Tandem Ventures

Tandem Ventures is a Draper, Utah-based early-stage venture capital firm founded by operators, for operators. Since launching in 2022, the firm has raised over $100 million across its debut $50 million Fund I (closed September 2025) and a collection of special purpose vehicles (SPVs). Unlike institutional funds that invest other people's money, Tandem's partners have built companies themselves and back founders who have done the same. Understanding healthcare financial benchmarks is valuable for any founder.

The firm invests $500k to $10 million per company through its core fund, with smaller SPV checks ranging from $100k to $5 million. This flexibility allows Tandem to participate across a wide range of early-stage opportunities, from seed to Series B.

What sets Tandem apart is its "operational first" philosophy. The firm draws from a network of successful founders called The Stable, providing portfolio companies with hands-on guidance on hiring, go-to-market strategy, and scaling challenges that only people who have built companies themselves can truly advise on.

With 31 portfolio companies across sectors including AI/machine learning, field service technology, healthcare operations, ecommerce enablement, and logistics, Tandem has quickly established itself as the premier early-stage investor in the Western US mountain region while maintaining a national scope.

The firm's carry structure is also unusual: Tandem explicitly states that if they do not 2x investors' money, they do not take carry. This alignment between fund manager and LP interests shapes how the firm approaches portfolio construction and support.

Tandem Ventures invests in early-stage technology companies where the founding team has direct operational experience in their domain. The firm's thesis is straightforward: founders who have built things before build faster, learn quicker, and make fewer avoidable mistakes. Understanding cash conversion cycles in healthcare is valuable for any founder.

The firm looks for companies with early traction and clear market fit. Not just early users or impressive demos, but evidence that real customers are voting with their wallets. This traction does not need to be massive ARR benchmarks; it needs to demonstrate that the problem is real, the solution works, and the team can sell.

Tandem focuses on six investment themes: AI and machine learning platforms, field service and trades technology, ecommerce enablement, healthcare operations, logistics and delivery, and property management technology. These themes reflect where the firm's partners have direct operating experience and can provide meaningful support beyond capital.

The firm's geographic home base is Utah and the broader Mountain West, but Tandem invests nationally. The Utah ecosystem has produced an outsized number of successful enterprise and vertical SaaS companies, and Tandem has become the preferred partner for founders emerging from that network. At the same time, the firm has invested across the US and does not restrict deal flow by geography.

Tandem prefers to lead or co-lead rounds but will participate alongside other investors when the opportunity calls for it. The firm is comfortable being the only institutional check or one of several. What matters more than deal structure is whether the company fits Tandem's thesis and whether the team has the operational credibility to execute.

Tandem Ventures has deployed capital at a rapid pace since its founding. In 2022, the firm made its first investments in companies like FETCH (last-mile package delivery for apartments), Nursa (flexible healthcare staffing for nurses), and PARTICL (real-time ecommerce product database). These early investments established the firm's thesis in action: operational founders addressing large, real problems with technology. Understanding EBITDA multiples in growth-stage valuation is valuable for any founder.

By 2023, Tandem had backed companies like Agility (precision advertising), REBUY (personalization-as-a-service for ecommerce), and Voze (sales optimization for field reps). The portfolio was taking shape around companies that digitize underserved workflows and bring software discipline to fragmented industries.

2024 saw significant activity, with investments in Aetos (visual operations management for facilities), Burq (on-demand delivery for businesses), Clearjet (air infrastructure for parcel delivery), Enzo Health (AI documentation for home health), and Pest Share, among others. The common thread: teams with deep industry knowledge building software to solve operational bottlenecks.

2025 and into 2026 have been the firm's most active years yet. The September 2025 Fund I close supercharged deal flow, leading to investments in Crew (valet waste for short-term rentals), Glazier (business management for glass installers), PostSig (AI contract management), Revin (AI-powered service revenue), Sevii (agentic AI for defense), Speedchain (spend management for construction), and StrongSuit (AI-powered legal research), among many others.

