Yellow Rocks!

Yellow Rocks! Investment Firm Research Overview Yellow Rocks! is an early-stage venture capital fund based in San Francisco, CA with a secondary office in Lisbon, Portugal. The firm has been actively involved in the Global Innovation Ecosystem since 2013. It focuses on fast-growing technology companies founded by talented entrepreneurs aimed at global markets with the potential to skyrocket in the next 5–8 years. The firm describes its mission as building global bridges through billion-dollar talent. Investment Thesis Yellow Rocks! believes that brilliant founders can be found anywhere and maintains a geo-agnostic investment approach. The fund specifically seeks startups targeting the American and global markets, serving as a bridge-builder that helps emerging founders from around the world enter the US and international startup ecosystem. The firm's thesis centers on three core criteria: The right team — passionate, talented, and mission-driven founders The right product — clear market fit with defensible differentiation A billion-dollar+ addressable market Yellow Rocks! has been investing in AI since 2017 and has developed deep expertise across various AI application areas within their investment focus sectors. The firm describes itself as actively involved in the global innovation ecosystem and emphasizes its diverse network as a key differentiator. Stage Focus Yellow Rocks! primarily invests at the earliest stages of company formation: Pre-Seed : First institutional capital, often alongside co-investors Seed : Primary investment stage Series A follow-ons : Reserved for existing portfolio companies demonstrating strong growth The firm has developed a specialized "Pre-Seed To Succeed" (P2S) program — a dedicated investment initiative designed to help young companies raise their first funding round. P2S is explicitly not an accelerator but a direct investment vehicle, co-investing alongside I2BF Global Ventures, Smart Partnership Capital, and AltaIR Capital. Benefits include initial funding, personalized guidance from a founding partner, a 50% follow-on commitment for the next round, and warm introductions to the firm's global VC network. Sector Focus Yellow Rocks! focuses on four primary verticals: Future of Work — Workflow automation, collaborative software, productivity tools, solutions for async communications, B2B SaaS EdTech — Adult education, K-12 learning platforms, game-based learning, online course builders FinTech — Super apps, embedded finance, budgeting, wealthtech, regtech, crypto payment ecosystems Gaming — Mobile gaming, UGC platforms, social gaming networks Beyond these four, the portfolio evidences selective investments in OSINT/security tools, food delivery, proptech, and blockchain/DeFi — reflecting a pragmatic willingness to back exceptional founders even slightly outside stated verticals. Check Size Specific check size ranges are not publicly disclosed. Given the pre-seed and seed focus and the P2S program's positioning as a first-check vehicle, typical initial investments are estimated in the $100K–$500K range, with capacity for larger follow-ons at Series A for existing portfolio companies. Lead Tendency Yellow Rocks! participates both as lead and co-investor depending on the deal. The P2S program explicitly structures co-investments alongside multiple partner funds (I2BF, Smart Partnership Capital, AltaIR Capital), indicating a comfort with co-lead and participant roles. The firm has a wide network of co-investors including Sarona Partners, Group11, BBQ Capital, Indicator Ventures, S16VC, LETA.vc, Redseed VC, Flashpoint VC, Geek.vc, Acrobator.vc, Somersault VC, Big Sky Capital, AAL.vc, and Mount Fund. Geographic Focus Geo-agnostic. Portfolio spans companies from USA, UK, Switzerland, Cyprus, Israel, Philippines, Singapore, Poland, Chile, India, Mexico, Brazil, Indonesia, Australia, and Portugal. The firm is headquartered in San Francisco with a secondary presence in Lisbon. Team Sergei Bogdanov, Managing Partner — LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/sergeibogdanov/ Roman Beloded, Partner — LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/roman-beloded/ Valerie Bertele, Venture Partner — LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/valeriebertele/ Elena, Legal Partner — In-house legal expertise Sasha Polovinkina, Associate — LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/sashapolovinkina/ Anna Petrova, Head of Operations — LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/anna-petrova-367a2332a/ Slava M., Venture Partner — LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/slava-m-80760722/ Dmitrii Maslennikov, Venture Partner — LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dmitriymaslennikov/ Decision Process Partnership/committee-based decision-making. The firm typically takes 2–3 weeks to reach the term sheet stage and provides feedback within 1 week. Yellow Rocks! maintains an open-door policy and communicates deal status proactively throughout the process. Value-Add Capabilities Yellow Rocks! offers four distinct forms of value-add beyond capital: Fundraising — Help companies raise current and future rounds; warm introductions to VC funds and angel investors Network — Access to a global network of corporations, universities, startup hubs, and venture funds built since 2013 Expertise — Diverse experience across industries and geographies supporting operational decisions Hiring — Access to talent networks including developers and C-level executives Portfolio Overview Yellow Rocks! has built a global portfolio of 40+ companies across multiple sectors. Notable portfolio companies include: Chatfuel (chatfuel.com) — AI-powered operating system for service SMBs that sell through conversations Electroneek (electroneek.com) — Easy-to-use Robotic Process Automation platform Praktika.ai (praktika.ai) — Immersive language learning app with generative AI avatars SocialLinks.io (sociallinks.io) — Social media investigation and OSINT tools for security professionals Wirestock (wirestock.io) — Online stock platform for contributors to distribute images, videos, and vector files across multiple stock agencies GPU.audio (gpu.audio) — GPU-powered sound processing solutions NimbusWeb (nimbusweb.me) — End-to-End client collaboration and operations platform for professional services MegaMod (megamod.io) — Next-Gen Platform for Creating and Playing UGC Games Datuum.ai (datuum.ai) — Data Integration Platform & Automation Tool Resolve Rebates (resolvrebates.com) — Automating energy rebates with AI Plurio.ai (plurio.ai) — One AI agent for performance marketing growth XDAO (xdao.app) — DAO ecosystem for decentralized governance Hivello (hivello.com) — All-in-One DePIN Manager Jome (jome.com) — Marketplace for new construction homes The portfolio is geographically distributed across 15+ countries, consistent with the firm's geo-agnostic approach. Recent Activity Yellow Rocks! has been actively expanding its portfolio through both direct investments and the P2S program. The firm has published educational content for founders through its Medium blog covering topics including investor due diligence, NDA practices, team building, and AI trends. The P2S program, co-managed with I2BF Global Ventures, Smart Partnership Capital, and AltaIR Capital, represents an innovative co-investment structure targeting first-check companies.