Worklife is a solo-GP, future-of-work and creator-friendly fund (founded 2019 by Brianne Kimmel) that writes high-conviction early-stage checks into technical founders and domain experts building tools for creators, designers, developers and individual contributors. It rejects the 'consumer vs. enterprise' framing, instead backing 'new tools and services to unlock individual potential through creativity, productivity and new types of work.' Worklife meets founders very early, often before they leave their last job, and pairs capital with systematic go-to-market help for technical teams.
A problem the founder has lived through. Worklife favors operators with deep domain expertise who understand the customer's pain firsthand and aim to unlock individual potential through better tools for work.
“Worklife is a future of work focused fund not tied to 'Consumer' or 'Enterprise' labels, but rather focused on new tools and services to unlock individual potential through creativity, productivity and new types of work.” — My pitch to Marc Andreessen, Zoom CEO Eric Yuan and investors in Worklife.
“You have a faster time to market because you've spent your entire career in the customer discovery phase.” — Brianne Kimmel
“People spend 1/3 of their lives at work. Technology has the power to create new jobs, improve existing ones and give people more control over their career progression without employer dependencies.” — Brianne Kimmel
Tools built by an expert for themselves, where the founder chose the buyer and built with them. Worklife wants software that unlocks creativity and productivity for the individual, not generic 'tech for tech people.'
“There are two types of founders: one who builds a product and sets out to find the right buyers and the other chooses the buyer and works closely with them to build the right features.” — Build for the expert, you.
“The greatest innovations we'll see in the workplace will come from new consumer tech that people discover & use daily to improve their work life.” — Brianne Kimmel
Worklife sizes markets through behavioral shifts rather than top-down TAM: the move to remote/flexible work, the rise of side projects and multi-earners, and AI collapsing credentials so far more people can build and sell.
“The best jobs today started as entertainment or a side project: streamers on Twitch, contributors on GitHub, influencers on Instagram and retailers on Shopify.” — Worklife | future of work & creator-friendly venture capital
“As AI continues to democratize technical capabilities, success will increasingly belong to those who can think creatively, move quickly, and ignore conventional wisdom.” — Brianne Kimmel
Real paying customers and seat-expansion at very early stages — not free design partners or AI 'excitement.' Worklife distinguishes genuine intent to buy from curiosity, and wants founders who can quickly find buyers ready to use the product today.
“A false signal I see a lot with early stage AI-first companies is excitement around AI is misinterpreted as likelihood to buy your product.” — A warning for AI-first companies, excitement isn't intent to buy
“In less than a year, Cecilia has single-handedly closed hundreds of paying customers ranging from high-profile tech companies to highly regulated industries.” — Brianne Kimmel
“As companies of all sizes are figuring out their AI strategy, many are signing up for new products, taking meetings with founders, and collecting as much information as possible with no intent on buying your product.” — Brianne Kimmel
“You need to quickly identify companies that are ready to use your product today, you do not have multiple quarters to wait for a company to become a customer.” — Brianne Kimmel
Technical founders and respected operators with deep domain expertise, frequently met before they leave their current job. Worklife weights trusted founder relationships and expert insight heavily and helps with the non-technical work.
“We meet founders early, typically before they leave their last thing.” — Worklife | future of work & creator-friendly venture capital
“The tangible advantages that respected operators with deep domain expertise see when they choose to start a company.” — Brianne Kimmel
“I've had the privilege of working with Bardia at Roam Research & Replit, and Cecilia had been on my list of people I would love to collaborate with in the future for a long time.” — Brianne Kimmel
“We help technical teams with the not so technical stuff.” — Brianne Kimmel
A deliberate monetization plan from day one. Worklife is skeptical of free-only / freemium PLG in isolation and favors pairing product-led growth with a product-minded sales motion; pricing should not be an afterthought.
“price cannot be an afterthought. Companies used to launch with a free product and convert users to paid over time.” — old school GTM vs. new school GTM
“Only 15 to 20 percent of freemium users will convert on their own to paying customers” — Brianne Kimmel
“PLG and Sales are not mutually exclusive. In fact, together, they make a very powerful combination” — Brianne Kimmel
“Gone are the days where you could stay heads down building and figure out how you plan to price, package, and distribute your product after several months of building.” — Brianne Kimmel
A unique go-to-market advantage and a trusted relationship with the ideal customer as the durable edge — distribution and founder-customer trust over raw product features. Worklife backs founders with non-obvious, contrarian advantages.
“I am most confident in companies with trusted relationships with their ideal customer profile and a unique go-to-market advantage.” — Investing in GC.AI: a specialized tool for a growing team of in-house experts
“Success now belongs to those who work smarter, think differently, and refuse to be constrained by traditional ways of building.” — Brianne Kimmel
A timing argument grounded in a real behavioral or technological shift — AI collapsing credentials, the move to flexible/remote work, the old 'work harder' playbook breaking down. Worklife wants founders riding an inevitability, not a fad.
“As we enter the AI era, the old playbook of working harder isn't just outdated—it's counterproductive.” — Creative Hackers: How AI is collapsing credentials and breaking all of the rules
“For the first time in 45 years, people with bachelor's degrees or higher have unemployment rates above the national average.” — Brianne Kimmel
“The 'you can just do things' mantra of Silicon Valley is producing a whole new way of learning and building that needs no college degree.” — Brianne Kimmel
Worklife is comfortable being early and leading; founders should engage before they have everything figured out. The pitch should make clear how Worklife's capital and GTM programs help technical founders, and why each name on the cap table earns its allocation.
“You're never too early. We meet founders early, typically before they leave their last thing.” — Worklife | future of work & creator-friendly venture capital
“For repeat founders & A-teams, fundraising feels like a fast game of Tetris where every name/allocation on the cap table must deliver a high value per $ invested” — Brianne Kimmel
“You have a faster time to market because you've spent your entire career in the customer discovery phase.”