Consumer tech is messy right now. CAC is up, retention is down, and most investors who made money on direct-to-consumer between 2019-2021 got burned. But some VCs are still writing checks for apps and platforms that actually work. Here's who's active.
Lightspeed Venture Partners: Led Faire's $400M Series G at $12.4B valuation in March 2024
Andreessen Horowitz: Backed Substack's $65M Series B and continues doubling down on creator economy
Accel: Series A investor in Notion, recently backed mental health app Headway at $3.5B
Greylock Partners: Early backer of Discord, led Substack's seed round
Index Ventures: Series A investor in Roblox and Revolut, active in social and fintech consumer plays
Benchmark: Backed Nextdoor and SnapChat early, selective but writes big checks
General Catalyst: Led Toast's growth rounds, focuses on product-led consumer companies
Bessemer Venture Partners: Backed Canva and Fiverr, active in creator tools and marketplace apps
Forerunner Ventures: D2C specialist that backed Glossier, Warby Parker, and Faire
FirstMark Capital: Early investor in Pinterest and Shopify, focuses on network effects
Insight Partners: Growth-stage checks for consumer apps with proven unit economics
Sequoia Capital: Backed WhatsApp and Instagram early, now more selective on consumer
Tiger Global: Wrote massive growth checks 2020-2021, now cautious but still active
Coatue Management: Tech-focused with consumer bets on apps showing strong retention
SignalFire: Data-driven consumer tech investor, backed Guild Education and HoneyBook
Version One Ventures: Canadian early-stage fund backing mobile-first consumer apps
Northzone: European VC that backed Spotify and Klarna early
Battery Ventures: Growth investor in consumer SaaS and marketplace apps
XYZ Venture Capital: Pre-seed and seed specialist for consumer social apps
BBG Ventures: Women-led fund focusing on consumer tech and commerce
Find investors who've backed companies past the Series A wall. Most consumer investors are good at pattern-matching on early traction but terrible at understanding post-PMF burn rates.
Experience matters more than brand names—a partner who's seen retention curves flatten at 50k DAU knows what questions to ask.
Network means actual platform partnerships and growth channel intros, not "we know people at Google." Check if they can intro you to App Store editors or TikTok partnership teams.
Alignment on timeline is critical—growth investors expect 3-4x annual growth while you're rebuilding your product.
Track record sshows up in follow-on rounds. If their portfolio companies can't raise Series B, they probably gave bad advice at Series A. Use Ellty to share your deck with trackable links. You'll see who actually opens your retention cohorts versus just skimming growth metrics—learn how to send pitch decks effectively with Ellty.
Value-add claims about "operational support" usually mean monthly check-ins where they ask about revenue. Ask their founders what help they got during CAC spikes or platform policy changes.
Identify potential investors by checking who backed similar apps that failed. They understand the space and might have FOMO about missing the next winner—strong investor outreach helps you target the right ones.
Craft a compelling pitch that leads with your 30-day retention number, not your TAM. Most consumer investors have seen 100 pitch decks claiming massive markets.
Share your pitch deck through Ellty with unique tracking links. Monitor which pages investors spend time on—if they skip your unit economics, that's useful insight into whether they understand consumer business models. Make sure your deck is secure by using our PDF protection tools.
Utilize your network by DMing founders from portfolio companies on LinkedIn. Most will tell you actual response times and whether the firm helps with growth or just shows up for board meetings.
Attend networking events like Insight's ScaleUp conference or General Catalyst's Build conference. Mobile Growth Summit and App Promotion Summit are where consumer investors actually show up, not generic startup conferences.
Engage on online platforms by commenting on partner tweets about consumer trends—but only if you have something smart to say. Generic replies get ignored.
Organize due diligence materials before you need them. Set up an Ellty data room with your cohort analysis, CAC payback model, and app store metrics before investors ask. It speeds up the process when they want to move fast.
Set up introductory meetings that lead with your key differentiation in monetization or retention. Don’t waste the opening 15 minutes walking through your founding story. If you're sharing sensitive financials, prioritize deck security with Ellty.
