Welcome to OnPar Ventures: Investing in Parent Founders & Next-Generation Solutions
I’m excited to introduce OnPar Ventures, a pre-seed investing syndicate dedicated to Parent Founders & Next-G
I’m excited to introduce OnPar Ventures, a pre-seed investing syndicate dedicated to Parent Founders & Next-Generation Solutions.
In late 2023, I (Rachel Kroft) found myself navigating two significant paths and identities—parenthood and entrepreneurship. I was so anxious and stressed about not being able to pursue my professional dreams that I almost said “No” to having kids. At the time, it seemed that entrepreneurship and parenthood were at odds. Being in the US, I heard story after story of how parents and families are poorly supported mentally, emotionally and financially. Stories of parents at their wits end due to attempting to ‘have it all’, marriages ending and family systems crumbling.
Although a reality and hardship, I questioned why it has to be this way...
Are Parenthood and Entrepreneurship at odds? What skills do parents bring to a business that give them the edge and unique advantage? Who are the successful parent entrepreneurs? How can we support both?
All these questions sparked the idea for OnPar Ventures.
Soon after, I got pregnant and went on my knowledge quest. I talked to over 50 parent entrepreneurs across early stage start-ups, asking them both the advantages and disadvantages of being a parent entrepreneur. What gave them an edge and unique differentiation? If I put an investing syndicate or fund together, how would they pitch it? What do they need help with?
Why Parent Entrepreneurs?
Parent entrepreneurs bring exceptional efficiency, problem-solving skills, and leadership—all essential for building successful companies.
✨ They move with precision
Parents don’t have the luxury of wasted time, money, or energy. They make bold, calculated decisions early and often. They have to have real, hard conversations with family members to financially and emotionally set themselves up to handle risk. They have to justify their start-up idea to potentially risk adverse family members, and prove it is worth pursuing.
💡 I believe this forces the entrepreneur to sharpen their idea and tactics earlier vs later. Leading to earlier concept validation and proving their steadfast commitment to firm building.
💪 They are experienced
Research shows the average age of a successful, high growth startup leader is forty-five. Parent founders are typically already experienced operators, having had leadership roles in various companies by the time they take on entrepreneurship.
💡 I believe this sets a strong foundation for firm building from day one. Not only will the founder-idea fit come with existing expertise, but they will also have the foresight to apply past experience to team building, create nuanced strategies, and be more likely to orient towards a family friendly work culture.
🌎 They are deeply invested in the future
Parents aren’t just building businesses—they’re shaping the world their children will inherit. They want to solve problems and build companies that are not just 'family friendly', but also will benefit their children and fellow parents.
💡 I believe that entrepreneurship is a deeply emotional pursuit, as much as it is about capitalizing on a market opportunity. It is so damn hard that one needs to have a strong connection to "the why" to convince oneself to keep going.
Yet despite these strengths, parent founders—especially mothers—are drastically underfunded, receiving less than 2% of venture capital. However, the reality is that parents already solve billion-dollar problems across industries.
They are an overlooked, yet high-potential demographic.
What We Do
At OnPar, we don’t just invest—we partner with parent founders to navigate the fundraising journey. We help entrepreneurs:
💰 Work with the founding team to secure pre-seed funding through our network of investors.
🤓 Support the founding team by helping to refining their business strategy, ensuring strong product-market fit through supporting GTM & customer validation activities.
👯🏿 Connect with experienced mentors, operators and parents who understand the unique challenges of building a business while raising a family. Entrepreneurship is lonely, and so can parenting.
The Market Opportunity
Parent-led businesses are driving innovation in some of the fastest-growing industries:
📈 Family Health & Wellness (46% CAGR) – The demand for holistic, tech-driven family well-being solutions is surging. AI-powered telehealth, maternal, mental wellness, and personalized nutrition platforms continue to transform healthcare for parents and children alike.
📈 Future of Work (42% CAGR) – As remote and hybrid work becomes the norm, parents and corporations need better tools for balancing careers and caregiving. AI-driven workflow automation, co-working solutions, and family-first employer benefits, to name a few, are reshaping the workforce.
📈 EdTech & Edu-tainment (30% CAGR) – The future of learning, socializing is primarily digital. Safe, engaging, educational and social platforms are critical for equipping the next generation with essential skills in an increasingly digital world. Next generations will have to do more to protect themselves from bad actors, and develop more resilient online mental health habits, along with balancing between'screen time' and other activities. As LLMs, agents and other AI forms become mainstream, the next generation will need more tools and resources to navigate an increasingly complex online world.
Who am I? Why Me?
I’m an experienced operator, investor, and product leader with over 12 years in startups, consultancies, government, and Fortune 500 companies. I’ve built and scaled products end-to-end, specializing in early-stage product development and, customer research.
I’ve been the first or early product manager and designer at four companies, establishing product strategy, teams, and best practices. I also led product validation efforts for a series B start up’s pivot and re-brand, resulting in $10M in subsequent funding. Lastly, I led post-M&A product integration for a series A healthcare start-up, where we successfully created new customer use cases along with cross-sells. These experiences have given me various tools
As a solopreneur running my own consulting practice, I get it, and I feel deeply how important it is to manage both entrepreneurship and parenthood. I want to support those balancing both. I’m passionate about supporting parent entrepreneurs—who are solving real problems. Having seen firsthand the lack of support for parents, particularly mothers, in the startup world, I’m committed to backing companies that drive meaningful change.
Our First Investment: Funnr
We are thrilled to announce Funnr as OnPar’s inaugural investment!
Funnr is transforming social event scheduling with its AI-powered platform, making playdates and family meetups effortless.
Why Invest in Funnr?
✅ Solving a REAL problem for families. No more endless back-and-forth texts or scheduling chaos. Funnr streamlines coordination, giving parents valuable time and energy.
✅ Founder-Market Fit. The Funnr founding team are all parents who intimately understand the problem they’re solving. They bring experience in founding start-ups (x3 founder), deep expertise in marketing, technology, and business development, which are all core expertise needed to successfully compete and grow in the market.
✅ Early Market Traction. Strong initial interest from parent communities, schools, and organizations like OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science) proves demand and provides key market entry points. This is not just a B2C play, but also B2B.
Investment Opportunity
For this opportunity, OnPar Ventures is happy to partner with Jesse Posey at Dreamward Ventures.
- $1,000 minimum investment
- Get early access. Sign up for Funnr’s upcoming Alpha and Beta
- Review the opportunity here
Founders, Investors & Advisors - Join Us!
Parent Founders - Pitch me and email your deck. rkroft@onparventures.com
Investors - Book a time to chat about Funnr
Advisors and Advocates: If you are interested in getting further involved, but don’t know how. Let’s chat.
Much Gratitude
I am just getting started, with a long way to go, a lot to do and learn. I want to thank many folks who have been great cheerleaders, teachers, advice givers and supporters over the last year. Thank you for giving me the most precious resource - your time.
Jen Haller
Roy Bahat
Ani Honan
Yoko Okano
Jesse Posey
David Zhou
Jessica Straus Fuchs
Raph D’Amico
Eve Blossom & All my Material Change Institute Fellows
My husband to whom I contribute so much of my success - Nic Werner.