Michael Cardamone
CEO & Managing Partner
Investor New York
Background
- One of the first 30 employees at Box (BD role)
- Led partnerships at AcademixDirect
- After 6 years in operating roles, launched Forum Ventures (originally Acceleprise)
- 10+ years running the fund and accelerator
- Published "The State of the Pre-seed and Seed VC Market" reports
Investment Focus
- B2B SaaS
- AI applications (especially B2B AI)
- Pre-seed stage exclusively
- Offers accelerator + venture studio model, not just capital
Notable Investments
430+ portfolio companies. Follow-on investors include NEA, Andreessen Horowitz, Salesforce Ventures, and other top-tier firms.
AI Agent Relevance
- Strong fit if your AI agent targets B2B use cases — Forum Ventures is the premier B2B pre-seed accelerator
- The AI venture studio model means they pair founders with AI expertise and co-building support
- 430+ portfolio companies means a massive network of B2B SaaS founders for customer intros
- ~$1B in follow-on funding raised across the portfolio shows strong signal to later-stage investors
- The 15-week accelerator provides structured support beyond just a check
- Remote-first format makes this accessible regardless of location
- NOTE: This is an accelerator model — requires applying and participating in the program, not just taking a check