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 Bucher
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. Previously, Masha was VP of Communications at Acronis, a leading data and cyber protection company, and Head of Communications at B2B and deep tech-focused VC Runa Capital. 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 for 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 early on the Snap Research Team, where he was awarded a patent. Drake loves to help founders in product, growth, and UX, and spends time thinking about consumer and influencer platforms.
Sanjiv Sanghavi
Sanjiv Sanghavi is a Venture Partner investing in climate at Day One. Previously, Sanjiv was Chief Product Officer at Arcadia.com and also founded multiple startups, including ClassPass.com. Sanjiv has spent over a decade leading product, growth, design and engineering at startups across various sectors including fitness, healthcare, real estate, adtech and energy. He's helped create multiple unicorns and raise $1+ billion in capital. Sanjiv is a health and fitness enthusiast, avid lover of food, and former hip hop dancer (about 85% of his moves are now out of reach).
Jenny Chao
Jenny is the Director of Communications and Investor at Day One Ventures. She’s passionate about working with founders to bring their stories to life. Her investment focus is in health tech, particularly companies that use emerging technologies to support mental and physical health. Prior to Day One, Jenny worked at Current as well as Moxie Communications Group where she led strategy and media relations for brands including Andie, Dollar Shave Club, Pandora, and more.
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
When Stripe, a payments start-up valued at $74 billion, laid off more than 1,000 employees this month, its co-founders blamed themselves. “We overhired for the world we’re in,” they wrote....
Day One Ventures, a venture firm launched in 2018 with a pitch to combine venture capital acumen with marketing and communications support, has launched a program aimed explicitly at those impacted...
As fears of a recession grow, big tech companies have begun announcing hiring freezes and layoffs. This includes recent announcements from Meta, Google, Spotify, and more.
Good day. About a year ago Jo Viney agreed to sell a biotechnology company she co-founded, Pandion Therapeutics Inc., to Merck & Co. for $1.85 billion. Now, she has raised $101 million...
"I get to know DALL-E, and it gets to know me — my image making tendencies, predilections, and wants," said artist Marina Zurkow, whose digital collage "A Questionable Tale (#1)" appears in...
Contact Us
Tell us about your idea or startup at pitch@dayoneventures.com
Media inquiries at press@dayoneventures.com
