Rugged Ventures

Rugged Ventures is a New York-based venture capital firm primarily focused on seed-stage investments across various sectors. Founded by Dave Lerner, a seasoned entrepreneur and former co-founder of the NYU Entrepreneurial Institute, the firm leverages his extensive network and operational experience to support portfolio companies. Rugged Ventures aims to be more than just a capital provider, offering strategic guidance, mentorship, and access to key industry connections to help early-stage companies scale.

The firm's investment thesis centers on backing strong founding teams with innovative solutions to significant market problems. While sector-agnostic, Rugged Ventures has shown a propensity for investing in areas such as SaaS, artificial intelligence, fintech, and consumer technology. They typically seek to partner with companies that demonstrate clear product-market fit potential and a scalable business model.

Rugged Ventures typically writes initial checks ranging from approximately $250,000 to $1,000,000. These investments are directed towards companies raising their initial institutional rounds, often participating as a lead or significant co-investor in seed rounds that can total between $1 million and $3 million. The firm maintains the capacity for follow-on investments in successful portfolio companies as they progress through subsequent funding stages, demonstrating a long-term commitment to their founders. Their approach emphasizes active engagement and a hands-on partnership to navigate the challenges of early-stage growth.