Pre-seed VC, US

Backstage Capital

Venture capital firm · Los Angeles · Founded 2015

Quick read

Backstage Capital is a pre-seed and seed-stage VC firm founded in 2015 by Arlan Hamilton, headquartered in Los Angeles, US. It focuses exclusively on startups led by underrepresented founders — women, people of color, and LGBTQ+ individuals — and has backed over 200 companies since inception. A planned $200M fund in partnership with 360 Venture Collective was announced for 2025, marking a significant scale-up from its earlier micro-fund model.

Key facts

Founded
2015
Founders
Arlan Hamilton
Employees
1-10
Sectors
generalist
Website
backstagecapital.com

Investment thesis

Backstage Capital invests at pre-seed through seed stage in US startups founded by underrepresented founders — specifically women, people of color, and LGBTQ+ individuals — across sectors from consumer to enterprise, aiming to close the structural funding gap in tech.

Recent activity

  • Apr 2026press
    Arlan Hamilton participated in a Your First Million LIVE fireside chat, continuing active public engagement as founder and managing partner. linkedin.com
  • Feb 2026press
    Brittany Davis Wilson, General Partner, participated in the H. Naylor Fitzhugh Conference at Harvard Business School, representing Backstage Capital. linkedin.com
  • 2025fundraise
    Backstage Capital announced a planned $200M fund in partnership with 360 Venture Collective, a major step up from its prior micro-fund model that raised over $15M since 2015. superscout.co
  • 2024investment
    Portfolio reached over 200 companies backed since 2015, with 1 new investment recorded in the prior 12-month period — a Series A round in Audiomob. tracxn.com
  • Apr 2021fundraise
    Backstage Crowd, the firm's community funding platform on Republic allowing accredited and non-accredited investors to co-invest alongside Backstage, successfully closed its raise. republic.com
  • Jun 2022leadership
    Backstage Capital cut 75% of operational staff, citing fundraising and growth challenges both externally and internally. peopleofcolorintech.com

Notable investments

Key people

Named individuals at the firm. We don't expose direct email or phone — use their LinkedIn for outreach.

  • Arlan Hamilton · Founder & Managing Partner
    LinkedIn
  • Brittany Davis Wilson · General Partner
    LinkedIn

Sources

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Frequently asked

What is Backstage Capital?+

Backstage Capital is a pre-seed and seed-stage VC firm founded in 2015 by Arlan Hamilton, headquartered in Los Angeles, US. It focuses exclusively on startups led by underrepresented founders — women, people of color, and LGBTQ+ individuals — and has backed over 200 companies since inception.

Where is Backstage Capital headquartered?+

Backstage Capital is headquartered in Los Angeles, United States.

When was Backstage Capital founded?+

Backstage Capital was founded in 2015 by Arlan Hamilton.

What sectors does Backstage Capital invest in?+

Backstage Capital focuses on generalist. They primarily invest in these sectors.

How do I prepare for a meeting with Backstage Capital?+

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Generated by briefthecall.com from public web sources. Last updated June 5, 2026. Each claim is linked to its source above.

Automatically generated by AI from public sources. May be inaccurate or out of date. Remove or correct this profile →