About

A venture studio that builds what it backs.

We back builders, ship the product beside them with our own engineers, and force an answer every cycle: sell, keep building, or stop.

The thesis

Time spent without information is the risk.

The money a fund loses is rarely lost quickly. It goes into the company that is not growing and is not failing either.

Keep building, sell, or stop.

Keep building
The work is moving. It earns the next cycle.
Sell
Demand shows up, and the asset was built to pass diligence.
Stop
No ego, no second year of hoping. The founder hears it the day we know.
~~Wait and see~~
There is no fourth box.

A stop frees the money and the people inside the same week, for something that is already working.

Principles

Verify in person
Build it ourselves
Source every number
State the limits

Where we invest

Five places where the idea is the cheap part.

We are looking for the same thing in all of them: work that only pays off if somebody actually builds it.

AI and automation
Software that does the work, not software that describes the work.
Robotics
Machines that earn on a floor, a bench or a loading dock, rather than in a demo video.
Security
The layer every other system leans on, and the one nobody gets to defer.
Financial infrastructure
The rails money actually moves on. We have traded across them for fifteen years.
Longevity and health
Where the science is already real and the product is still missing.

Team

One team, tied to the outcome.

Jay Bell
Founder & CEO
More than 15 years managing capital and trading internationally. Companies built from the ground up and taken through exits.
Rebecca Chow, PhD
Co-Founder & Managing Partner
PhD-trained scientist turned investor, with experience across Asia, the Middle East and the US. Works with founders from first diligence through fundraising, partnerships and launch.
Cory Loflin
Technology
Eight years building enterprise servers and software-defined storage at IBM and Dell.

Where we are

San Francisco
Office, events and the engineering team
Bay Area
Hardware desk: inventory, bench and shipping
Japantown, San Francisco
Partner store

In pictures

The office and the evenings.

Contact

Investing, building, or buying hardware.

Everything else
hello@he-vc.com
The fund
invest@he-vc.com

Talk to us Work with us

About

A venture studio that builds what it backs.

We back builders, ship the product beside them with our own engineers, and force an answer every cycle: sell, keep building, or stop.

The thesis

Time spent without information is the risk.

The money a fund loses is rarely lost quickly. It goes into the company that is not growing and is not failing either.

Keep building, sell, or stop.

Keep building
The work is moving. It earns the next cycle.
Sell
Demand shows up, and the asset was built to pass diligence.
Stop
No ego, no second year of hoping. The founder hears it the day we know.
~~Wait and see~~
There is no fourth box.

A stop frees the money and the people inside the same week, for something that is already working.

Principles

Verify in person
Build it ourselves
Source every number
State the limits

Where we invest

Five places where the idea is the cheap part.

We are looking for the same thing in all of them: work that only pays off if somebody actually builds it.

AI and automation
Software that does the work, not software that describes the work.
Robotics
Machines that earn on a floor, a bench or a loading dock, rather than in a demo video.
Security
The layer every other system leans on, and the one nobody gets to defer.
Financial infrastructure
The rails money actually moves on. We have traded across them for fifteen years.
Longevity and health
Where the science is already real and the product is still missing.

Team

One team, tied to the outcome.

Jay Bell
Founder & CEO
More than 15 years managing capital and trading internationally. Companies built from the ground up and taken through exits.
Rebecca Chow, PhD
Co-Founder & Managing Partner
PhD-trained scientist turned investor, with experience across Asia, the Middle East and the US. Works with founders from first diligence through fundraising, partnerships and launch.
Cory Loflin
Technology
Eight years building enterprise servers and software-defined storage at IBM and Dell.

Where we are

San Francisco
Office, events and the engineering team
Bay Area
Hardware desk: inventory, bench and shipping
Japantown, San Francisco
Partner store

In pictures

The office and the evenings.

Contact

Investing, building, or buying hardware.

Everything else
hello@he-vc.com
The fund
invest@he-vc.com

Talk to us Work with us

A venture studio that builds what it backs.

Time spent without information is the risk.

Keep building, sell, or stop.

Five places where the idea is the cheap part.

AI and automation

Robotics

Security

Financial infrastructure

Longevity and health

One team, tied to the outcome.

Jay Bell

Rebecca Chow, PhD

Cory Loflin

San Francisco

Bay Area

Japantown, San Francisco

The office and the evenings.

Investing, building, or buying hardware.

A venture studio that builds what it backs.

Time spent without information is the risk.

Keep building, sell, or stop.

Five places where the idea is the cheap part.

AI and automation

Robotics

Security

Financial infrastructure

Longevity and health

One team, tied to the outcome.

Jay Bell

Rebecca Chow, PhD

Cory Loflin

San Francisco

Bay Area

Japantown, San Francisco

The office and the evenings.

Investing, building, or buying hardware.