Mode VC
California

Background Capital

Background Capital, based in California, backs generalist startups at Pre-Seed, Seed, and Series A, mostly following others with checks from $100k to $500k, including Instacart and Webflow.

Website
Entry stagePre-seed, Seed, Series A
Check size$100K to $500K
Leads roundsMostly follows
FocusGeneralist
Latest fund$10.3M Fund IV (2023)
Investing team1 peopleNo activity since Sep

Who you would pitch at Background Capital

1 person on the investing team, 1 of them partners who can make the call. Partners are listed first.

Rafael CorralesFounder & Managing PartnerHe has worked with Instacart since 2012.

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Writes $100K to $500K checks. Its smallest check is larger than 5% of firms in the atlas.

Bars: how many firms in the atlas report each band. Highlighted: this firm.

No recent activity since September 2026. Quiet does not mean closed.

Weekly count of activity updates. Activity is not a confirmed deal.

Notable investments

InstacartWebflowVercelClearbitPillPackVouchSettle

In their words

Rafael Corralesbackground.vc
Founders and investors at a Mode VC gathering

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Raising a pre-seed or seed round? We write $1M to $5M first checks and help founders with distribution. A partner reads every deck.

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Alert me when Background Capital is active

One email when this firm shows new activity. Nothing else.

Firms like Background Capital

Coelius Capital$100K to $1M · active Oct 6
20Sales$100K to $500K
Abstract Ventures$100K to $1M · active Oct 1
Arka Venture Labs$100K to $500K
Bloomberg Beta$100K to $1M · active Sep 27
Evolution$100K to $500K

On these lists

Seed investors in United States2836Series A investors in United States1790Pre-seed investors in United States1561Seed investors in California699Series A investors in California480Pre-seed investors in California434Seed investors3020Series A investors1867

Questions

What stage does Background Capital invest in?

Background Capital reports entry at pre-seed, seed, series a.

How much does Background Capital invest?

Background Capital reports checks of $100K to $500K.

Does Background Capital lead rounds?

Background Capital mostly follows other investors.

Who are the partners at Background Capital?

Rafael Corrales (Founder & Managing Partner).

Is Background Capital active right now?

No recent activity since September 2026.

Work at Background Capital? Claim or correct this profile.