Background Capital is a Madison, Wisconsin-based solo GP venture capital firm founded by Rafael Corrales, a former General Partner at CRV. The firm is structured to be 100% founder-backed, meaning its limited partners are exclusively entrepreneurs and operators rather than institutional investors. This LP model is central to Background Capital's identity: the firm functions as a peer network for founders, not just a source of capital. Background Capital focuses on pre-seed through Series A investments, with seed as the primary entry point, and has built early positions in companies that went on to become significant businesses across consumer internet, fintech, and SaaS.
Background Capital invests broadly across technology sectors, with notable early conviction in consumer internet, blockchain and crypto infrastructure, SaaS, and fintech. The firm does not operate a narrow sector thesis but instead focuses on backing founders at the earliest inflection points, before product-market fit is established, when the primary value a fund can add is judgment, network access, and genuine partnership. The exclusive use of founder LPs creates a network that is structurally different from institutional funds, and that network is a meaningful part of the value proposition for portfolio companies.
Fund 5 is a $10.85 million angel fund, the fifth in a consistent series: Fund 1 was $8.75M, Fund 2 was $9.25M, Fund 3 was $9.5M, and Fund 4 was $10.3M. Each fund was started on the birthday of a close family member, and Fund 5 began deployment on Rafael's daughter's birthday in April 2026.
The fund maintains the same structure as its predecessors: nearly all LPs are founders, tech executives, or super-connectors; check sizes run $100K to $500K; and stage focus is pre-seed, seed, and occasionally Series A. The deliberate consistency across five funds is itself a differentiator, as few individual investors or small funds can claim the same approach, pace, and philosophy across a multi-fund track record.
Leadership
Rafael Corrales is the sole General Partner of Background Capital. Before founding the firm, Corrales was a General Partner at CRV (formerly Charles River Ventures), one of the oldest and most established venture capital firms in the United States. His move to a solo GP model based in Madison, Wisconsin, and funded exclusively by founders, represents a deliberate choice to build a fund structured around founder trust rather than institutional capital.
Investment Strategy
Background Capital writes checks ranging from $100K at pre-seed to $5M at Series A, with seed being the primary entry point for new investments. Corrales leads or co-invests depending on the round, with a preference for getting into companies early when he can add the most value. Given the 100% founder LP base, portfolio companies gain access to a network of entrepreneurs who have scaled businesses, raised capital, and navigated the specific challenges of early-stage company building. The firm's small size and solo GP structure enable fast decisions and a high degree of direct partner engagement with every investment.
Notable Investments
Background Capital has backed some of the most notable consumer and B2B technology companies at the earliest stages:
Other
Background Capital is one of a small number of US-based solo GP funds built entirely on a founder LP model, which creates a fundamentally different dynamic between the fund and its portfolio. Companies backed by Background Capital gain access to a curated network of operators and founders who have direct, personal skin in the game as LPs. For pre-seed and seed-stage founders looking for a check from someone with deep VC experience and a peer network of successful entrepreneurs, Background Capital is worth knowing.
United States
