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Vol. I · No. 1Tampa, FloridaFund I Open
Hifestus Ventures
Ex igne, virtus — from the fire, excellence.
Founded by operators·$10M Fund I·10–15 investments·No management fee·Est. MMXXVI
Excellence is not found.
It is forged.
A venture fund built by founders who have put their hands in the dirt — and now arm the next generation to forge the future.
Hephaestus was the one god who worked. Cast out of Olympus, he built at the forge the very things the other gods relied upon — their armor, their tools, their weapons. He is the patron of makers, and his name is the one we took.
We are the same kind of fund. Hifestus is built by founders who put their own hands in the dirt: who raised companies from nothing, made payroll, found product-market fit the hard way, and carried a business through to a sale. We have sat in the chair, and we know what it costs.
That is the whole idea. We back hungry, product-focused founders solving a real industry problem — companies with early traction that need help to go to market and scale. And then we get our hands dirty beside them, drawing on decades in ad tech, data and AI.
What We Provide
Section IKnowledge
The Playbook
Core go-to-market strategies across marketing, sales and customer success, with strategy development toward clear quarterly OKRs.
Expertise
The Hands
Deep, operator-level expertise in ad tech, data and AI — from marketing automation and account-based marketing to data infrastructure, attribution and applied machine learning.
What We Look For
Section IIIndustry
The Sectors
Ad Tech, Data & AI first — alongside FinTech, CyberSecurity, EdTech, Climate Technology, Health Tech & Life Sciences and Ag-Tech.
Stage
The Window
Series Seed, A or B — early product-market fit without a strong GTM strategy yet, generally under $15M raised to date.
Team
The Operators
Founding teams of experienced operators with 10+ years of industry experience, refining founder roles as the company scales.
“We forge founders who need investors and advisors that build and execute alongside them.”
The Smith
Section III
I have sat in the founder's chair — building, selling, and living every hard decision in between.
Hifestus is not a fund run by observers. It is built by an operator who put his own hands in the dirt: raising companies from nothing, making payroll, finding product-market fit the hard way, and carrying a business through to exit. I know what founders actually need at the moment they need it — because I have needed it myself. That is what I bring to every company we back: not just capital, but scar tissue, judgment, and a willingness to get dirty beside you and help forge what comes next.
Ben GoldmanFounder & General Partner · Tampa, FL
In the Forge
Section IV · Portfolio
Read the portfolio case studies
The Prospectus
Section V · Fund IA no-fee fund
$10M
Fund I — target sizeFocused on early-stage, product-led companies across ad tech, data and AI, with fintech, cyber, e-commerce and ag-tech alongside. We make 10–15 investments and take an active hand in each.
- Ticket$500K–$1.25M initial, with follow-on reserved.
- Term5 years, with up to two one-year extensions.
- Carry20% carried interest, after return of capital.
- GovernanceOne board seat on every company.
- FeesNo management fee. We only make money when you do.
Initiate Contact · Fund I Open
Bring your work to the forge.
If you're a founder-led company with early product-market fit and you're ready to scale, we want to hear from you.
Hifestus Ventures · Tampa, Florida · Est. MMXXVIBen Goldman · ben@hifestus.ventures · 914-450-5151 · hifestus.co