Rough Draft Ventures
Cambridge, Massachusetts · Invests in US · Website
Check size
🔒 $•• – $••Thesis
Young student founders with ambitious vision and strong execution ability can build transformational companies. Providing accessible capital plus institutional support at the earliest stage unlocks value that might otherwise remain invisible to traditional VC. University students represent a unique cohort—bright, ambitious, and unconstrained by traditional career paths.
Likely not a fit for
Non-founder-team structures; purely financial engineering plays; businesses lacking societal value; teams unwilling to engage with mentorship
How they invest
- Lead or follow
- Usually leads
- Typical decision
- ~2 weeks
- Warm intro
- Not required
- Involvement
- Advisor
- Fund status
- Actively deploying
- Decision process
- Investment Committee
Partners & team
8 contacts on file
Portfolio
Spring Health offers data-driven mental health solutions, providing personalized care through a comprehensive network of providers. It aims to eliminate barriers to mental healthcare and improve outcomes.
Fireflies.ai is an AI-powered notetaker that transcribes, summarizes, and analyzes team conversations to enhance productivity and automate workflows.
Instabase enables the world's leading enterprises to automate their most complex, document-heavy workflows and realize immediate value from their AI initiatives. Its platform transforms unstructured document packets into reliable, auditable data before applying agentic reasoning to execute complex business logic.
Rebag is a technology-enhanced luxury resale platform that offers investment-worthy handbags, watches, fine jewelry, and more. It provides seamless buying and selling experiences with expert vetting and proprietary pricing technology.
Evisort is an AI-native contract management software that automates contract lifecycle management, helping organizations minimize risk and drive results across various business functions.
User Interviews is a platform that connects researchers with participants for user research studies, offering a streamlined process for recruiting participants and automating research tasks.
Kona is a platform for buying and leasing domain names, providing secure transactions and support.
Ribbon Health is a provider of accurate, real-time provider data, helping patients find the right doctor across millions of providers in the U.S. every year. Now part of H1, they aim to enhance provider data accuracy and support patients in finding care.
Memora Health provides a digital platform for patient care management, focusing on automating care coordination and enhancing patient engagement through AI-driven solutions.
SoundMind is an educational platform offering a twice monthly newsletter for educators.
Recent activity
- Oct 2025
Solomon
Seed · Participated
- Jul 2025
Solomon
Seed · Participated
- Mar 2022
SoundMind
Pre-Seed · Lead
- Mar 2021
Intus Care
Seed · Lead
- Dec 2020
Kona
Seed · Lead
- Apr 2019
Unruly Studios
Seed · Lead
- Jan 2019
AirWorks
Seed · Lead
Rough Draft Ventures in the news
Beauty Independent
Why Topicals' Olamide Olowe Risked Her Own Money On A Culturally-Attuned Brand Holding Company
Sep 2025
H1 Acquires Ribbon Health to Expand Healthcare Provider Data Platform
Jan 2025
Aavrani Closes $7 Million Series A
May 2022
Swiss VC Wingman to launch new student-run fund
Mar 2021
#NYCtech Week in Review: 2/28/21 – 3/6/21
Mar 2021
The 13 Largest NYC Tech Startup Funding Rounds of January 2021
Feb 2021
The Investors on Campus · Babson Thought & Action
Sep 2020
Spotlight — RDV’s Annabel Strauss | by Quinn Litherland | Rough Draft Ventures
Feb 2020
These are the 10 Largest NYC Tech Startup Funding Rounds of June 2019
Jul 2019
Part fund, part accelerator, Contrary Capital invests in student entrepreneurs
May 2019
NSF-funded eLab startup launches with Fortune 500 company
May 2019
General Catalyst just carved out an aggressive new seed-stage program -- here's what to know
Mar 2019
How students are founding, funding and joining startups
Feb 2019
A Johns Hopkins Dropout Is Pioneering a New Kind of Addiction Treatment, and Health VCs Love It
Oct 2018
These 11 Startups Hit The Stage at Newark Ventures Partners Labs Demo Day
Sep 2018
30 Under 30
Sep 2017
This RDV-Backed Startup Uses AI to Speed up the Design of New Drugs
Jun 2017
Students Backing Students: The Rise of the Dorm Room Venture Capitalist · Babson Thought & Action
Feb 2017
30 Under 30 2016: Venture Capital
Oct 2016
Forbes 30 Under 30 Summit contests to award $1m to young entrepreneurs
Aug 2016
This 25-year-old founded a new kind of VC that's helped college kids raise over $130 million
Nov 2015
Young & Entrepreneurial: How Merrill Lutsky Sold His Y Combinator Backed Startup Before Returning to Harvard
May 2015
This 21-Year-Old Helped Fund 30 Startups Before Landing $1.5 Million For His Own
Nov 2014
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Research briefRead more
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