Investor Profile: Base Case Capital - Thesis, Cheque Size & How to Apply

For enterprise-software founders, Base Case Capital funding works differently from most seed firms, because the firm often meets founders before they have a company at all. This profile explains how to get funding from Base Case Capital, the solo-GP firm founded by Alana Goyal, and why its no-pitch-meeting approach matters. Base Case Capital is an early-stage venture firm focused on the next generation of enterprise software, and it is run by a single general partner rather than a partnership.

Investment thesis

The firm's thesis is built around the base case: the first engineers, the first customers and the first institutional round. Base Case Capital aims to help founders with those initial critical steps, hiring engineers, closing first customers and raising an institutional round, rather than arriving after product-market fit is already obvious.

Sectors and stages

Base Case Capital invests in enterprise software, developer tools, artificial intelligence, software-as-a-service and fintech, with directory listings also naming blockchain and infrastructure. Its stage focus is pre-seed, seed and, in some listings, Series A, but its distinctive entry point is pre-idea and pre-company: ongoing conversations with exceptional engineers at technology companies, long before they resign to found something.

Fund size and cheque size

Reporting on fund totals conflicts, so this profile states only what is firmly sourced. A $20 million fund raised in May 2021 from backers including Sequoia, Elad Gil, Greylock and Marc Andreessen is widely reported. Later totals differ between sources, with one putting the total raised at $90 million and another, citing three funds, at $99 million, so a single authoritative total is not stated here. The first capital, $600,000 from Elad Gil, is also reported.

Notable portfolio

The portfolio most often cited includes Supabase, the open-source backend platform, and Census, a data-warehouse company. Later rounds named in reporting include Orb, an invoicing system, and Cycle, software for collecting product feedback and managing delivery. In total, reporting puts the portfolio at more than 30 companies.

Partners and team

Alana Goyal is the founder and managing partner, and the firm's solo-GP structure is central to its identity. A former product manager at trucking-software company Samsara, Goyal began investing with Elad Gil's backing, then left Samsara to run the firm full time. She was named first on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in venture capital for 2024.

Programs, credits and perks

No formal accelerator, credits programme or perks bundle run by Base Case Capital was verified in the sources reviewed. Its practical offer is different: hands-on product work, help closing founding hires, and acting as an early user and customer.

How to apply for funding

Do not expect a standard pitch meeting, because Goyal is widely reported as not taking them. The route that matches the firm's own method is to build a relationship over time: share thoughtful product thinking, show work in public, and stay in conversation before a fundraise, so that Base Case Capital is the obvious first call when a company is formed.