You’re burning cycles trying to convince risk-averse pilots to use your vertical SaaS for aircraft maintenance. The product works, the market is huge, but fundraising feels like landing a Cessna in crosswinds. ✈️ That’s when founders whisper a single name: Yuri Sagalov. A licensed pilot, YC alum, and Solo GP at Aero X Ventures, he wires up to $250k into gritty, technical teams that modernize “boring” industries. If you sell to brokers, manufacturers, or logistics ops, this guide shows exactly how to earn his yes.🤩
Who Is Yuri Sagalov and Why Founders Listen
Yuri Sagalov isn’t just another check-writing tourist in early-stage venture—he’s a builder who’s walked the runway himself. With deep founder empathy and a sharp eye for modernizing legacy verticals, he backs teams who speak the language of operational pain. If your startup lives at the intersection of technical grit and unglamorous markets, Yuri may be your ideal first believer.
- 🛫 Founded and exited Aero CRM (YC S12), a vertical SaaS for aircraft brokers—lived your pain firsthand.
- 📊 111 angel/fund investments to date; three unicorns (Mercury, Ramp, Astranis).
- 💸 Leads 10-15 deals per year with avg. $150k check; SAFE preferred, no board seat headaches.
- 🤝 Co-invests with Y Combinator, Nat Friedman, Elad Gil, increasing signaling for later rounds.
- ⚡ Active talent & GTM helper via text—portfolio CEOs call him “the fastest DM in the Valley.”
One-liner: Yuri Sagalov blends operator empathy with aerospace-grade rigor, ideal for founders attacking legacy B2B markets.
Yuri Sagalov’s Thesis — “Modern Software for Boring Giants”
What makes Yuri Sagalov’s strategy stand out is his obsession with underserved, infrastructure-heavy industries. He believes the next wave of breakout companies will be built in sectors that tech has long ignored. Sagalov’s worldview is simple: software finally eats aviation, logistics, and other unloved verticals. 📦
Core pillars
- 🧩 Vertical > Horizontal – niche workflow depth beats generic platforms.
- 🎯 Founder-Market Fit – teams who “speak forklift or airframe” win distribution.
- 🔥 Capital Efficiency – disciplined burn unlocks optionality in cyclical industries.
- 🤖 AI/ML as Wedge – new models turn decades of analog data into defensible SaaS.
- 🌎 US & Canada First – regulatory familiarity speeds revenue recognition.
Takeaway: If your deck screams ‘unsexy pain, sexy margins,’ you’re already on Yuri Sagalov’s wavelength.
Angel Deal Terms at a Glance — Yuri Sagalov’s Sweet Spot
Sagalov moves fast at pre-seed and seed while reserving follow-on dollars.
| Stage | Typical Check | Sectors He Loves | Geography |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-seed | $100k–$150k | B2B SaaS, DevTools, AI/ML | US / Canada |
| Seed | $150k–$250k | Aviation, Logistics, Manufacturing software | US / Canada |
Takeaway: Expect a decisive SAFE of ~$150k within weeks—no board seat required.
What Yuri Sagalov Looks For (Beyond the Hype)
Yuri isn’t betting on shiny decks or viral hype—he’s hunting for builders in the trenches solving urgent, real-world pain. His criteria cut through the noise and prioritize execution, traction, and deep domain insight. If you’ve got signal and substance, you’re speaking his language.
- 💻 Technical founders – at least one builder who can ship v1 without agency bills.
- ✈️ Deep domain cred – you’ve sold parts, flown planes, or programmed PLCs.
- 💊 Painkiller > Vitamin – mission-critical workflows where downtime costs millions.
- 📈 Scrappy metrics – pilots, LOIs, or $5k MRR trump glossy projections.
- 📝 Clarity & brevity – five slides, quick demo, clear ask.
Inside Yuri Sagalov’s Portfolio
His cap-table presence shows how thesis meets execution.
| Company | Sector | Round Joined | Why It Fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Fintech-SaaS | Seed | Vertical bank for startups—boring banking rebuilt. 💳 |
| Varda Space | Aerospace | Seed | Deep-tech manufacturing; founder-market fit from SpaceX vets. 🚀 |
| Ramp | Spend Mgmt | Seed | Painkiller for finance ops; capital-efficient growth. |
| Epsilon3 | Aerospace Ops | Seed | Workflow OS for complex missions; acquired by Anduril. |
| Felt | Mapping SaaS | Seed | Niche GIS tool turning analog maps digital. 🗌️ |
Takeaway: Note the pattern—technical teams attacking niche but massive B2B workflows.
Cold Outreach Playbook: Stand Out in Yuri Sagalov’s Inbox
Subject: “YC S24 — 3-minute demo of AI-powered MRO software”
Email lines
- 🔗 Warm intro via suggested I reach you.
- ⏬ We cut aircraft maintenance downtimes by 22% for five Part 135 operators.
- 👨✈️ Founders: ex-Gulfstream engineer + Palantir ML lead (3k flight hours combined). ✈️🤖
- 📢 Raising $1.2M SAFE; targeting $240k from Aero X for GTM hires.
- 📹 Link: 90-second Loom + concise deck (5 slides).
Skip the fluff, reference domain expertise, and let traction do the talking—Yuri Sagalov rewards signal over story.
Life After the Wire: What Founders Actually Get
Getting a check from Yuri is just the beginning. He’s not the kind of investor who disappears after wiring funds—instead, he steps in as a behind-the-scenes operator with high-leverage support. From intros to hiring pipelines, his involvement continues through key inflection points.
- ☎️ Speed dial access to later-stage VCs (he intro’d Mercury to Coatue before Series B).
- 👥 Hiring pipeline from his YC alumni and aerospace engineer network.
- 🎯 GTM tuning—he suggests niche conferences, not splashy ads.
- 💰 Follow-on capital—Aero X reserves checks for pro-rata through Series A.
Anecdote: Post-seed, Epsilon3’s CEO texted at 11 p.m. about a defense-compliance snag; Yuri Sagalov replied in seven minutes with a vetted auditor contact (per Operators Podcast, 2023).
Red Flags That Make Yuri Sagalov Ghost Your Round
Every investor has their dealbreakers—Yuri Sagalov is just more open about his. He’s not afraid to walk away fast when founders ignore fundamentals or over-optimize for optics. Not many investors publish anti-criteria, but Sagalov’s are clear:
- 🚫 Raising a $3M pre-seed with no users—signals burn, not focus.
- 🤷 “Uber for ××” without unique insight into operators’ workflows.
- ❌ Founders outsourcing core tech—breaks the technical-founder rule. 👎
- 📉 TAM slide built on “$1T industry, we take 1%” math—no bottoms-up thinking.
- ❗ Pilot customers unaware they’re listed as traction.
- 🪑 Asking for a board seat at seed—creates misaligned governance.
Takeaway: Mirror his operator mindset—anything fluffy triggers an instant pass.
Final Thoughts: Yuri Sagalov as Your Compass Co-Pilot
Legacy industries move like cargo planes, not jets. 🛬 That slower cadence frustrates traditional VCs chasing hyper-growth curves. Yuri Sagalov knows the runway length required, because he’s taxied it himself—from code commit to acquisition.
For founders modernizing aviation, logistics, or any “clipboard-and-fax” workflow 📋, his check is more than cash; it’s clearance to enter an insider network of domain experts and pragmatic capital. ✈️
Line up your mutual intro, tighten that five-slide deck, and go in prepared to answer, “Why you?” 🎯 Nail it, and Yuri Sagalov might just be the quiet co-pilot who helps your vertical SaaS reach cruising altitude. 🚀