The firm also led a notable $15 million seed round in PMTBox (modern payments infrastructure) in April 2026, one of the larger checks in the portfolio. HighGround (AI-first govtech intelligence) and Spot Parking (AI-native autonomous parking management) represent Tandem's continued push into AI-native vertical solutions.

Across all investments, Tandem maintains its focus on operational founders with domain expertise, early traction indicators, and large addressable markets. The firm has not chased trends; it has invested consistently in the same thesis since day one.

Tandem Ventures portfolio contains 31 companies as of early 2026. The following are among the most developed or representative of the firm's investment thesis.

PMTBox is modern payments infrastructure that consolidates disjointed payment processes into a centralized, software-driven workflow for finance teams. Tandem led a $15 million seed round in April 2026, one of the largest checks in Tandem's portfolio history, reflecting the firm's conviction in the team's deep payments expertise.

Nursa addresses the critical nursing shortage in US healthcare facilities by providing a flexible staffing platform that connects nurses with shifts at healthcare facilities. The company has grown rapidly since Tandem's SPV investment in 2022, reflecting the massive and structural demand in healthcare staffing.

FETCH provides last-mile package delivery specifically for apartments, solving the perennial problem of package theft and logistics chaos at multi-family properties. Tandem invested in FETCH early and has supported the team through multiple growth phases.

Enzo Health is an AI documentation co-pilot for home health agencies, reducing the documentation burden on clinicians while improving compliance and billing accuracy. The company's intersection of AI and healthcare operations fits squarely within Tandem's thematic focus.

AskElephant uses AI for sales coaching, giving revenue teams real-time insights and coaching without requiring human intervention. The B2B sales enablement space has seen significant interest, and AskElephant's differentiated approach earned the company a $6 million seed round that Tandem participated in.

Crew is valet waste removal for short-term rentals, a deceptively simple concept addressing a genuine operational pain point for property managers. The company raised $3 million in mid-2025 for expansion, and Tandem's ongoing support reflects confidence in the team's ability to execute.

Other notable names include Aetos (visual operations and maintenance for facilities), REBUY (ecommerce personalization that has become a category-defining tool for mid-market retailers), Redo (free returns for merchants), and Voze (field sales optimization that has become a trusted tool for manufacturers and distributors).

Tandem evaluates investments through a lens shaped by its partners' operating experience. The single most important factor is whether the founding team has directly worked in the problem domain they are solving. A founder who spent years in healthcare operations building a healthcare software company is more interesting than a brilliant technologist who has never set foot in a hospital.

Beyond domain expertise, Tandem looks for evidence of early traction. This does not mean millions in ARR benchmarks or thousands of customers. It means customers who have paid, used the product repeatedly, and expanded their use over time. Price discovery has happened; the product is no longer a hypothesis.

Market size matters, but Tandem is pragmatic about it. The firm is interested in markets large enough to build meaningful businesses, not necessarily billion-dollar outcomes. A $200 million niche, executed well, can produce excellent returns. What Tandem avoids are markets so small they cannot support a venture-scale outcome or so crowded that differentiation is nearly impossible.

Competitive positioning is evaluated carefully. The firm looks for companies that have found ways to defend their market position, whether through proprietary technology, exclusive partnerships, network effects, or brand. A moat, however modest, bought the team time to build something durable.

Tandem also evaluates the team's ability to raise the next round. Early-stage investing is a leading indicator game; Tandem needs to believe the company can demonstrate sufficient progress to raise from institutional investors at the Series A or B stage. Companies that will need to rely on venture funding for years without intermediate milestones are difficult to support.

Finally, Tandem considers cultural alignment. The firm's value comes from hands-on partnership, and that requires founders willing to receive guidance and operate in close collaboration with their investors. Founders who want a passive check and maximum autonomy are likely not the right fit for Tandem.

