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We invest in founders who are rebuilding foundational industries.

Perspective

Foundational industries represent more than half of the US GDP.

The Problem

Unrealized innovation
due to chronic under-investment

Foundational industries—spanning manufacturing to mobility—are the backbone of the American economy, yet they are stuck in the analog world and have been underinvested in for decades. World-class founders with big ideas are increasingly turning their attention to these categories. Construct brings the necessary investing and operating partnership to help early stage companies transform these industries and fix century-old problems.

Investments

We partner with a limited set of companies, providing real-world expertise and investing meaningful time and resources to support founders and their teams. Here are a few.
Copia
Copia

Copia connects the industrial world through modern software development tools.

copia.io
Incremental
Incremental

Incremental automates what e-commerce brands need in order to grow profitably.

incremental.com
ChargeLab
ChargeLab

ChargeLab connects electric vehicle infrastructure around the globe.

chargelab.co
Chef Robotics
Chef Robotics

Chef Robotics automates food production.

chefrobotics.ai
Veho
Veho

Veho transforms parcel shipping into a competitive advantage for brands.

shipveho.com
Hadrian
Hadrian

Hadrian transforms manufacturing for space & defense.

hadrian.co
Verve
Verve

Verve transforms wearables in logistics and industrial markets.

vervemotion.com
Telegraph
Telegraph

Telegraph connects freight rail data.

telegraph.io
Woflow
Woflow

Woflow automates merchant data onboarding.

woflow.com
Buffalo Market
Buffalo Market

Buffalo Market transforms direct store distribution.

buffalomarket.com
Arkestro
Arkestro

Arkestro transforms procurement.

arkestro.com
The Rounds
The Rounds

The Rounds automates and simplifies the delivery of household staples.

therounds.co
Impulse
Impulse

Impulse transforms home appliances.

impulselabs.com
Evenly
Evenly

Evenly transforms the orthodontia experience.

evenly.com
Amplio
Amplio

Amplio transforms the supply chain for electronic components.

getamplio.com
Vammo
Vammo

Vammo transforms the electric motorbike experience in LatAm through battery swapping.

vammo.com
Outgo
Outgo

Outgo connects and builds financial tools for carriers.

outgo.co
H2Ok Innovations
H2Ok Innovations

H2Ok Innovations automates precision optimization in liquid systems.

h2okinnovations.com
Hansa
Hansa

Hansa connects SMB data.

www.withhansa.com
TimberEye
TimberEye

TimberEye transforms the lumber supply chain.

www.timbereye.com
Prospect
Prospect

Prospect transforms startup recruiting.

www.joinprospect.com
Kinetic
Kinetic

Kinetic transforms repair and maintenance for modern autos.

www.kinetic.auto
ReadyOn
ReadyOn

ReadyOn transforms the hiring and scheduling hourly workers.

readyon.ai
Swarm Aero
Swarm Aero

Swarm Aero transforms the paradigm of operating UAVs.

swarmaero.com
Owlery
Owlery

Owlery connects and automates your logistics supply chain.

owlery.ai
Earth
Earth

Earth transforms the body disposition process.

earthfuneral.com
Advex
Advex

Advex automates synthetic data generation and usage.

advex.ai
DBOS
DBOS

DBOS transforms operating systems through a cloud-native OS.

www.dbos.dev

Past Experience

We’ve had incredible runs with remarkable teams—partnering, advising, guiding, and supporting from earliest stages to significant scale. Here are some examples.
Uber
Uber

Uber (NYSE: UBER) transforms the movement of people and things.

uber.com
Desktop Metal
Desktop Metal

Desktop Metal (NYSE: DM) automates high-speed, high-performance, 3D printing at production scale.

desktopmetal.com
Onshape
Onshape

Onshape (acquired by PTC) connects data and designers across the product development and design process.

onshape.com
Caribou
Caribou

Caribou puts drivers in control of their auto finances.

www.gocaribou.com
Tulip
Tulip

Tulip connects systems and tools for the manufacturing workforce.

tulip.co
Framebridge
Framebridge

Framebridge transforms how people tell their story by framing the things they love.

www.framebridge.com
Formlabs
Formlabs

Formlabs transforms digital fabrication, so anyone can make anything.

formlabs.com

Our Team

A partnership built for partnership.