Consumer tech funding dropped 63% from 2021 to 2023, but stabilized in 2024. Investors who survived the correction are writing checks again, but only for apps with real retention and clear paths to profitability. The shift from growth-at-all-costs to sustainable unit economics means you need investors who understand CAC payback and LTV calculations. Platform risk is higher than ever—TikTok uncertainty, iOS privacy changes, and AI disruption are real concerns. Work with investors who’ve helped companies navigate these issues, and make sure your data-sharing process stays DPA compliant.
Moves fast on consumer deals and has deep experience scaling marketplace apps. Their portfolio includes Faire, Affirm, and Grubhub.
Strong operational support for consumer companies but expects aggressive growth. Backed Facebook, Instagram, and Airbnb early.
Fast decision-making and good at spotting product-market fit early. Led Series A in Slack, Spotify, and Notion.
Selective but supportive once they invest. Strong network in consumer social and helped Discord and LinkedIn scale.
European roots but backs US consumer companies. Strong fintech and gaming portfolio with Roblox and Revolut.
Takes only one board seat per partner so they're deeply involved. Backed Snapchat, Uber, and Nextdoor early.
Strong operational support and good at helping companies scale go-to-market. Backed Stripe, Snap, and Airbnb.
Long history in consumer with Shopify, Pinterest, and LinkedIn. Good at identifying platform shifts early.
D2C specialist that understands consumer brand building. Backed Glossier, Warby Parker, and Away.
Early-stage focus on network effect businesses. Backed Pinterest, Shopify, and Discord early.
Growth-stage investor that writes large checks for proven consumer apps. Focuses on profitability paths.
Legendary track record but extremely selective on consumer now. Backed WhatsApp, Instagram, and Airbnb early.
Wrote massive growth checks in 2020-2021, now more disciplined but still active in consumer.
Tech-focused hedge fund that backs consumer apps with strong retention metrics. Data-driven approach.
Quantitative approach to consumer investing with proprietary data platform. Good at spotting trends early.
Canadian early-stage fund with strong mobile consumer portfolio. Backed Tumblr and Intercom early.
European VC with strong track record in consumer. Backed Spotify, Klarna, and Trustpilot early.
Growth investor that backs consumer SaaS and marketplace apps with proven business models.
Pre-seed and seed specialist for consumer social apps. Small checks but helpful for early validation.
Women-led fund focusing on consumer tech. Strong track record with Rethink, Hims & Hers, and Billie.
These 20 investors closed consumer tech deals from 2023 to 2026. Before you start reaching out, set up proper tracking so you know who's actually interested versus who's just collecting decks.
Upload your deck to Ellty and create a unique link for each investor. You'll see exactly which slides they view and how long they spend on your retention cohorts. Most founders are surprised to learn investors skip the market size slides but spend 5+ minutes reviewing CAC payback calculations. That tells you what questions to prep for.
When investors ask for financials or your data room, share an Ellty link instead of messy Google Drive folders. Your cohort analysis, unit economics model, and app store metrics in one place with view analytics. You'll know if they're serious when they spend time on your numbers.
How do I know if an investor is still active in consumer?
Check Crunchbase or Pitchbook for deals closed in 2024-2026. If they haven't led a consumer deal in 18+ months, they're probably not writing checks anymore. Some pivoted to B2B SaaS or AI infrastructure.
Should I cold email investors or wait for warm intros?
Warm intros work better but take longer. If your metrics are strong (60%+ D30 retention, sub-6 month CAC payback), cold outreach can work. Lead with numbers in the subject line.
What's the difference between seed and Series A consumer investors?
Seed investors bet on team and early traction signals. Series A investors need to see retention curves, unit economics, and a clear path to $10M+ ARR. Don't pitch Series A firms with just 5k MAU.
How many investors should I reach out to?
Plan on 40-60 conversations to get 3-5 serious term sheets. Consumer is harder than B2B SaaS. Most will pass after seeing retention or CAC numbers.
When should I set up a data room?
Before you start raising. Investors who move fast will ask for detailed metrics within 48 hours of first meeting. Having it ready speeds up the process and looks professional.
Do investors actually look at pitch deck analytics?
Some do. If an investor spends 10+ minutes on your deck and reviews financial slides multiple times, they're doing real diligence. If they spend 90 seconds total, they're not interested but too polite to say no immediately.