| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Venture capital |
| Founded | 2017 |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
Key people | Jim Andelman (Co‑founder) Mark Mullen (Co‑founder) Brett Queener (Partner) |
| Total assets | >US$1 billion (2025) [1] |
| Website | www |
Bonfire Ventures is a private venture capital firm based in Los Angeles, California, that invests in seed-stage business-to-business (B2B) software companies. Founded in 2017 by Jim Andelman and Mark Mullen, the firm focuses on startups with recurring revenue models and applications of artificial intelligence. As of 2025, Bonfire Ventures manages over US$1 billion in assets across four funds, including Bonfire IV, which closed at US$245 million in February 2025. [1]
Planning for Bonfire Ventures began in 2014, when Andelman and Mullen, both solo investors based in Southern California, began discussing the idea of consolidating their investment efforts. [1] [2] At the time, Andelman was leading Rincon Venture Partners, and Mullen owned Double M Partners. [3] In 2017, they formally established Bonfire Ventures to unify their investment efforts into a single institutional fund dedicated to leading seed-stage rounds in B2B software startups. In 2018, Brett Queener, who had held senior roles at Salesforce and Siebel Systems, became a Partner. [4] Tyler Churchill joined Bonfire as a summer intern and held various roles over more than six years, becoming a Partner in 2025. [5]
Bonfire Ventures has raised four core funds since its inception. Bonfire I closed in 2018 with US$63 million and supported approximately 30 early-stage companies, primarily based in Southern California. [6] [7] Early portfolio companies included Spekit, Aforza, Boulevard, a platform for appointment-based businesses, and Postie, which provides direct mail automation software. [6] [3]
Bonfire II launched in 2020 with an initial capital of approximately US$100 million. [7] The fund retained a comparable portfolio size while extending its investment activities beyond its original geographic scope. Seed-stage investments from Bonfire II include companies such as Cube Software. [7] [8] The firm also participated in a $2.5 million funding round for Figment, following its earlier involvement in the company's 2018 pre-seed and 2019 seed rounds. [9] In addition to Bonfire II, the firm also manages a Select Fund, which focuses on Series B investments in later-stage startups. Notable investments from the Select Fund include ChowNow Inc., a restaurant ordering platform based in Santa Monica, California. [8]
In 2022, Bonfire raised US$168 million for its third core fund, along with US$63 million in a companion opportunity fund, totaling US$231 million. [4] Portfolio companies supported through this fund include Topline Pro, and Rwazi. [10] [11] In 2024, Bonfire participated in a Series A funding round for Supio, an AI-driven legal technology company. [12]
Bonfire IV closed in February 2025 with US$245 million, making it the firm's largest fund to date. [1] It continues the firm's model of backing seed-stage software companies, with increased attention to businesses integrating artificial intelligence. [1] [13]
Bonfire Ventures invests in seed-stage B2B software companies, typically those generating at least US$500,000 in annual recurring revenue and demonstrate early signs of product-market fit and customer retention. [14] Initial investments generally range from US$2.5 million to US$4 million, with Bonfire often acting as lead investor. [3] [15] Bonfire Ventures supports approximately 25 to 30 companies per fund. [6]
Bonfire Ventures’ portfolio includes companies across sectors such as financial technology, enterprise software, and artificial intelligence. The firm has made several early-stage investments in AI-focused startups, including Operative Intelligence, a developer of machine learning tools for business operations, and Rwazi, a data analytics platform leveraging AI to support consumer intelligence in emerging markets. [11] [16] In 2023, Rwazi completed a US$4 million seed round, followed by a US$12 million Series A led by Bonfire Ventures in July 2025. [17] [16]
Other investments in the AI domain include Postie, which uses machine learning for direct mail marketing optimization, and Topline Pro, a platform that applies generative AI to help small businesses manage digital marketing. [18] [19] Bonfire participated in Topline Pro's US$5 million seed funding round in October 2022, [10] its US$12 million funding round in 2023, [19] and its US$27 million Series B in August 2025. [20] [21]
Additional portfolio companies include MNTN, [1] Spekit, [4] Cube, [6] and Boulevard. [22] Notable exits include The Trade Desk, TaxJar (acquired by Stripe), Moat (acquired by Oracle), and Openpath (acquired by Motorola). [1]
Bonfire Ventures is managed by its founders Jim Andelman and Mark Mullen. [2] Brett Queener and Tyler Churchill serve as Partners. [3] [5] As of 2025, the firm operates from its office in Los Angeles and manages over US$1 billion in assets across four core investment funds, as well as select funds that target later-stage opportunities. [13] [1]