Capital behind the companies

Design investors.

14 investors connected to 52 tracked companies, with current design hiring visible across their portfolios.

Fund

GV Design

Google Ventures' design team pioneered the Design Sprint methodology and the "design partner" model in venture capital. Their design partners—including Braden Kowitz, Daniel Burka, and Kate Aronowitz—work hands-on with portfolio companies like Stripe, Figma, Robinhood, and Airbnb to embed world-class design into early-stage startups.

8 companies · 38 open roles

Design partner

James Buckhouse

Design Partner at Sequoia Capital who founded the Sequoia Design Lab. Got his start in film working on Shrek, Madagascar, and The Matrix, then became Senior Experience Architect at Twitter. Lectures on Story-Driven Design at Stanford's GSB and d.school, helping founders design their companies, products, and cultures.

4 companies · 28 open roles

Design partner

Braden Kowitz

Founded the Google Ventures design team in 2009, pioneering the "design partner" role in venture capital. Co-invented the Design Sprint methodology and co-authored the NYT bestseller "Sprint." Previously designed and launched Google Spreadsheets, Google Trends, and contributed to Gmail.

3 companies · 7 open roles

Design partner

John Maeda

Former RISD president, Design Partner at Kleiner Perkins, and current VP of Design and AI at Microsoft. Author of "Laws of Simplicity" and creator of the influential annual Design in Tech Report. Early investor in Canva, Flexport, and Typeform, bridging design, technology, and business leadership.

2 companies · 16 open roles

Design partner

Irene Au

Design Partner at Khosla Ventures who built and led the UX and design teams at Google, Yahoo, and Udacity. Author of the O'Reilly book "Design in Venture Capital" and adjunct lecturer at Stanford. Advises CEOs at companies like DoorDash, Opendoor, and Okta on elevating design as a strategic function.

1 companies · 0 open roles

Design partner

Jeff Veen

Design Partner at True Ventures who co-founded Typekit (acquired by Adobe) and co-founded Adaptive Path. Redesigned Google Analytics and led UX for Google Apps. Advises founders on product-market fit, scaling design teams, and navigating the transition to AI-driven development.

1 companies · 0 open roles

Fund

Clark Valberg

Founded InVision, the design platform used by 3M+ designers at 80% of the Fortune 100 including Airbnb, Netflix, and Slack. Now Managing Partner at Tiferes Ventures, investing in early-stage startups with a focus on design-forward products and founder-led companies.

0 companies · 0 open roles

Portfolio relationships are still being added.

Fund

IDEO CoLab

IDEO's venture arm that combines a venture fund with a design and R&D lab. Rather than just writing checks, they actively prototype with startups, bringing IDEO's legendary human-centered design methodology to early-stage companies across fintech, marketplaces, and future-of-work sectors.

0 companies · 0 open roles

Portfolio relationships are still being added.