Forerunner Ventures: The Consumer VC Behind Glossier, Chime and Warby Parker

Founded by Kirsten Green, Forerunner bet on direct-to-consumer commerce when few others would — backing Dollar Shave Club, Jet.com, Chime and Glossier. A profile of the consumer-focused firm's thesis, funds and track record.

The firm

Founded in 2012 by Kirsten Green in San Francisco, Forerunner Ventures is a venture capital firm dedicated to one thing: the modern consumer. Green, formerly an equity research analyst at Banc of America Securities covering consumer and retail, built the firm on a simple conviction — that the consumer has been, and remains, the firm's North Star. Forerunner backs early-stage founders with the vision to define entire categories.

Thesis and sectors

Forerunner is a thesis-driven consumer investor. It focuses on health and wellness, retail and e-commerce, consumer finance, education and social networking — pairing deep retail expertise with brand-building know-how and what it calls its "CQ", consumer insight. The firm constantly researches how world events reshape consumer behaviour, and it is now applying that lens to AI-native consumer experiences, backing companies like Oura, Roon and Joy on the thesis that AI will shift consumers from "search" to "service."

Funds

In November 2024 Forerunner closed Fund VII, a $500 million early-stage fund, bringing total assets under management to nearly $3 billion. Its previous raise was a $1 billion fund structured as two $500 million vehicles — one for early-stage and one for growth-stage investing — closed in 2022.

Landmark portfolio wins

Forerunner is the only VC firm to have invested in both Dollar Shave Club (acquired by Unilever for $1 billion) and Jet.com (acquired by Walmart for $3.3 billion) — two of the biggest e-commerce exits of their era. The portfolio also includes Warby Parker, Bonobos, Glossier, Chime, Faire, Oura Health, Hims & Hers, Birchbox, Away and Hotel Tonight.

Partners

Alongside founder and managing partner Kirsten Green, the investing team includes partners Eurie Kim, Nicole Johnson and Brian O'Malley. Green is widely recognised as one of the most influential consumer investors of the past decade.

What founders get

Forerunner's pitch to founders is category-defining consumer expertise: a team that studies consumer behaviour as a discipline, helps with brand and product, and has guided multiple brands from first cheque to billion-dollar exits. For consumer founders, that domain depth is the product.

Why it matters for founders

If you are building for consumers — commerce, health, fintech, brands — Forerunner is one of the few firms that lives entirely in your world. Its $500M Fund VII is actively deploying into early-stage consumer, and its track record of backing category creators from Dollar Shave Club to Glossier means a term sheet from Forerunner also comes with genuine consumer playbooks. Consumer founders should be pitching here first.