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Brian Stafford

Partner / Founder atBlue CollectiveFirm active Sep 28New York
LinkedIn X Blue Collective websiteFirm profile

Brian Stafford is a partner and founder at Blue Collective, currently serving as CEO at Diligent. He has a background as a small business owner, entrepreneur, chef, and management consultant.

What Brian can write

Writes checks of$250K to $1M
Comes in atPre-seed, SeedCan lead the round
Pitch pageSubmit on their siteThe firm asks founders to apply here.

Blue Collective writes $250K to $1M checks, larger than 33% of firms in the atlas.

Bars: how many firms report each check band. Highlighted: Blue Collective.

Career

  1. Diligent · CEO
  2. CarOrder · President and CEO
  3. McKinsey & Company · Partner
  4. Blue Collective · Co-founder
    Now
  5. Diligent Corporation · CEO
    2015-present

Companies founded

CarOrderBlue Collective

Focus

enterprise techSaaScorporate governance

Education

CIAWharton School, Bachelor's degree in economicsUniversity of Chicago, Master's degree in computer science

Also at Blue Collective

JJ KasperPartner / Founder
Jay TrickettPartner / CAO
Nicole FriedmanPrincipal
Niki LiechtensteinAnalyst

Partners like Brian

At firms with a similar stage, sector and check size.

Prerna Sharma
Prerna SharmaGeneral Partner, Antler
John Borthwick
John BorthwickManaging Partner, Betaworks Ventures
Brett Martin
Brett MartinPartner, Charge Ventures
Alex Katz
Alex KatzPartner, ff Venture Capital
Arjun MalhotraPartner, Good Capital
Michael PalmerGeneral Partner, Great Wave Ventures

Alert me when Blue Collective is active

One email when Brian's firm raises a fund, adds a partner or shows new activity.

Founders and investors at a Mode VC gathering

Send Mode VC your deck

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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Questions

Who is Brian Stafford?

Brian Stafford is a partner and founder at Blue Collective, currently serving as CEO at Diligent. He has a background as a small business owner, entrepreneur, chef, and management consultant.

How much does Brian Stafford invest?

Brian Stafford invests through Blue Collective, which writes checks of $250K to $1M at pre-seed, seed.

How do I pitch Brian Stafford?

A warm intro from a founder Blue Collective backed works best. A short LinkedIn note with one line on traction is the next best route.

What did Brian Stafford do before Blue Collective?

CEO at Diligent; President and CEO at CarOrder; Partner at McKinsey & Company; CEO at Diligent Corporation.

Last updated 2026-10-15. Is this you? Ask for a correction.