We bring our whole team's investing and operating experiences to everything we do. We don't shy away from hard work and always aim to be a founder's first call.
Our Team

Dayna Grayson

Co-founder & General Partner

Dayna Grayson

A technology investor who built an early focus on the industrial sector. Lead investor in companies such as Desktop Metal (NYSE: DM), Onshape (PTC), and Framebridge (GHC), among others.

“Founders put their all into trying to make the impossible real, with little data and few resources compared to their ambition. I strive to match that with balanced resourcefulness and empathy. Being a great board member means showing up to listen and to be ready to act when needed.”

Dayna was one of the first venture capitalists to build a portfolio around the transformation of industrial sectors of our economy. She co-founded Construct to expand this focus and pursue the next generation of massive companies to be built in the tech sector, establishing the partnership with Rachel around complementary investing skills and an early-stage only focus. Prior to launching Construct, she was a partner at NEA where she backed companies creating new advances in manufacturing, automation, and vertically integrated consumer brands. She led investments in companies including Desktop Metal, Onshape, Framebridge, Tulip, Formlabs, and Guideline. In 2020, Desktop Metal (NYSE: DM) went public where she remains on the board as chair of the compensation committee. Onshape was acquired for $525m by PTC in 2019 and Framebridge was acquired by Graham Holdings in 2020.

Prior to joining NEA, Dayna was an investor at North Bridge Venture Partners in Boston. She started her career in product development and led design efforts at Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB), the leading global provider of software to nonprofit organizations, as the company grew to over $130 million in revenue and completed a successful public offering.

She is a graduate of University of Virginia with a B.Sc. in Systems Engineering, and while there she built a startup using computer vision and eye-tracking for the physically handicapped. She received an MBA from Harvard Business School, where, today, she serves as a venture partner and an advisor to the MS/MBA program. Dayna is a founding member of All Raise, with the mission of improving diversity in venture capital.

Rachel Holt

Co-founder & General Partner

Rachel Holt

Operator turned investor. Early employee and a senior exec at Uber as the business achieved massive scale. Led the US/Canada Rides business, built the Incubator and the New Mobility business.

“I love founders who aren’t taking the easy road. I know firsthand that it takes a different kind of entrepreneur and team, and a different kind of investor to navigate the challenges and opportunities of the real world and am inspired by those who set out on that journey.”

As an operator, Rachel had a passion for growth and has managed almost every function from operations to marketing, engineering, product, and customer support teams. Rachel and Dayna co-founded Construct to bring that experience to early stage investing, supporting founders as they set out and to build hyper scale. Before leaving Uber in 2020, Rachel was a long-time member of Uber's Executive Leadership Team having spent almost a decade at the company. She began as one of the company’s first 30 employees and her role quickly expanded to running the US & Canada Rides business in addition to Global Marketing and Brand, and Customer Operations, which represented nearly half of Uber's bookings, and just under half of the employees. Rachel then led the company's New Mobility organization, which includes the JUMP eBike and eScooter businesses as well as running Uber's Incubator which funds and develops new products and services on Uber platform.

Before launching Construct, Rachel invested in companies such as Calibrate, Urbanstems, and Caribou, where she serves on the board today. Rachel began her career at Bain & Company. She graduated magna cum laude from Amherst College as a 4-year All-American tennis player and earned her MBA from Stanford University, where she was an Arjay Miller Scholar. She was featured on Fortune’s 40 under 40 and was named by Fast Company as One of the Most Creative People in Business. Rachel is a native New Yorker, and Mom of 3.

Kirby Bartlett

COO & CFO

Kirby Bartlett

25 years in venture, including 18 years managing operations. Helped grow two previous VC firms from early stages into well-established firms with efficient operations.

"Our investment team supports founders. My job is to support the investment team, allowing them more time and energy to focus on founders. And I get a front row seat watching dreams materialize."

Kirby is a highly experienced venture capital executive capable of managing all operational aspects of a VC firm. He has 25 years in venture capital, including 18 years managing operations, with responsibilities ranging from fundraising, investor relations, regulatory compliance, legal, accounting, tax, IT, recruiting, and human resources. He started his career investing, including three IPOs. As such, he understands the unique needs of the investment team and how to support them. He has participated in over 1,200 investment committee meetings; there isn’t much he hasn’t seen before.

Prior to Construct, Kirby helped grow two VC firms from early stages into well-established firms with efficient operations. He has helped raise $1.8 billion across 7 funds and 11 co-investment vehicles. For 7 years, Kirby was the COO & CCO at ACME Capital. His senior leadership role in this early-stage VC firm covered all non-investment operations. For 18 years, Kirby worked at Bay City Capital, where he was Managing Director and Chief Administrative Officer. He started with this venture capital firm at its formation. His initial activities focused on investing and then expanded to operations as the firm grew.

