TipTopVC

Pre-seed/seed vertical AI focused firm founded by GP @ntippmann and backed by some of the world's top vSaaS+AI founders and operators. $150-400k checks.

[TipTopVC @TipTopVC]

And we're live!

[Nick Tippmann @ntippmann]

Big news: I’m thrilled to officially unveil @TipTopVC — a new pre-seed/seed stage, operator-led venture firm backing the next-gen of Vertical AI founders.

After an amazing 8+ year run as founding head of marketing and CMO at Greenlight Guru — from $0 to tens of millions in ARR, creating the medtech QMS category, and raising $120M+ — I knew I had two paths:

a) start another software company
b) start a venture fund built the way I wish VC worked when I was a founder

For nearly 13 years, it’s been a personal goal to build a top-tier VC firm that the best founders want to work with. But the marketer in me always said: “the world doesn’t need another undifferentiated B2B SaaS fund.”

So I unplugged. Got a cabin in the Rockies with my then girlfriend, and now wife. And after some much-needed clarity, I had four big realizations:

1. I didn’t have one problem I wanted to solve for 10-15 years—but I had unique experience operating in vertical markets that founders could lean on

2. The future of software (and AI) is vertical

3. My experience gave me a unique right to win with the top founders

4. The best VC firms of the next decade would operate like AI-native startups themselves—brand-led, data-driven, community-built

That’s when TipTop Ventures was born.

The Vertical SaaS+ thesis I shared nearly 2 years ago unexpectedly went viral. That post pulled me forward. Fast forward to today—and after 30+ vertical SaaS+ angel deals, over a dozen LP checks written, and 9 TipTop investments closed—I’m proud to announce we’re live.

While I’m just now announcing the firm, here’s what we’ve quietly built so far:

- 9 investments across legacy and underserved industries

- 3 companies marked up out of 6 investments made in 2024

- Raving founder feedback on our support-per-dollar invested

- 30+ founding LPs from the likes of ServiceTitan, Procore, Mindbody, Greenlight Guru and more

It hasn’t been easy going zero-to-one in this market—but the momentum is real.

In fact, based on Carta’s latest fund data, if we were a 2023 vintage (we’re 2024), we’d already be tracking top decile.

And yes, TipTop is led by a solo-GP, but not solo-built.

I’d like to express my deep gratitude for all the support from these early believers:

Thank you to my amazing wife Mari Tippmann for your unwavering support since day-minus-one

Thank you to our LPs for your early belief and trust–it’s taken very seriously

Thank you to Bill Loss for being a rock as founding advisor and LPAC member

Thank you to Ershad Jamil for joining me as a Venture Partner

And most of all — thank you to our founders. You chose us when we didn’t even have a website (or a fund in some cases). I’ll never forget that.

We believe AI is the biggest platform shift since the internet.
We believe the future of AI is vertical.
And we believe the best founders aren’t just building tools — they’re reinventing industries.

If you’re one of those founders: we’re writing $150k–400K checks at pre-seed/seed. Let’s build together.

Join us on the journey to the TipTop.

[Nick Tippmann @ntippmann]

Austin founders: @TipTopVC, @ClutchVC, @CapitalFactory + fellow pre-seed/seed funds are taking over Butler Pitch & Putt.

Meet investors writing early checks + founders building here. Golf optional.

Oct 28 · 5-9 PM
Thanks to @DLA_Piper , @rhobusiness + @KPMG!

RSVP 👇

[Nick Tippmann @ntippmann]

Couldn't be more impressed by Tucker, Isaac, and the @AustinSeningCo team. Massive mission and the pace of execution has been remarkable.

Proud to have backed them early @TipTopVC and thrilled to double down alongside an incredible group of investors!

[Nick Tippmann @ntippmann]

Officially coming back online today after paternity leave.

My wife and I are thrilled to share that we welcomed our first baby, Charlotte Eleanor Tippmann.

The past few weeks have been full of family time, tiny outfits, and the best kind of perspective shift. She’s already brought a lot of joy into our world.

Somehow, @TipTopVC also managed to have a pretty busy stretch while I was out: 3 new investments made, 1 new SPV closed, and one of our portfolio companies signed a Series A.

It’s been the best kind of whirlwind.

I’m jumping back in this week and will be in SF for a couple of events, then on the road quite a bit over the next 4-5 weeks.

Grateful for the family time and excited to be back!

[Ryan O'Hara @Ryohara]

"SaaS is dead" is what all the cool kids say on online these days.

But while they are collecting their heat like Pokemon cards, and getting people to smash that "like" button, there's something else happening in the private venture capital market that they shouldn't sleep on:

The evolution of vertical software turning into vertical AI.

