You’re hustling to close a pre-seed round while shipping product and wooing talent 😅. Every “maybe” from investors steals precious runway and focus. What if the next email you send could land a decision in under 24 hours ⏱️, money in the bank inside a week 💸, and a Stanford-sized network on speed dial?
That’s exactly why David Hirsch matters. The ex-Google operator turned solo GP has written 150+ first checks, five of which became unicorns 🦄— all while championing diverse founders and answering emails faster than most friends text back 🚀. This guide reverse-engineers his playbook so you can turn a warm (or even cold) intro into capital, credibility, and a co-pilot who actually ships 🛠️.
Who Is David Hirsch and Why Founders Listen
David Hirsch isn’t just another check writer—he’s a former Google product leader with the startup scars to back his instincts. With over 150 angel deals, his name surfaces again and again when founders talk about velocity and conviction. Here’s why the sharpest B2B SaaS teams want him on their cap table.
• 💼 Helped launch Google’s ads APIs as Director of Product, scaling revenue into the billions 💰
• 🦄 Angel-invested in Mercury, Ramp, Retool, Pipe, and Vise before they hit $1B+ valuations
• 🌎 Manages his own syndicate and is a Managing Partner at Screendoor, a top fund-of-funds backing diverse GPs
• 🏎️ Averages <1 day to a “yes” and <7 days to wire, crushing industry norms
• 🤝 50 %+ of portfolio companies have an under-represented founder, proving his diversity commitment
One-liner: David Hirsch is the B2B SaaS operator-angel who turns quick conviction into compounding outcomes.
David Hirsch’s Thesis — “B2B That Prints Money”
At his core, David is looking for B2B software that feels indispensable from day one. He doesn’t chase trends—he backs teams building high-margin, high-retention businesses rooted in solving real, persistent pain. He keeps it simple: software that sells itself, scales with margins, and powers the real economy 💼.
Core pillars
• 💊 Painkiller First – Must solve an “Oh-my-God” workflow, not a nice-to-have aspirin
• 📈 Go-To-Market DNA – Founders who obsess over distribution as much as code
• 🔍 Vertical Depth – Insider knowledge of a niche that outsiders underestimate
• 🧾 Capital Efficiency – Paths to $10M ARR with <$10M raised; blitzscaling optional
• 💳 FinTech Optionality – Ability to layer payments or lending for durable take-rates
Takeaway: If your deck screams “B2B cash machine built by insiders,” David Hirsch will lean in fast 🔥.
Angel Deal Terms at a Glance — David Hirsch’s Sweet Spot
He invests where momentum is real but dilution is still cheap.
| Stage | Typical Check | Sectors (Top-3) | Geography Focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-Seed | $25k–$100k | B2B SaaS | SF, NYC, Remote |
| Seed | $50k–$100k | FinTech | U.S.–wide 🇺🇸 |
| Bridge/SAFE | Up to $100k | Marketplaces | Founder-friendly |
Takeaway: If you’re U.S.-based B2B at pre-seed/seed, his $100k check is yours to lose.
What David Hirsch Looks For (Beyond the Hype)
What separates a “yes” from a pass in David Hirsch’s inbox? It isn’t just your pitch deck design—it’s the signals that prove you’re a founder who ships, recruits, and already has real users cheering. Hirsch filters fast, and here’s exactly what catches his eye:
• 🤯 Unique Insight – A secret earned from jobs, research, or obsession
• 🧲 Recruiting Magnetism – Evidence top talent already follows you
• ⚡ Bias for Action – Product shipped or pilot live within weeks
• 💬 Early User Love – Screenshots of Slack praise > spreadsheets of TAM
• ⏰ “Why Now” Clarity – Regulatory, tech, or cultural shift that makes timing unbeatable
Inside David Hirsch’s Portfolio
He bets early on founders who know the plumbing and profit of their market 🚰.
| Company | Sector | Round Joined | Why It Fits the Thesis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | FinTech | Seed | Layered banking APIs on urgent SMB pain ✔️ |
| Ramp | B2B SaaS | Seed | Distribution-obsessed, capital-efficient, fintech rails 💸 |
| Retool | Dev Tools | Seed | Vertical depth for internal tooling builders 🔧 |
| Pipe | Marketplace | Seed | Payments optionality + capital efficiency ↔️ |
| Vise | Vertical SaaS | Seed | Insider insight into RIA workflows 📊 |
Takeaway: Pattern-match your narrative to these wins and you’re halfway home.
Cold Outreach Playbook: Stand Out in David Hirsch’s Inbox
Subject: “ — The Vertical SaaS Painkiller for (3-slide deck)”
• 👀 Line 1: 1-sentence unique insight discovered from your past role
• 📊 Line 2: Current traction metric (e.g., $30k MRR, growing 25 % MoM)
• 🔗 Line 3: Link to 3-slide deck—problem, product, business model
• 🤝 Line 4: Why you are unbeatable and how his Google/B2B network helps
• 📆 Line 5: Ask for 15 minutes; note you’ll ship weekly product updates
Skip the fluff: concise context + clear ask = fastest path to Hirsch’s legendary <1-day reply 📬.
Life After the Wire: What Founders Actually Get
So what happens after David wires the money? You don’t just get a check—you get high-leverage support from someone who’s seen every phase of startup chaos. Hirsch steps in when it matters most and steps back when it doesn’t.
• 🧑💼 Hiring firepower – intros to ex-Google PMs, Wharton grads, & Screendoor network
• 📞 GT-M office hours – blitz 30-min sprints on pricing, channel partners, or sales hiring
• 🔄 Next-round matchmaking – warm intros to BoxGroup, SV Angel, and Pear VC
• 😎 Tactical calm – he answers only when needed, not a Slack babysitter
Real-world proof: As Hirsch tells every founder, “I try to be the most helpful investor on your cap table that you only talk to when you need to.” (personal motto). Translation: high-impact help, zero micromanagement.
Red Flags That Make David Hirsch Ghost Your Round
Not every founder gets a reply—especially when the signals scream risk, hype, or lack of clarity. David Hirsch filters fast, and there are certain deal-breakers that make him ghost before you finish your follow-up. He’ll pass faster than Gmail autocomplete if…
• ❌ “We’re a crypto-enabled marketplace” — crypto is on his exclusion list
• 🙄 No clear ‘why now’ other than “AI is hot”
• 💔 Founders can’t name one early user who loves them
• 📉 Deck hides go-to-market; slides scream tech but whisper distribution
• 💸 Asking to raise <$500k for 24 months runway—too little to matter
• 🛌 More hype than shipping: six months of brainstorm, zero lines of code
Takeaway: Ship, know your user, and avoid exclusion sectors to stay on his radar.
Final Thoughts: David Hirsch as Your Velocity Co-Pilot
Founders chase speed—speed to product-market fit 🚀, speed to revenue 💰, speed to Series A 📈. David Hirsch is engineered for velocity ⚡. His 24-hour decision cycle compresses the fundraising treadmill, freeing you to build. His operator pedigree at Google and Bebo ensures feedback is rooted in lived experience, not armchair theory.
For B2B, fintech, or marketplace teams that can articulate a sharp insight and show early user love 💬, Hirsch’s $100k check buys far more than dollars: it unlocks a proven syndicate, a top-tier network, and a partner who amplifies your bias for action 🔥.
So tighten that three-slide deck, polish the “why now,” and press send. Your next capital partner—and maybe your next product brainstorm buddy—could reply before your coffee cools ☕.
