Primary Venture Partners

Primary Venture Partners is a seed-stage venture capital firm based in New York City. With a low-volume, high-conviction investment approach, and the largest portfolio impact team of any early-stage investor, Primary has been an early and integral backer of billion-dollar companies such as Alloy, Chief, Electric, K Health, Latch, and more. 

Primary offers unparalleled experience, resources, and networks for New York’s most promising founders. The fund serves as the first call for its portfolio companies, dedicating significant resources to best position its companies for the journey from Seed to Series A and beyond. 

From the Primary Expert Network, a network of over 200 seasoned technology operators and functional experts, to a Talent Program headed by NYC Tech recruiting veterans, Primary helps its founders solve their biggest tactical problems and build world-class teams from the ground up.

Founded in 2004, Primary Venture Partners is a venture capital firm based in New York, New York. The firm seeks to make investments in pre-seed, seed, and early-stage companies operating in the business product and service, mobile, software, information technology, enterprise SaaS, commerce, manufacturing, and energy sectors.

Cofounders Brad Svrluga and Ben Sun have a combined 30-year track record and have won recognition from Forbes' Midas List and Insider's Seed 100. 

According to its website:

"Founders drive everything we do: Product, market, and business model are important, but we're most drawn to founders and the personal relationships that will best support them. We're eager to jump in from the earliest stages. If you’re in New York working on an idea—or even just looking for one—let’s talk.

After we invest, we take your success personally. With the country's largest seed-stage portfolio impact team, we make sure every founder we work with has everything they need to build a category-defining company: Series A prep, hiring, go-to-market, strategic finance, and beyond."

They claim that it works, based on the performance of their portfolio companies that has driven results and has placed them in the top 5% of all U.S. Venture firms.

According to its website:

"What unifies us at Primary is that we're all builders, not just backers. We partner intimately on the very hard work of companies’ earliest stages, and we are constantly looking for new ways to expand our impact, build new capabilities, and continue to set the bar for just how impactful an investor can be. When we invest, we invest with all we’ve got.

We've always been exclusively focused on New York City. This market, rich in talent and close to the dozens of industries anchored here, drives an enduring, disruptive startup community. By grounding ourselves here, we are able to build a critical mass of networks and talent for our portfolio and its related orbits. With that in mind, we’ve also worked to build communities beyond our portfolio—from our Founders Fellowship to our Mastermind Networks for Chiefs of Staff and Account Executives."

According to its website:

“With a mission to maximize impact, Primary has steadily built the most experienced and dynamic team in the seed landscape, anchored by the largest portfolio impact staff in the industry.”

The firm’s portfolio includes New York success stories like Jet.com (acquired by Walmart for $3.3 billion), Mirror (acquired by Lululemon for $500 million), and Latch (which is planning to go public via SPAC). And the firm has doubled down on its association with New York by publishing an NYC Founder Guide.

Primary's successes also include seed investments in Ticketfly, TxVia, and Coupang, and it counts some of New York's most promising recent startups - including Chief, Slice, Ollie, Vestwell, Electric, Bravely, Shoptalk, and HLTH - among its portfolio.