These are companies who already have distribution, lots of customers, and oh yeah... real revenue that isn't just "potential revenue."

VCs are keeping an eye on this too, so I sat down and talked with @ntippmann from @TipTopVC this week for the Capital Report to discuss everything we've wanted to know about "vertical" world in venture capital.

[Joe Magyer @Magyer]

Excited to share my conversation with @ntippmann! Nick is a vertical AI and GTM expert so it was great to talk shop with him about AI, how B2B SaaS evolved, and how distribution has changed.

Here are some takeaways and insights from the conversation:

Vertical AI changes the value proposition from efficiency to execution. Nick’s core framing is that SaaS helped people save time, while vertical AI can actually do the work. That shift changes the buyer, the budget, the pricing model, and the ceiling for how large these companies can become.

The real TAM unlock is services and labor, not software. Traditional vertical SaaS was constrained by software budgets. Vertical AI can compete with outsourced services, internal labor, and professional work that previously sat outside the software spend category. That is why Nick sees the opportunity as dramatically larger than the prior wave of vertical SaaS.

The best vertical AI companies will not be thin wrappers. Nick’s bet is on companies that combine workflow software, domain-specific context, proprietary data, and agentic execution. The model is not “AI replaces SaaS,” but “SaaS evolves into a system of work.”

Incumbents are vulnerable when their strength becomes rigidity. Legacy systems of record often have distribution, data, and customer relationships, but they can also be slowed by old architecture, existing pricing models, and organizational inertia. Nick is most interested in markets where the incumbent is entrenched but not especially nimble.

Distribution and trust may matter more in AI, not less. Because software is easier to build, it is harder to stand out. Nick argues that content, community, events, brand, empathy, and domain expertise remain critical. In vertical AI, credibility with the buyer can be a moat before the product moat fully compounds.

Outcome-based pricing is becoming the new frontier. AI products are pushing companies away from seat-based SaaS pricing and toward pricing tied to completed work: per resolved ticket, per document, per workflow, per enriched record, or against avoided professional services spend. The best pricing models will align with the value customers actually experience.

Forward-deployed services are not a weakness; they may be evidence of where value accrues. Nick sees OpenAI and Anthropic building services-heavy motions as a sign that intelligence alone does not solve enterprise problems. Context, implementation, workflow integration, and judgment still matter — which supports the vertical AI thesis.

Seed investors need to look past the demo. In a world where a founder can vibe-code a polished product quickly, Nick focuses on deeper questions: Does the company get better with usage? Is there proprietary data exhaust? Are there reinforcement loops? Can the wedge expand into adjacent workflows? Is there a real vision beyond the initial tool?

The wedge still matters, but the expansion timeline is compressing. Nick acknowledges that AI lets companies build more faster, but he still wants a sharp entry point. The difference is that founders may need to move from wedge to broader workflow coverage much earlier than in the SaaS era.

GC AI is a case study in founder-market fit plus distribution. Nick backed the company because Cecilia Ziniti brought deep credibility in legal, had early community instincts, and chose a focused wedge in in-house legal. The insight was not just that legal work fits LLMs; it was that in-house legal has distinct workflows, budgets, and pain points from law firms.

VCs and founders are often talking past each other. Nick thinks VCs underappreciate how brutally hard execution is, while founders often misunderstand fund math and why “good growth” may still not be enough for the next round. The AI era has raised expectations, especially as investors compare every company to the fastest-growing AI breakouts.

Nick’s contrarian view: foundation labs moving up the stack does not kill vertical AI. His argument is that the labs’ move into applications and services actually proves the opposite: raw model intelligence is not enough. Durable value may accrue to companies that own the workflow, the customer relationship, the domain context, and the system of work.

Really enjoyed this episode of @InvestNStartups. Thanks to Nick for coming on!

[Jason Scharf @Jason_A_Scharf]

A year ago I sat down with @ntippmann of @TipTopVC on investing and building in vertical AI. We left one question unresolved.

Where do foundational AI models end and where do the applications begin?

Since that time we have seen the launch of Claude Design, OpenAI's Rosalind, and other vertical applications from the frontier labs.

I am re-releasing last year's episode with a new epilogue as I invited Nick back to discuss what has changed since our first conversation.

The Agenda
00:00 Defining vertical AI
05:07 Where general AI fails
09:36 Vertical AI software, not just chatbots
16:44 Pricing logic after the seat model
24:04 Underwriting at pre-seed and seed
27:20 Capital intensity and seed-strapping
36:48 TAM analysis and the Frontiers Market example
41:46 OpenAI's Instacart hire and the gray zone
45:55 Austin as a vertical AI hub
58:21 Epilogue: Where the models end and applications begin.

