Kickstart
VC Fund
Salt Lake City, United States
Kickstart is a VC fund in Salt Lake City focused on Software and Information Technology. We invest in great early-stage companies based in the Mountain West. Some of those greats we've supported over last the 17 years include Lucid, Podium, Angel Studios, Galileo, Spiff, Nomi Health, Havenly, Pura, Rad AI, and Alianza. Find out more here: https://www.kickstartfund.com/
- Total investments:
- 268
- Last investment:
- Lead investor:
- 33%
- Fund size:
- $230M
- Last fund:
Last updated:
For AI agents: llms.txt
Industries Kickstart invests in
Stages Kickstart invests in
Countries Kickstart invests in
Round sizes
Contacts
| Name | Phone | Socials | |
|---|---|---|---|
Round size
- Seed
- $1M–$8M
- Pre-Seed
- $300k–$3M
- Series A
- $2.3M–$20M
Investment Focus
Industry
- Software 49 (18%)
- Information Technology 28 (10%)
- SaaS 22 (8%)
- Health Care 17 (6%)
- Artificial Intelligence 14 (5%)
Stage
- Seed 94 (35%)
- Series A 43 (16%)
- Pre-Seed 23 (9%)
- Series B 21 (8%)
- Funding Round 11 (4%)
Team
| Name | Title | Investments | Links | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Bryan Ritchie
Investment Committee
|
Investment Committee | Total investments: 3 | Find email | |
Scott Frazier
Investment Committee
|
Investment Committee | Total investments: 37 | Find email | |
Alex Soffe
CFO & General Partner
|
CFO & General Partner | Total investments: 18 | Find email | |
Brianna Bowles
Office Manager
|
Office Manager | Total investments: 0 | Find email | |
Dalton Wright
General Partner
|
General Partner | Total investments: 43 | Find email | |
| See all 11 team members → | ||||
Investments
| Company | Description | Round | Links |
|---|---|---|---|
Apaluma
|
Apaluma builds sets of APIs that any developer, business, or government agency can access. Through our AI and machine learning model, we are able to standardize datasets and turn them into actionable insights. | $5.6M / Seed / Jul 16, 2026 | |
Refr Sports
|
Refr Sports is developing a platform solution to fix inefficiencies and shortages in the United States referee marketplace by bringing new generation technologies and employees to the industry. Sports referees currently rely on antiquated third-party referee schedulers to provide them with games to work. Similarly, sports organizations rely on thesame referee schedulers to provide referees that are qualified to officiate their games. This approach has not been updated in decades as the referee industry continues to use outdated technologies and employment methods. The result has been a severe drop in the supply of referees while at the same time demand has increased.Our application, Refr Sports, will modernize the current system, providing referees and sports coordinators an efficient and effective tool for completing their respective duties. Refr Sports makes this a reality by offering a mobile application that supports both referees and sports organizers as end users. Our app delivers complete freedom to the users by allowing the sports organizations to post their game schedules along with officiating needs and offered compensation for each game. Referees can then see the ‘work order’, accept it, and be paid immediately after the game. The Refr platform makes money by taking a small service and processing fee on the payments we facilitate through the app. This business model is very similar to what has been successful in the food (DoorDash), transportation (Uber) and personal care (care.com) industries.Our Refr Team, made up of business, technical and sporting experience, has set out on a mission to create the platform that will turn the referee industry into a gig economy marketplace. The world has seen this successfully materialize in many industries already and the referee industry can be next, by making it easy to post opportunities, claim opportunities, and get paid. | $2M / Seed / Jul 14, 2026 | |
SponsorCX
|
SponsorCX is a leader in sponsorship management within the sports, entertainment, causes, arts, and events industries. It is a complete sponsorship management tool to assist in managing sales, fulfillment, and inventory to maximize sponsorship revenue. | Series A / May 18, 2026 | |
DiversiFi
|
At DiversiFi we provide 3PLs with software that helps them modernize the way they bill, bid, and process shipments. 3PLs who use DiversiFi boost their margins an average of 28% and increase their close rates by 2x on new business. How we help: We provide 3PLs with the lowest shipping costs and AI that maximizes profitability on markups. We makeyour 3PL look like a rockstar with your clients. When your 3PL wins, your clients win. What customers are saying:> “DiversiFi has given us the sophistication we need to maximize markups, win new customers, and improve our shipping rates. It’s truly modernized our biggest profit center: shipping”> “What’s unique about DiversiF is how many team members from different departments get value from their software. From sales, to carrier operations, accounting, and C level. It’s rare to see AI applied in a specific use case that’s so valuable.” | $8M / Seed / Jan 20, 2026 | |
Crew
|
Crew is the best place for families to bank. Crew replaces your old bank by helping parents manage their finances and set their children up for the future. | $3.8M / Seed / Nov 05, 2025 | |
Vector
|
Vector is a defense and space manufacturing company. | $61M / Series A / Sep 03, 2025 | |
Quadratic
|
Quadratic is a data analysis platform that combines spreadsheet functionality with AI, code, and database connections. The system allows users to import and analyze data from sources such as CSV, Excel, and databases, including PostgreSQL, MySQL, and Snowflake. It supports natural language queries, AI-assisted insights, and code execution inPython, SQL, and JavaScript. Quadratic includes tools for collaborative data analysis and provides cloud-based and self-hosted deployment options. | $5.5M / Seed / Aug 31, 2025 | |
Kadence
|
Kadence is the world’s #1 workplace operations platform for people and spaces. Designed for modern enterprises, Kadence unifies space management, team scheduling, occupancy insights, and AI-powered coordination into one seamless platform. Organizations around the world use Kadence to lower real estate costs, increase employee engagement, and drivebetter business outcomes. Trusted by leading global companies, Kadence empowers teams to work with purpose and operate at peak performance in today’s flexible work environment. | $20M / Series A / Jul 22, 2025 | |
ZioSec
|
ZioSec is at the forefront of innovation in cybersecurity, creating Zio, an ethical AI hacker designed to empower cybersecurity professionals, such as penetration testers. Zio utilizes cutting-edge artificial intelligence to identify vulnerabilities and weaknesses in web applications and critical infrastructure. By automating and enhancing securityassessments, Zio enables security teams to respond faster and more effectively to potential threats, ultimately contributing to a safer and more secure digital world. | $2.1M / Seed / Jul 19, 2025 | |
Nitric
|
Nitric transforms complex infrastructure into a self-service framework and platform where developers ship instantly and maintain control. | $4.9M / Seed / Jun 30, 2025 | |
| See all 268 investments → | |||
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FAQ
What does Kickstart invest in?
Kickstart invests primarily in Software, Information Technology and SaaS startups, most often at Seed and Series A stage. Most of the 268 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in United States. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.
What is Kickstart's check size?
Kickstart typically joins rounds of $1M–$8M at Seed, $300k–$3M at Pre-Seed and $2.3M–$20M at Series A. These ranges are 10th–90th percentile round sizes calculated from confirmed public funding rounds, so they are a realistic guide to the rounds Kickstart participates in.
How do I contact Kickstart?
Public channels for Kickstart include LinkedIn, X (Twitter) and the website linked on this profile. For a verified work email and phone number, create a free Shizune account — contact data is searched across 20+ sources and validated before delivery, so your outreach lands in the right inbox.
Who are the partners at Kickstart?
The team at Kickstart includes Bryan Ritchie (Investment Committee), Scott Frazier (Investment Committee) and Alex Soffe (CFO & General Partner), among 11 team members tracked by Shizune. The Team section lists each member with their title, investment count and links.
Is Shizune's investor data accurate?
Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.
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