The most effective way to reach Tandem Ventures is through a warm introduction from a founder in their portfolio, an investor they have co-invested with, or someone in the broader Utah and Mountain West startup ecosystem. Tandem is built on relationships, and founders who come recommended by trusted sources get faster and more serious consideration.

For founders without existing connections to Tandem's network, cold outreach through the firm's website is viable, though competition is steep. The pitch should lead with the problem being solved, the team's operational credentials in that domain, and early traction data. A crisp, compelling deck that respects the reader's time will outperform lengthy decks that bury the key points.

Tandem partners receive inbound deals daily, so the goal of any outreach is to get to a meeting, not to make a final decision. The meeting is where Tandem evaluates the team, their conviction, and their ability to respond to hard questions. Practice your pitch, know your metrics cold, and be ready to defend your assumptions.

The firm's geographic home in Draper, Utah provides natural access to the strong Utah technology ecosystem, including the Utah startup community tied to Qualtrics, Entrata, and other unicorns. Founders emerging from these networks often have direct connections to Tandem partners. If you are building in the Mountain West or have Utah ties, lean into that.

After an initial meeting, Tandem typically moves quickly to decision. The firm's small team and operator background mean it can make investment decisions faster than institutional funds with extensive committee processes. If a deal is going well, expect a term sheet within weeks, not months.

If Tandem passes on an opportunity, the firm will often provide direct feedback to the founder, a rarity in venture capital. This feedback, combined with the relationship, means that founders who did not get a check often come back for future rounds or refer other founders who might be a better fit.

While Tandem Ventures invests in early-stage companies, they expect founders to have a firm handle on their unit economics, burn rate, and path to either profitability or the next funding milestone. These are table stakes for any institutional investor, and Tandem is no exception.

For companies at the seed stage, financial preparedness means knowing your customer acquisition cost (CAC), lifetime value (LTV), and the ratio between them. For companies with revenue, gross margin and net revenue retention are scrutinized closely. For pre-revenue companies, milestone-based spending and a credible path to revenue are the expectation.

Tandem will probe founders on their assumptions. If you claim a certain market size, be ready to defend it with bottoms-up analysis. If you project a certain growth rate, have evidence from early traction that supports the trajectory. Founders who cannot defend their numbers will not receive a check, regardless of how compelling their vision is.

Working with a fractional CFO can materially improve your fundraising readiness. A fractional CFO helps you build investor-ready financial models, prepare for due diligence, and present your business with the financial rigor that institutional investors expect. The investment pays for itself in better term sheet terms and faster close times.

Our team has helped numerous early-stage companies prepare for fundraising, including companies that went on to raise from top-tier venture firms. We ensure your financial infrastructure tells the story of your business accurately and compellingly, with projections grounded in evidence and a clear path to the milestones that matter for your next raise.

Understanding your KPIs is essential when pitching to Tandem or any VC. Track the metrics that matter for your specific business, not generic SaaS metrics that may not apply to your model. Tandem values founders who know their business deeply and can explain trends in their numbers without consulting a dashboard.

Whether you are preparing to pitch Tandem Ventures or any other early-stage investor, financial rigor sets you apart from the competition. Our team has helped companies across stages and sectors build the financial infrastructure they need to fundraise with confidence and close faster.

Exploring other venture capital firms? Our comprehensive collection of VC firm reviews covers hundreds of investors across all stages and sectors.

Each review provides detailed information about investment criteria, portfolio companies, and strategies for securing funding. Whether you are looking for seed-stage investors, sector-focused funds, or regional investors with strong ecosystems, our guides provide the insights you need to approach any fund with confidence.

Finding the right investor for your startup is one of the most consequential decisions you will make as a founder. Take the time to understand a firm's thesis, track record, and portfolio before reaching out. A warm introduction from a portfolio founder or co-investor dramatically improves your odds of getting a meeting.

Our guides cover major institutional funds as well as emerging managers that offer unique value propositions for the right companies at the right stage.