[Nick Tippmann @ntippmann]

Fun chat with AdMaiora Ventures and friends

[Nick Tippmann @ntippmann]

Meet 50 of the world's highest-signal emerging VC firms. Nominated by investors, selected by Confluence.

Most venture lists reward what’s already obvious.

The Confluence 50 is interesting because it looks for emerging managers who may be obvious in five years, but are still early enough today that the market hasn’t fully caught up.

I’m proud to see @TipTopVC included.

[Nick Tippmann @ntippmann]

I joined @lukesophinos + @npoulos on Verticals to talk:

• Why “SaaS is dead” is the wrong frame
• AI-native upstarts vs incumbents
• Instrumenting GTM like a product (+ 7 Vertical AI Plays)
• Pricing strategies in vertical AI
• Seed → Series A benchmarks right now

Platform shifts expand markets - but they also reshuffle winners.

Full episode 👇

[Nick Tippmann @ntippmann]

Huge congrats to Tucker, Isaac, and team at @OureonTech on their launch!!

Such an important and timely mission - super excited about the opportunity and grateful to be on the journey with them!

[Nick Tippmann @ntippmann]

Vertical SaaS x AI is on 🔥 in Austin.

Excited to co-host a happy hour w/ Shaun Vanderkaap + @AntlerGlobal bringing together founders, builders & VCs working at the intersection of vertical markets & AI.

🗓 July 23
📍 Austin
🔗 https://t.co/CBOGVv3DmP

Let’s hang 🤙

[Jason Scharf @Jason_A_Scharf]

Not every industry can afford hallucinations. Being right only 98 percent of the time isn't good enough.

That’s where vertical AI steps in.

Today on Austin Next: @ntippmann founder of @TipTopVC, joins me to explore how specificity is reshaping software and why vertical AI might be the lever that brings laggard industries into the 21st century.

We cover:
• What Vertical AI Really Means
• Specificity as the New Moat
• Founders, Not Just Models
• When General AI Fails
• Seed-Strapping Real or Not
• Rewriting Pricing Logic
• Vertical AI Talent Mix
• Redefining TAM in Niche Markets
• Scaling without Overspending

What’s Next Austin?
“Austin becomes a global hub for vertical AI winners…”

[Nick Tippmann @ntippmann]

Since Jan, @TipTopVC's been on a tear:

– 4 new investments
– 2 portcos raised Series A w/ top-tier leads
– 33% Series A graduation rate vs. 7.4% Carta avg
– Public launch → brand & flywheel spinning fast

Vertical AI is here. We're just getting started.

[Nick Tippmann @ntippmann]

Awesome time at @fikavc First Look Retreat in LA — great energy, real conversations, and a stacked group of founders & VCs.

Grateful to be there repping with @TipTopVC Venture Partner, Ershad Jamil.

Big thanks to @TXZhuo @thejohnchen & the Fika team for an amazing event!

[Nick Tippmann @ntippmann]

Last week was a blast. @TipTopVC co-hosted:

✅ Private founders + VC dinner at Aba
✅ 80+ founders at a sold-out happy hour at Antler

Huge thanks to our co-hosts @Innovatemap, Ivy Ventures & @AntlerGlobal - and to everyone who came out to support Austin’s startup ecosystem.

[Nick Tippmann @ntippmann]

🚀 Tonight in Austin:

From Builders to Backers: How Operators Are Changing the Future of VC

I'll (@TipTopVC) be speaking alongside:
- Eric Engineer (@S3ventures )
- Kathryn Moore (@LiveOakVP)

Hosted & moderated by 🎤 @arturo___p

🗓️ April 29 | 🕕 6–8 PM | 📍 Capital Factory

RSVP: https://t.co/160WCplOHq

Come hang!

[Nick Tippmann @ntippmann]

Keeping the @TipTopVC launch momentum rolling with a new Slice Podcast episode!

Talked with @fabri_cara about:
+Why Vertical SaaS 3.0 is the future
+How emerging managers are winning
+What it takes to build a firm from scratch

Listen + read in the comment below

[Nick Tippmann @ntippmann]

Founders + VCs + Cold Drinks = The Happiest Hour in Austin

Join us on May 1st — good people, cold drinks, no panels.

Hosted by @TipTopVC, @Innovatemap, @Ivy_Ventures, & @AntlerGlobal.

🗓️ Thurs, May 1
🕔 5–7 PM
📍 Antler ATX
🔗 https://t.co/lQs3gx9sAv

[Nick Tippmann @ntippmann]

🔥Hot take: Vertical SaaS has been quietly eating Horizontal SaaS for years now 🔥

But it won’t stay quiet for long…

So what exactly is the Vertical SaaS opportunity, and what do founders + execs + boards need to know?

🧵👇