Pre-seed and seed venture capital

The first current behind enduring companies.

Rivercairn leads pre-seed and seed rounds in every sector. We write the first check and stay for the long run.

Capital across three funds: $212m
Companies backed: 71
Typical first check: $300k-$1.8m
Year founded: 2016

A small stacked stone cairn on a rocky riverbank, with a wide river and misted hills behind it.

A marker for whoever crosses next.

On old river crossings, travellers stack stones to show where the water can be forded. Nobody owns the cairn. Each person who makes it across adds a stone for the one behind them.

Elena Marsh and David Okafor started Rivercairn in 2016 with that idea and a $38m first fund. Both had founded companies. Both remembered how few investors would commit before there was proof, and how much the ones who did mattered.

Ten years and three funds later, we still do one thing: lead the first round, early, for founders we believe in, and stay with them for the decade it takes to build something that lasts.

2016
Fund I, $38m. Eleven first checks in the first year.
2019
Fund II, $74m. Reserves for follow-on rounds added.
2023
Fund III, $100m. Priya Raman joins as Partner.
2026
Seventy-one companies backed, four acquired.

Conviction before consensus.

The best companies look unproven at the start. We are built to back them at that moment.

We decide early
We commit before a round is crowded, often before there is revenue. Most of our first checks go into companies with fewer than five people.
We stay for the long run
A first check is the start of a decade-long relationship. Around half of every fund is held back so we can invest again as the company grows.
We back founders, not trends
We invest in people and the problems they understand deeply. Our portfolio spans fintech, climate, health, software and industry, and every sector is in scope.

With you from the first check.

Lead the first round
We lead or co-lead pre-seed and seed rounds, typically $300k to $1.8m. One partner meeting, a decision within three weeks.
Follow on with reserves
We hold capital back for our companies and invest again at Series A and beyond. We have followed on in more than two thirds of the portfolio.
Work alongside you
Hiring, fundraising and first customers. A partner who picks up the phone, from day one to exit.

The Rivercairn workroom: a long oak table with notebooks and a laptop under tall steel-framed windows. — The workroom, where most first meetings happen.

Companies we have backed.

A selection from 71 companies across three funds.

Tesselpay
Treasury software for mid-sized exporters.
Fintech, Seed, 2019
Ferrowind
Long-duration storage for rural grids.
Climate, Pre-seed, 2021
Quorra Health
Remote cardiac rehab after hospital discharge.
Healthcare, Seed, 2020
Nimbalt
Test environments that start in seconds.
Developer tools, Seed, 2022
Carrowline
Freight booking for regional carriers.
Logistics, Pre-seed, 2017
Veyra Bio
Enzymes for low-temperature manufacturing.
Biotech, Seed, 2023
Brieflow
Contract review for in-house legal teams.
Software, Pre-seed, 2024
Stallgrove
Wholesale ordering for independent grocers.
Commerce, Seed, 2018

Portrait of Ana Ferreira — Ana Ferreira
Co-founder and CEO, Tesselpay

The partners.

Elena Marsh
General Partner
Co-founded Ledgerline, a payments company acquired in 2015. Co-founded Rivercairn in 2016. Invests in fintech and infrastructure.
David Okafor
General Partner
Engineering lead at two venture-backed startups, then founder of a developer tools company. Co-founded Rivercairn. Backs technical founders.
Priya Raman
Partner
Ten years running hospital operations before moving into investing. Joined in 2023. Focuses on health and biotech.
Tomas Lindqvist
Venture Partner
Built and sold a freight software company over fifteen years. Works with founders on climate, logistics and industry.