Restive Ventures is a San Francisco, CA-based seed-stage venture capital firm focused on investing in fintech founders — especially pre-seed and seed companies pursuing financial services innovation such as payments, infrastructure, compliance, AI-native fintech, and regulated workflows. The firm combines capital, operational expertise, and deep industry networks to help fintech startups scale.

Pre-Seed: Active participation and often first institutional capital into idea to early product ventures.
Seed: Primary focus — core stage where Restive writes its checks.
Series A: Occasional follow-on participation with existing portfolio companies and co-investors.

Typical Check Size: $500,000–$1M initial investment at market terms in seed or pre-seed rounds.
Follow-On Reserve: Up to ~$5M per company reserved for follow-on support.
Typical Ownership Taken: ~5%–15% equity at entry — founder-friendly but meaningful minority position at seed/pre-seed.
• Because Restive often leads/co-leads rounds of this size (especially with majority of its capital coming early), ownership typically falls in the mid-single to low-double-digit range, consistent with institutional seed norms for $500K–$1M checks.
• Board/Observer Rights: When Restive leads or takes a larger allocation, it may take an observer or board seat appropriate for ownership size.

Submission Method: Founders can apply through Restive’s online application for cohorts (e.g., 9th fintech founder cohort) or engage via warm introductions from fintech operators or investors.
Application Cycle: Enrollment via announced cohort windows (e.g., annual application periods).
Lead Role: Restive is comfortable leading or co-leading rounds and becomes an early institutional partner.

Sector Focus: FinTech and financial services technologies — including payments, infrastructure, compliance, risk, B2B workflows, and AI-native financial products.
Geography: U.S. and global fintech founders eligible; Restive-backed companies span locations including U.S., U.K., Mexico, and India.
Stage: Pre-Seed through Seed with product in development or live. 
Company Profile: Venture-scale fintech opportunities with strong technical founders and a strategic approach to regulated markets. 
Team: Engineering-led teams with domain expertise in financial services.

Initial Intake: Founders submit deck and business vision for review aligned with fintech thesis.
 Screening: Early screening by partners for product, team, and regulatory fit.
 Partner Diligence: Focused diligence on market, product, technology, and founders’ domain expertise.
 Deal Structuring: Terms negotiated in line with early institutional VC norms (priced rounds or SAFEs).
 This structured process emphasizes founder alignment and path to growth in regulated financial services.

Strategic Capital: Seed capital around $500K–$1M with potential for follow-on support.
Operational Support: Hands-on guidance from fintech operators and investor network.
Network & Relationships: Curated introductions to partners, regulators, customers, and future investors.
Events & Ecosystem: Access to Go Restive founder experiences, deep investor forums, and regulatory engagement opportunities.