Navigate Ventures’ portfolio companies represent exceptional innovators leveraging cutting-edge technologies and AI to address complex challenges across industries, society, and global supply chains. We work closely with our portfolio CEOs to help them achieve their strategic goals, scale effectively, and secure successful growth financing, delivering strong value creation for our limited partners. 

Through our regular Charting the Course series, we talk to founders and leaders who’ve scaled, rebuilt, or reimagined companies in tough markets, to lift the lid on what it really takes to go the distance in tech.

In this edition, our Managing Partner Ivan Nikkhoo sat down with Paul Martino, Managing Partner at Bullpen Capital, a trailblazer in “post-seed” investing and a key player in helping startups negotiate the path from seed to Series A. 

A nine-time founder and early investor in companies like Udemy and FanDuel, Paul has spent the last 15 years backing underdog founders with traction but no obvious fit in traditional VC.

In this conversation, he shares how Bullpen stuck to its thesis while others drifted, why misunderstood markets often yield the biggest wins, and what founders get wrong about timing, traction and the tale they need to tell. 

Can you walk us through your professional journey? What were you doing prior to becoming a venture capitalist? 

My journey’s still going. I started four companies before becoming a venture capitalist and four since. Bullpen was number five, so I'm up to nine now. I’ve always told my LPs I’ll keep forming companies and incubating ideas because I want my CEOs to know I’m out there doing the same thing they’re doing. That way, when they complain about the fundraising environment, I can say, "Yeah, I know." 

What was your first job after university? 

I dropped out of my PhD program at Princeton when I was about 20 or 21. I started a company that became the core security system for InterTrust, which handled digital rights management for Universal Music. But technically, that was company number two. My first was a computer game company I started at 14, in the old BBS days. 

And after that came Tribe and Aggregate Knowledge? 

Tribe was number three. After InterTrust, I launched Tribe, which became one of the first social networks. In those early days of social media, there were only three platforms: Friendster, LinkedIn, and Tribe. And, as with venture capital, there were three, then suddenly 300, and eventually thousands. It got crowded quickly. 

I co-founded Tribe with Mark Pincus, Val Simon, and Chris Law. We had a deep understanding, even back then, of the impact social networking would have: how it would change interpersonal interaction, how it would transform the news business, how it would shift the way investors thought about community-driven companies. We saw all of that coming. 

Unfortunately, Tribe ended up being what I’d call a successful failure. It didn’t scale the way we hoped, but it laid the groundwork for two very successful companies. One was Aggregate Knowledge, my big data company, and the other was Zynga, Mark Pincus’s next venture. Both emerged from the lessons we learned at Tribe. 

What prompted your move from founder to investor, and how did Bullpen Capital come into being?

It was a gradual evolution. After InterTrust went public and I had a little capital, I started angel investing in companies like Udemy, Millennial Media and Flixster. During my adtech startup, I realised I wasn’t cut out for that world – I’m a better enterprise software CEO than adtech CEO. Mike Maples, who had become a good friend, offered me a partner role at Floodgate. I told him, flat-out, "Mike, venture is for weenies. I don’t want that job."

But I couldn’t shake what I was seeing in the ecosystem. Seed was exploding. 20 seed funds quickly became 200. I went back to Mike and said, “Something weird is going on. There’s too much seed money and not enough Series A. What happens then?” He looked at me and said, “You’re the entrepreneur. Go figure it out.” And that became Bullpen. 

We identified the emerging imbalance between seed and Series A. We chose the name ‘Bullpen’ as a baseball analogy – middle relievers, brought in before the closer. Our thesis was: we’ll fund companies with early traction who aren’t quite ready for a big A. Mike still ribs me about it: "You turned down my job because you didn’t want to be a VC and now look at you." 

What is the success rate of this strategy, backing companies that aren’t yet obvious bets? 

That’s a great question. Look, we didn’t have a playbook when we started. We saw the funding gap, but we had to learn how to pick in that middle zone. In the early years, we tried a bunch of things – some pivots, some CEO swaps – that didn’t work. But over time, we figured it out: if the company has early product-market fit, if you help them hire one or two key people and tighten the go-to-market motion, it works. 

We’re not trying to reinvent the future. We’re helping companies get over the next hump. That’s where we add value. Across our funds, our Series A graduation rate has been strong, sometimes as high as 70–75%, and even at the low end around 50%, which is still very high for this stage. When we stay focused on companies with early traction who need that next push, the strategy works really well. 

What lessons from your time as a founder have influenced your approach at Bullpen? 

My biggest value-add to CEOs is teaching them how to run their companies. Our companies typically have 10 to 20 people and about $1M in revenue. Many are first-time founders. I was coached by Bill Campbell; I was one of his last students. I try to pass on what he taught me. I’m not Bill, but I’m the best they’re going to get. 

Your firm describes itself as ‘doing one thing and doing it well’. What exactly is Bullpen’s investment thesis? 

We call it "post-seed." We fund companies between seed and Series A. We’ve stuck to that for 15 years. No style drift. We’ve just raised Fund 7, and it’s the exact same model. We find companies with early product-market fit that need capital, coaching, and time to get to a big Series A.