Kirby holds an MBA from University of San Francisco, graduating 1st in his class, and received a BA in Molecular Biology from the University of California, Berkeley. In his free time, Kirby enjoys exploring the world with his wife, especially now that their children are grown.

Camila Key Saruhashi

Investor

Camila Key Saruhashi

Early stage investor and operator with focus on the tech and financial services sectors. Former Head of Ops at Nubank. Led investments at Capchase, AtomicVest, Finkargo, and others.

"Founders pour everything into turning the impossible into reality. Solving the big problems in our world demands a special breed of entrepreneur, a resilient team, and a partner ready for the real-world rollercoaster. I am honored to back founders who are crazy enough to embark on this wild journey and create something extraordinary together."

Camila spent most of her career as an investor and operator in fast growth companies. Passionate about companies that were trying to solve the big problems in our world, she was drawn to startups such as Nubank, one of the largest global digital banks, where she was Head of Operations in the early days. There, she led a team of 300 people that managed everything from customer acquisition, customer management, billing, payments and collections. After Nubank, she worked on new products at Earnin, one of the first early wage access providers in the U.S., where she focused on helping the 70M Americans who live paycheck to paycheck.

As an investor, she worked in early stage ventures firms such as QED Investors and Redpoint e.ventures. At QED Investors, she built a portfolio of companies focused particularly on providing embedded financial services to big underserved markets. Some of her portfolio included Capchase, Atomicvest, Finkargo, Vixtra, 40Seas, and many others. Prior to that, she spent years working at Redpoint e.ventures in Sao Paulo, where she invested in some of today’s largest startups in Latin America.

Prior to her career as operator and investor, Camila worked at the Boston Consulting Group, and Endeavor, one of the leading global communities for high impact entrepreneurs.

Camila holds a Bachelor's degree in Finance from FGV-EAESP, one of the universities in Brazil, and a MBA degree from Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Caroline Duffy

Investor

Caroline Duffy

Early stage technology investor, focused on AI. ~10 years working with software companies from ideation-phase startups to Fortune 50 institutions.

"I love partnering with founders who embrace the art of the possible, without forgetting that the journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step."

Caroline has spent the last several years building and investing in early stage AI startups, and the better part of a decade working with software companies, from ideation-phase startups to Fortune 50 institutions. Prior to Construct, Caroline was an investor at AIFund, an early stage venture fund and startup studio that invested in and built artificial intelligence companies from the ground up. Caroline focused on bridging AI technology with compelling use cases in industries that move the world forward, driving investments in overlooked and underinvested spaces like manufacturing, logistics, and industrials. She also led the incubation of several portfolio companies, including serving as interim-CEO.

Before becoming an investor, Caroline was a management consultant, partnering with Fortune 500 companies on strategy execution, often during times of significant transition in their markets, strategy, or leadership teams. She began her career as a researcher at Harvard Business School, studying the efficacy of online advertising through the use of facial recognition technology and infrared eye tracking.

Caroline received her MBA from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, and a BA, Cum Laude, from Dartmouth College with an honors citation in quantitative data analysis.

In her spare time, Caroline is a passionate advocate for introducing more women and girls to education and career opportunities in AI. She is an active member of AllRaise, and serves on the Curator’s Circle Committee at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Dan DePaoli

Investor

Dan DePaoli

Investor with ~5 years in the public and private financial markets. Experience working with companies focused on National Security, Critical Infrastructure, and AI.

"I'm driven to support founders tackling important issues that secure and improve our way of life."

Dan has spent the last five years working across various stages of the capital markets, primarily focused on companies working in National Security, Critical Infrastructure, and AI. Prior to Construct, he was an Associate at a venture capital firm focused on the Cyber, Space, and Energy sectors, where he was responsible for leading a team of investment analysts driving portfolio support, due diligence, and research efforts.

Dan began his career at Goldman Sachs, where he spent 4 years, primarily on the Aerospace & Defense team in Global Investment Research. In this role, Dan worked on a team covering ~30 companies ranging from ~$500M to >$100B in market capitalization. He built and maintained financial models for the companies, tracked relevant industry data, discussed corporate strategy and opportunities with company management, and advised asset management clients across various strategies. With his particular focus being the Defense and Space sectors, Dan drove the equity research coverage launch process for Maxar Technologies (NYSE: MAXR), Virgin Galactic (NYSE: SPCE), and Teledyne Technologies (NYSE: TDY).

