1U

1Up Ventures

VC
Seattle, WA, USAWebsite

1Up Ventures is a Seed venture capital firm based in Seattle, WA, USA investing in Marketplace. The firm typically writes $300K–$1.5M checks and has 2 portfolio companies in our records.

Check size
$300K–$1.5M
Portfolio
2 companies on record
Partners
3 listed
AUM
$30M
Stage
Seed
Sectors
Marketplace
HQ
Seattle, WA, USA

Last verified: 2026-05-28

How to approach: warm intro preferred
Stage

Seed

Check Size

$300K – $1.5M

AUM

$30M

Portfolio

2+ companies

Team

3 partners

Investor activity
Investments in last 12 months: 0

Investment Thesis

Focuses on founders building marketplaces with B2B applications that enhance microtransaction systems or improve digital collaboration workflows.

How 1Up Ventures invests

1Up Ventures is a vc firm based in Seattle, WA, USA. The firm invests at the Seed stage, with a focus on Marketplace. It does not invest in Heavy Fintech, Gaming.

1Up Ventures typically writes checks of $300K–$1.5M per investment, backed by approximately $30M in assets under management.

1Up Ventures has backed 2 companies in our records, including Gather, Gigster.

Partners & Team

KW

Kelly Wallick

Partner

Founder of the Indie MEGABOOTH and former IGF Chairperson. Well connected and respected by indie developers around the world. Kelly began her work with the 1Up Fund at its inception and has joined the venture as a full partner.

EF

Ed Fries

GP

Marketplace
Collaboration SaaS

Former Microsoft Vice President, built and ran the game publishing business through the launch of the first Xbox. Board member and adviser for dozens of game development and venture backed technology companies around the world.

EG

Emily Greer

Venture Partner

Emily is a two-time founder in the game industry. Most recently she was co-founder & CEO of Double Loop Games, a mobile game studio making games for women. Previously she was the co-founder & CEO of Kongregate, leading its rapid rise as a free-to-play web destination before expanding into mobile publishing, launching hits such as AdVenture Capitalist and Animation Throwdown. A data geek at heart, Emily is well-known in the game industry for her presentations on the economics and psychology of free-to-play games.

Industry Focus

Invests In

Marketplace

Does Not Invest In

Heavy Fintech
Gaming

Portfolio Companies (2)

Other

GA

Gather

Marketplace
GI

Gigster

B2B SaaS
How to pitch 1Up Ventures
  • •Raising at Seed? You're squarely in their sweet spot.
  • •Lead with your fit in Marketplace — the sectors they actively back.
  • •Size your ask to their typical $300K – $1.5M check.
  • •warm intro preferred
  • •Address your outreach to a specific partner, such as Kelly Wallick, Partner.
  • •A warm introduction beats a cold email. Get matched and request an intro.

Featured In

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Marketplace Investors

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Frequently Asked Questions

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