What characteristics do you typically look for in a company or founder when evaluating investments? 

Our conversations often start with a founder venting for 10 minutes, "No one gets what I’m doing." When I hear that, I lean in. Our best companies are misunderstood. Non-obvious markets. Founders who didn’t go to Stanford. One of our most famous is FanDuel, a husband-and-wife team, based in Edinburgh, doing fantasy sports. We invest in founders who are the only ones "dumb enough" to believe in what they’re doing. And I mean that as a compliment. 

How do you assess whether a company has achieved product-market fit? 

It’s part art, part science. Our analyst team has scorecards for different business models. But you also need to feel it. I’ve started nine companies; I know what product-market fit feels like. Eric has done two. Rich Melman started EA. Duncan Davidson started Covad. There’s a lot of pattern recognition on our team. 

Are you using any AI tools to assist with your sourcing or diligence process? 

We’re beginning to. We’ve always had a wide funnel, taking in cold inbounds, weird geographies and, as I mentioned, misunderstood founders. AI is helping us triage the top of the funnel more efficiently. But decision-making still needs a human. You can’t automate the emotional read. 

Tell us your typical check size and valuation range? 

Most of our companies are doing ~$1M in revenue. Valuations are typically $10M–$25M post. Round sizes are $2M–$5M. Every once in a while, we flex up or down, but 95% of deals are in that range. We’re formulaic on this. 

How important is capital efficiency to your decision-making? 

It’s a big one. Probably the number one reason we pass. If someone’s raised and burned $12M to get to $3M in revenue, that’s hard to back. Gross margin and capital efficiency are key filters for us. 

Are there particular sectors you’re currently excited about? 

We typically play to our areas of strength. I’ve done a lot in sports, gaming, and media. Eric’s great in proptech, real estate tech, fintech. And we’re actively exploring where we can add differentiated value in AI, especially in unsexy, workflow-heavy categories. 

How do you view the current fundraising climate for startups? 

It’s bizarre. A total barbell market. If you catch a bid, it goes to infinity. If you don’t, it’s radio silence. I’ve never seen a market this polarized. Great companies with mediocre traction are getting crazy terms. Others with solid metrics can’t get a meeting. It’s irrational. 

Have you noticed any significant geographic differences in valuations or deal availability?

Honestly, I’ve stopped thinking about it that way. Our portfolio’s so geographically diverse now, it’s not a lens we use anymore. If someone’s building something good in Tennessee or Edinburgh or Cleveland, we’ll take the meeting. 

Do you play an active role in supporting portfolio companies through their next funding rounds? 

Absolutely. That’s part of the Bullpen package. We help with exec hiring, milestone planning, and running a proper Series A process. That’s our job. 

What is your philosophy around secondary transactions? 

We’ve embraced the secondary market from day one. Back in 2012, we did a secondary in Ipsy. People questioned if we even knew how to run a fund. But it was a 50x return. We took chips off the table. Now LPs ask if we’re doing more. Liquidity is so bad, secondary is a feature, not a bug. 

What advice would you give to founders navigating this environment? 

Get on the right side of the barbell. Storytelling and presence matter more than ever. The founders who create emotional excitement are the ones getting outsized outcomes. That may shift, but right now, that’s how the game is being played. 

From a VC perspective, I’m glad we weren’t raising last year – and that was intentional. 2025 has been odd. Lots of macro uncertainty. But I think once we’re through this current political cycle, things will stabilize. I expect 2026 will be a strong fundraising year. 

Any final advice for founders or emerging fund managers? 

Timing matters. You might be brilliant, but if you try to raise in the wrong year, it may not work. I launched Bullpen in 2010 with a tailwind. Pay attention to your environment. 

About Bullpen Capital 

Bullpen Capital: A post-seed venture firm backing overlooked founders with early traction who need capital, coaching, and time to reach a strong Series A. 

About Paul Martino 

Paul Martino is a serial entrepreneur and Managing General Partner at Bullpen Capital, with a track record of founding and scaling groundbreaking companies across tech, gaming, and data. He has founded nine companies, including early social networking pioneer Tribe, cybersecurity firm Ahpah Software, and ad tech innovator Aggregate Knowledge. With more than a dozen patents in social networking, content targeting, and recommendation systems, Paul’s influence spans decades of innovation. 

Before launching Bullpen in 2010, he was a prolific angel investor, backing notable early-stage successes like Zynga, TubeMogul, and Udemy. At Bullpen, he has led key investments in FanDuel, Ipsy, Life360, and more, with a strong focus on companies at the intersection of sports, gaming, 

and technology. Despite his investing role, Paul remains deeply entrepreneurial, continually launching ventures in emerging digital arenas. 

About Ivan Nikkhoo

Ivan Nikkhoo is the Founder and Managing Partner of Navigate Ventures, an early growth fund specializing in partnering with exceptional B2B Enterprise SaaS companies outside Silicon Valley between Series A and Growth rounds. Navigate employs a risk-mitigated strategy designed to achieve a short holding period and an accelerated path to Distributions to Paid-In Capital (DPI). A sought-after speaker, Ivan frequently shares his insights at venture capital and family office conferences globally and is a regular contributor to several leading industry publications.