What We Do
We’re an early-stage venture capital firm that backs customer-obsessed companies and spearheads their communications.
We invest across industries from pre-seed to seed - and occasionally series A - make swift decisions, co-invest with leading VCs, and help grow your business through storytelling.
Inspired by Jeff Bezos’ Day One philosophy, our name reminds us to live every day and make every decision as if it is Day One. When we evaluate companies, we look for the Day One mentality and a culture of undeniable customer obsession.
Team
Masha Drokova
Masha is the Founder and General Partner at Day One Ventures. Before launching Day One, she was an angel investor and founder of a PR studio that worked with companies like Houzz, HotelTonight, and Gett. She is a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree and was named by Business Insider as a top 50 PR Pro in tech. Masha has a deep love art and collects contemporary art.
Drake Rehfeld
Drake is a Principal at Day One Ventures. Before Day One, Drake founded Demeanor.co (Y Combinator S18). Demeanor was acquired by NTWRK, a video-based shopping app where he led product. Drake previously worked in product management and machine learning computer vision at many companies including Team 10 and Snap. Drake loves to help founders in product, growth, and UX, and spends time thinking about consumer and influencer platforms.
Melanie Galang
Melanie is the Head of Communications for Key Companies and an Investor at Day One Ventures. Prior to Day One, she was a VP at Moxie Communications Group where she was integral in the development and execution of PR strategies for early to late stage startups. She’s worked with companies such as Hipcamp, Forerunner Ventures and Talkspace, as well as Peanut and Modern Fertility. Melanie is passionate about crafting and telling powerful stories for challenger brands.
Natalie Issa
Natalie helps portfolio companies craft and tell their stories. Natalie is passionate about emerging technologies, having previously worked with companies like Baidu's AI Group, D-Wave Systems, Drive.ai, EchoPixel, and Woopra. She comes from a big, chaotic Lebanese family and loves every minute of it.
In the Press
A company from the creator of Ello and Kidrobot is announcing a new $20 million funding round to build out an imagined virtual world populated with deranged-yet-cute cartoon influencers. Superplastic‘s...
In 2019, when Paul Budnitz, the Burlington, Vermont-based entrepreneur behind the designer toy company Kidrobot, decided to create Superplastic, a new media company built around animated...
Superplastic has raised $20 million to build a global entertainment brand in the age of nonfungible tokens, virtual characters, and viral videos. The funding comes off Superplastic‘s successful...
Hofy, a SaaS startup based in London, has secured $15.2 million in funding to allow companies to easily provide new hires with the hardware they need to work remotely. With participation from...
Remote work is here to stay, but there’s a snag: physically kitting out a home office for your team is costly and time-consuming. Enter Hofy, a platform that provides and manages...
Contact Us
Tell us about your idea or startup at pitch@dayoneventures.com
Media inquiries at press@dayoneventures.com