Dan received a BA, Magna Cum Laude, from Hamilton College where he studied Economics and Government, and was a captain of the baseball team. Dan is a CFA® charterholder.

Eugene Wan

Investor

Eugene Wan

An early stage investor and operator with a decade of experience, dedicated to partnering with founders audacious enough to rethink entire industries.

“Founders are giving their all to shaping the future in a way that only they can. They deserve thought partners and investors that give their all to support them—this humbles and motivates me everyday.”

Eugene has broad experience as an investor and operator in early stage companies, with a deep interest and focus on how emerging technologies enable reinvention. Most recently, he was on the founding team of The Engine, the venture capital firm affiliated with MIT. With the mission of accelerating the commercialization of research, he helped lead investments into companies such as Zapata, Form Energy, Commonwealth Fusion Systems, iSee, Kytopen, among others. Beyond this, Eugene helped build the system and infrastructure to support these companies through their earliest stages.

Before that, he served as Chief of Staff to the CEO at Galvanize—the premiere data science and data engineering education company—through a period of rapid growth and multiple rounds of financings. Galvanize was acquired by K12 (NYSE: LRN). Eugene started his career at Techstars and Foundry Group, helping to run multiple classes of Techstars Boulder—which included companies such as Digital Ocean, Salesloft, GoodApril (acqd by Intuit), and Polymorph Labs (acqd by Walmart)—then ran special projects at Foundry Group (such as FG Press, a boutique publishing firm for authors focused on entrepreneurship, venture capital, and journey of company building).

Eugene holds a BA in Economics and Political Science from University of Colorado—Boulder. There, he helped pioneer entrepreneurship education for fellow undergraduates and served on the Advisory Board for Silicon Flatirons.

Anshu Mohan

Investor

Anshu Mohan

Bringing experience investing in growth stage companies — and other venture capital funds — to early stage founders rebuilding the most important industries of the economy.

"It is a pleasure to have the opportunity to back founders and their ideas that are working towards a more efficient and sustainable society."

Anshu spent the last two years working at a venture capital firm while finishing his undergraduate studies. Prior to Construct, he was on the investment team at TrueBridge Capital Partners, a fund of funds focused firm, where he analyzed fund data analysis and worked on secondary transactions. He built models to track the performance of previous fund investments, which brought a qualitative approach to LP updates and prospective investments benchmarking. On the secondary team, Anshu worked on deal teams to identify private investors and institutions that held stock in target companies to purchase their positions. He also assisted with TrueBridge’s partnership with Forbes, which encompasses the data analysis around publications like the Midas List and the Next Billion Dollar Startup List.

Anshu recently graduated as a Robertson Scholar, a full-ride merit based scholarship to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University. From UNC, he received dual-degrees in Economics and Business Administration, and from Duke, a degree in Psychology.

Ali Gleason

Operations

Ali Gleason

An administrative operator with years of experience in data management and project coordination, supporting top executives in the tech industry.

"Founders are innovative thinkers and leaders. As they are scaling, I love to be in the seat to help build and actualize their dream by managing the details that matter most."

Ali is a seasoned administrative professional with experience as an executive assistant, office operations manager, and event specialist for the past 10+ years in the fields of government affairs, communications, and technology. Ali is an expert in project coordination and data management.

Prior to Construct, Ali worked as an Executive Assistant Business Partner at Uber where she spent 6 years working directly for members of Uber’s Executive Leadership Team. She began her career at Uber focused on culture and team retention which she grew into a role working directly with the Head of Operations for the US & Canada. She handled all administrative tasks and planned and executed leadership and company events and summits. While at Uber she also assisted several other teams including Micro Mobility, Internal Audit, and Global Strategic Finance.

Prior to Uber, Ali worked as an EA to the CEO of the Glover Park Group in Washington, DC, an EA at Netflix in their Content Operations and Media Engineering department in Los Angeles, CA, an EA to the COO of Worldwide Studios at Activision Blizzard in Santa Monica, CA and a legislative assistant and event coordinator at Mehlman Vogel Castagnetti, a bi-partisan lobbying firm in Washington, DC.

Ali holds a BA in Communications and Human Resources from James Madison University. She lives in Northern Virginia with her husband and 2 daughters.

Contact

Reach out if you are a founder transforming a foundational industry.