Operators first. Investors because of it.
First Run is run by people who have built consumer businesses from zero — not financiers who studied them.
Brands aren't discovered. They're made.
First Run grew out of Union Kitchen, the Washington, DC food accelerator that has helped build 250+ consumer brands since 2014. Years of building taught us a pattern: the best food brands aren't discovered — they're made, with the right product, the right margins, and the right first hundred days on shelf.
So we built First Run around that pattern: an Accelerator that builds brands from day one, an Angel Network that invests at first traction, and a Fund that scales the winners. Manufacturing, distribution, and retail stay in the family through Union Kitchen — which means our founders test in real stores, with real shoppers, from week one.
Our founders' prior companies have been backed by Bessemer Venture Partners — and by the founders and CEOs of major technology and consumer companies, including Shopify, Etsy, and Yelp.
We've raised the rounds, stocked the shelves, and signed the exits. That's exactly the experience we put to work for the brands we back.