Investors & Partners at Animal Capital

Dylann Sands

Partner, Animal Capital

Dylann Sands is a Partner at Animal Capital, a venture capital firm focused on identifying and supporting innovative companies across multiple sectors. With expertise spanning consumer technology, fintech, digital health, and artificial intelligence, Sands brings a strategic investment perspective to emerging market opportunities. His investment portfolio includes Whatnot, a notable platform reflecting his eye for consumer-focused ventures with significant growth potential. Based in the venture capital ecosystem, Sands is dedicated to backing founders and companies that demonstrate transformative potential in their respective domains. His multidisciplinary investment focus positions him at the intersection of consumer behavior, financial innovation, and emerging technologies, enabling him to identify companies poised for meaningful market impact.

Griffin Johnson

Co-Founder & Operating Partner, Animal Capital

Griffin Johnson is Co-Founder and Operating Partner at Animal Capital, a venture capital firm focused on identifying and supporting exceptional founders across consumer, fintech, digital health, and artificial intelligence sectors. With a strategic investment approach centered on these high-growth verticals, Johnson brings operational expertise and industry insight to the firm's portfolio companies. Among his notable investments is Whatnot, a livestream shopping platform that has achieved significant scale and market impact. Through his work at Animal Capital, Johnson is actively involved in sourcing, evaluating, and supporting emerging companies that demonstrate transformative potential in their respective markets. His combination of operational acumen and venture investment experience positions him as a key architect of the firm's investment thesis and portfolio success.

Josh Richards

Co-Founder & Operating Partner, Animal Capital

Josh Richards built a dual identity as both a leading Gen Z creator and venture capital investor at Animal Capital, where he translates his direct connection to tens of millions of Gen Z followers into distribution and product feedback for portfolio companies. He treats content, venture, and production as an integrated system through his co-founded CrossCheck Studios and Animal Capital investments, allowing him to both finance and create content while giving portfolio companies access to his cross-platform storytelling reach.