We’re thrilled to announce that Forum Ventures has been named to Inc. Magazine’s 2024 Founder-Friendly Investors list! This recognition is more than just a badge of honor—it’s a testament to our unwavering dedication to the founders we serve. This annual list by Inc. highlights venture capital and private equity firms that go beyond financial backing to support founders on every step of their entrepreneurial journey. To see the full list, go to https://www.inc.com/founder-friendly-investors/2024 

The Founder-Friendly Investors list celebrates the investors who believe in backing founder-led businesses and helping them thrive. All companies on the list have successful track records of collaboration and remaining actively involved with the businesses they invest in.

For Forum Ventures, this is validation of a “founder-first” philosophy that has been our guiding light since the beginning. We don’t just invest in companies; we partner with founders to bring their visions to life, offering hands-on, empathetic support from the earliest stages of idea validation all the way through to fundraising and growth.

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Why Forum Ventures is Founder-Friendly

At Forum, we know the founder journey well—we’ve walked it ourselves as ex-founders and operators. That experience fuels our commitment to go beyond typical investor roles, immersing ourselves in the trenches alongside founders. For us, being “founder-friendly” means helping founders solve problems rather than just providing answers. We prioritize the founder’s experience, knowing that an empathetic, knowledgeable partner can make all the difference in those critical early years.

One founder recently shared, “Every conversation with Forum is substantive and helpful. They help us find answers rather than telling us the answer.” This captures the essence of our approach: collaborative, solutions-oriented, and dedicated to each founder’s unique journey.

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Our founder support includes:

• Personalized Growth and GTM Strategies: Through our Accelerator, Studio, and Pre-seed Fund, we provide tailored support designed specifically to meet founders where they are, whether refining GTM strategies, preparing for fundraising, or validating ideas.
• Network and Community Building: Our community of over 950 founders, coupled with our relationships with enterprise leaders, provides founders a network they can trust, celebrate with, and rely on in challenging times.
• Long-Term Partnership: From closing early angel investments to reaching new growth milestones, we’re by our founders’ sides for the long haul.

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The Importance of Founder-Friendly Investment in Today’s Market

In today’s competitive and often turbulent market, founder-friendly investment is critical. Founders face immense pressure, from raising capital to achieving early traction, all while navigating a rapidly changing market landscape. They need partners who offer more than capital—partners who actively work with them to weather challenges, seize opportunities, and accelerate growth in a sustainable way.

Being recognized as a founder-friendly investor is especially meaningful as we see founders craving real partnership and support more than ever. With a challenging fundraising landscape and the growing complexities of building in the B2B SaaS space, founders are selective about who they bring into their journey. They’re looking for investors who understand their vision, respect their challenges, and provide actionable guidance.

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Forum Ventures: Committed to Founders, Always

At Forum, we are deeply honored to be recognized for our commitment to founders. This accolade from Inc. Magazine serves as a reminder of our core mission: to make the founder journey as supportive, impactful, and collaborative as possible.

Thank you to all our incredible founders who continue to inspire us, challenge us, and achieve amazing feats. We’re proud to celebrate this recognition with you and look forward to empowering even more founders to reach new heights.

Here’s to the future—and to staying founder-first, always.

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If you are a B2B SaaS founder looking for a founder-first investor, pitch us here 

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About the Founder Friendly Investor List

Introduced in 2019, the Founder-Friendly Investors list quickly established itself as one of Inc.’s most resourceful franchises. It has become a go-to guide for entrepreneurs who want to grow their companies while retaining an ownership stake.  

The November 2024 issue of Inc. magazine is available online now at https://www.inc.com/magazine and will be on newsstands beginning October 29.

About Inc.

Inc. is the leading media brand and playbook for the entrepreneurs and business leaders shaping our future. Through its journalism, Inc. aims to inform, educate, and elevate the profile of our community: the risk-takers, the innovators, and the ultra-driven go-getters who are creating our future. Inc.'s award-winning work achieves a monthly brand footprint of more than 40 million across a variety of channels, including events, digital, print, video, podcasts, newsletters, and social media. Its proprietary Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since its launch as the Inc. 100 in 1982, analyzes company data to rank the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The recognition that comes with inclusion on this and other prestigious Inc. lists, such as Female Founders and Power Partners, gives the founders of top businesses the opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. For more information, visit www.inc.com. 

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