David Frankel is a co-founder and partner at Founder Collective, a seed-stage venture firm with 18 years of investing. He led early investments in Uber, PillPack, SeatGeek, Shield AI, Suno, Whoop, Trade Desk, Coupang, and Olo. He emphasizes founder-first investing, ownership discipline, and long hold periods.
no scored calls yet — needs a stated position or a categorical verdict, with a matured window vs SPY
Deeply involved from seed; believes Suno's consumer music product can transition from creation tool to consumption platform disrupting Spotify/Apple Music.
Frankel cited his role in Shield AI's first institutional check and argued that the United States needs defense AI because adversaries have powerful capabilities, highlighting his concern about Chinese open models.
GP as largest LP creates alignment for distributed proceeds (DPI) not management fees; discipline maintained despite pressure to raise larger funds.