Picks & Shovels

Santa Monica, California · Invests in US · Website

Check size

Pre-Seed Seed B2B SaaS Developer Tools Fintech Crypto & Web3Fintech & PaymentsDeveloper Tools & Infrastructure

Thesis

Invest in picks and shovels - infrastructure, tools, and platforms that enable entrepreneurs to build and own vertical markets. Focus on founders with expert customer understanding, clear market gaps, and obsessive customer engagement.

Likely not a fit for

No consumer apps without infrastructure positioning. No non-technical founders. No businesses without clear picks-and-shovels characteristics. No businesses without identified market gaps.

How they invest

Lead or follow: Usually leads
Typical decision: ~1 week
Warm intro: Not required
Involvement: Advisor
Fund status: Actively deploying
Decision process: Solo GP

Partners & team

1 contact on file

Josh Schlisserman

General PartnerGeneral Partner · Primary contact

+ Pitch

j•••@pi•••.com

LinkedIn profile

X profile

Portfolio

Ion ProtocolFintech Payments

Ion Protocol is a price-agnostic lending platform built to support staked and restaked assets. It allows users to participate in lending markets of all kinds, ranging from leveraged staking yields to points multiplier pools and more.

SkipDeveloper Tools Infra

Skip builds tools for sovereign communities, providing infrastructure for cross-chain control flow and multi-domain interactions.

OlympixSecurity Cyber

Olympix provides proactive security tools for Web3, focusing on automated, pre-deployment security infrastructure for smart contracts to enhance safety and efficiency for developers.

AnonDeveloper Tools Infra

Anon is an AI integration platform focusing on enabling developer-permissioned integrations for sites without APIs.

Assistiv LabsEnterprise Software

Assistiv Labs provides tools for web developers and accessibility specialists to test and validate web accessibility using real assistive technologies like screen readers and magnifiers, enabling a more inclusive web experience.

CedarHealthcare Digital

Cedar is an AI-powered platform that enhances the financial experience in healthcare, connecting patients, providers, and payers to improve payment processes and reduce costs.

ConcreteManufacturing Industrial

Concrete services provider specializing in driveway repair, foundation work, and commercial projects in Houston, Texas.

DaydreamEcommerce Marketplaces

Daydream is a personal fashion AI shopping agent that helps users discover and shop from over 10,000 brands using AI-powered technology. It offers tailored fashion recommendations for various occasions and styles, enhancing the online shopping experience.

EventualEnterprise Software

Eventual is building a multimodal data platform for AI systems from the ground up, designed to tackle the challenges of working with traditional data engineering and analytics alongside modern ML/AI workloads.

Glowstick

LitvueLegal Regtech

Litvue helps top litigators find critical case data across millions of documents using advanced AI technology.

Masava

Recent activity

Ion Protocol
Series A · Participated
Oct 2025

Picks & Shovels in the news

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Research briefRead more

Picks and Shovels Research Investment Thesis Picks and Shovels is a solo-GP early-stage venture fund founded in 2022 by Josh Schlisserman. The firm's investment philosophy is rooted in a simple yet powerful metaphor: they invest in the picks and shovels (infrastructure and tools) that enable entrepreneurs to build and own vertical markets. Rather than betting on the gold miners themselves, Picks a…