the current fund) with steady pre-seed and seed investments: Recent Investments (2025): September 2025: Akari Sauna (wellness/sauna) 2025: Vycarb (climate/carbon) 2025: Keeper (hiring/recruiting - co-led with Lightbank, $4M pre-seed) 2025: Brij (QR analytics platform) 2025: Habitat for Humanity (real estate) 2025: Twynam Agricultural Group (agriculture) Fund Status : Actively deploying from Fund II Portfolio Size : 35+ total investments to date (as of September 2025) Portfolio Highlights Lakehouse has invested in a highly diverse range of problem-solving companies across consumer, healthcare, fintech, hardware, and software sectors: Consumer & Lifestyle: Billie (women's personal care razors) Myro (refillable personal care) HopWtr (non-alcoholic beer) Dirty Lemon (functional beverages) Kosterina (premium olive oil) Smalls (premium cat food) Experiment (skin care essentials) Healthcare & Wellness: Aurie (reusable catheter system) Base (at-home blood testing) Bobbie (organic infant formula) M7 Health (nurse scheduling software) Mavida Health (mental health for moms) Wavelength (behavioral therapy for weight loss) Guaranteed (hospice care) Financial & Consumer Finance: Aura (wealth management and money coaching) Klutch (customizable credit card) Harvest (consumer finance for reducing debt) Rhino (security deposit insurance) Software & Tools: EdSights (retention software for higher ed) Courted (recruiting software for real estate) Brij (QR code analytics) Knaq (remote monitoring software for elevators) Liftoff (recruiting platform - emerging from stealth with 100+ company users) Ours Privacy (HIPAA-compliant marketing/analytics) Other: Breed Science (weight loss for dogs) Kingdom Superculture (food ingredients from microbes) Airsign (design and sustainability) Two Front (end-to-end orthodontic care) Team Leadership: John Neamonitis, Founder & General Partner : Founded Lakehouse in 2016. Makes investment decisions and takes board seats at portfolio companies. Emma Sokoloff, Venture Partner : Operational support and founder relationships Isaac Friedman-Heiman, Venture Partner : Deal sourcing and evaluation Derek Flanzraich, Venture Partner : Strategic advisor with healthcare/consumer expertise Will Berkowitz, Operating Partner : Provides operational support to portfolio companies Katherine Rice, Advisor : External advisor Andy Katz, Advisor : External advisor Team size: Approximately 12 people across core and operational roles Geographic Focus Primarily United States , with strong roots in New York/Brooklyn where the firm is based. Portfolio reflects both US coasts and selective midwest presence, but no stated international focus. Decision Process Type : Solo GP (John Neamonitis) with partnership structure (Emma, Isaac, Derek as venture partners) Decision Timeline : Not explicitly stated, but given pre-seed focus and board seat taking, likely 2-4 weeks for closing Warm Intro : Recommended - firm operates through network and personal relationships given conviction-based approach Investment Criteria What they fund: Founders solving urgent, everyday problems they've personally experienced Products, services, and software that affect daily life Companies with potential to define their category Problem-first founders with deep insight into their market Teams with diverse perspectives and backgrounds What they avoid: Not explicitly stated, but portfolio skews toward tangible, consumer-facing problems Founder Preferences Lakehouse backs founders who: Have intimately felt the problem they're solving Build from passion and insight rather than market opportunity alone Are committed to creating important and sustainable businesses Bring diverse perspectives and experiences Value board partnership and early institutional support The fund has an unusually high share of women and diverse founders for its size, suggesting an active commitment to founder diversity. Operational Support Beyond capital, Lakehouse provides: Early stage resources and mentorship Board seat and active governance Access to operator-partner network (rather than traditional VC network) Empathy-based support and founder partnerships Will Berkowitz's operating partner role suggests active portfolio support Geographic and Sector Breadth Portfolio spans: Consumer goods : Personal care, food, beverages Healthcare : Medical devices, mental health, wellness Fintech : Payment, lending, wealth management Enterprise software : Healthcare tech, real estate tech, higher ed tech Hardware/IoT : Elevator monitoring, medical devices Climate : Carbon tech This diversity suggests Lakehouse's core thesis is about solving everyday problems rather than betting on specific sectors or technologies. Notable Characteristics Conviction-based : Only handful of investments per year (vs 30-50 for typical pre-seed funds) Board-focused : Takes board seats from day one NYC-rooted : Strong presence in New York startup ecosystem despite investing nationally Founder-first : No hostile founder replacements; built on trust and partnership Diversity-focused : Unusual concentration of women and underrepresented founder backing Problem-focused : Less interest in AI/crypto trends, more in solving real problems Fund Evolution Founded 2016, now on Fund II with successful deployment track record. Strong exit potential given portfolio breadth and stage focus - typical pre-seed outcomes: Series A in 12-24 months.