At a Glance
Kickstart Fund is a prominent seed-stage venture capital firm based in Salt Lake City, founded in 2008 by a group of successful entrepreneurs including Gavin Christensen. The firm has been instrumental in developing Utah's startup ecosystem, focusing primarily on early-stage technology companies in the Mountain West region. Kickstart Fund typically invests in enterprise software, consumer technology, and SaaS companies, writing initial checks ranging from $250K to $1M. The firm has backed several notable Utah success stories including Qualtrics (acquired by SAP for $8B), Domo, Divvy (acquired by Bill.com), and InsideSales. What distinguishes Kickstart Fund is its deep local network and hands-on approach to mentoring entrepreneurs, leveraging the founding partners' operational experience. The firm has helped establish Utah as a significant tech hub outside of traditional Silicon Valley, with portfolio companies collectively raising billions in follow-on funding and creating thousands of jobs in the region.
“Invests in early-stage technology companies with strong founding teams and innovative solutions.”
Kickstart Fund primarily invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed stages. This means they focus on companies that are at the earliest idea or prototype phase.
Kickstart Fund is headquartered in Salt Lake City, UT. Many of their portfolio companies are also based in this region, though they invest across geographies.
Kickstart Fund focuses on investments in Enterprise, Consumer, SaaS. Their portfolio reflects deep expertise and networks within these sectors.
Kickstart Fund's typical investment check size ranges from $25K to $500K. Actual amounts may vary based on the stage, sector, and specific opportunity.
Kickstart Fund manages approximately $50M in assets under management (AUM) across their funds.
