Brady Brim-DeForest
About Brady Brim-DeForest
Brady Brim-DeForest is a Dallas, Texas entrepreneur and author. He is CEO of Formula.Monks, the technology services division of Monks (formerly S4 Capital's Media.Monks). He is also managing partner of Late Stage Capital and chairman of bluShift Aerospace. He attended the University of Southern California.
His founder history, per Wikipedia, starts with Tubefilter in 2008, a media company covering online video, and the Streamy Awards in 2009. In the early 2010s he launched Overwatch, an IoT security service, and in 2013 he founded OpenPlay, a supply chain and distribution platform for the music industry. In 2017 he became CEO of TheoremOne, an engineering and consulting firm that merged with S4 Capital in 2022. He launched TheoremOne Orbital in 2021 to serve satellite and launch services companies. He co-founded Monks and became CEO of Formula.Monks in 2023. His bio says he has co-founded six startups.
His consulting work centers on lean product design, Agile development and small autonomous teams inside large enterprises. Clients named in his bio include AT&T, Apple, American Express, Caterpillar, Cisco, Disney and Ubisoft. In March 2024 he published "Smaller is Better: Using Small Autonomous Teams to Drive the Future of Enterprise" with Micrometer Press. He is a Life Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and of the Royal Anthropological Institute, and has guest lectured at UCLA and USC.
His personal site describes him as an active angel investor who also advises startups and growth-stage companies and mentors entrepreneurs. Crunchbase lists 9 personal investments in 8 portfolio companies, with 3 exits (none by IPO) and 4 companies founded. Crunchbase shows 0 lead investments for him personally. Its most recent personal investment listed is a seed round in Snibbs.
His most clearly documented deal runs through Late Stage Capital. In June 2024, bluShift Aerospace announced a $1.3M seed round led by Late Stage Capital, with participation from Maine Technology Institute and a $1M matching federal SBIR grant. As part of that announcement he became chairman of bluShift's board. Late Stage Capital describes itself as a venture fund, founded by Brim-DeForest, that invests in companies transforming the future of humanity.
His personal portfolio page lists Perplexity and Adjusto under artificial intelligence. It gives no investment dates, round details or amounts for either company, so none are stated here.
His operating work is also AI-focused. Formula.Monks describes itself as transforming large companies with AI, and Brim-DeForest writes and speaks on AI and smaller teams. A LinkedIn post of his on AI and smaller teams doing more with less appears in search results.
His portfolio page says his investment thesis is long-term, focused on big bets, and built around companies and founders who take contrarian views of the future. The page also invites entrepreneurs to pitch him.
Late Stage Capital is described in its press release as stage agnostic, investing from seed to growth. Select portfolio companies on his site span AI, aerospace and nutrition. Tracxn shows only one recorded Late Stage Capital investment, bluShift in 2024, so the fund's disclosed record is short. Check size, fund size and ownership targets are not public, and none are given here. Brim-DeForest is Texas-based, and the bluShift round was led by Late Stage Capital, which that release calls Houston-based. A geographic preference is not stated.
- bluShift Aerospace: Maine-based small satellite launch company. Late Stage Capital led its $1.3M seed round announced June 2024, and he is board chairman.
- Perplexity: AI company listed as a select portfolio company on his site. Investment date not public.
- Adjusto: AI company listed as a select portfolio company on his site. Investment date not public.
- Boom: aerospace company listed as a select portfolio company on his site. Investment date not public.
- SpaceX: aerospace company listed as a select portfolio company on his site. Investment date not public.
- FYTA: nutrition company listed as a select portfolio company on his site. Investment date not public.
- Snibbs: listed by Crunchbase as his latest personal investment, a seed round. Date not shown.
- crunchbase.com/person/brady-brim-deforest
- brimdeforest.com/about
- brimdeforest.com/portfolio
- brimdeforest.com
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brady_Brim-DeForest
- finance.yahoo.com/news/blushift-aerospace-secures-2-3m-090000148.html
- blushiftaerospace.com/team/brady-brim-deforest
- prnewswire.com/news-releases/ceo-of-formulamonks-brady-brim-deforest-r
Investing activity
Brady Brim-DeForest has made 9 investments according to Crunchbase across 8 portfolio companies, and has seen 3 exits and founded 4 companies.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Brady Brim-DeForest
Does Brady Brim-DeForest invest in AI startups?
Yes. His personal portfolio page lists Perplexity and Adjusto as artificial intelligence companies. He also runs Formula.Monks, which focuses on AI transformation for large enterprises.
What stage does Brady Brim-DeForest invest in?
Late Stage Capital, the fund he runs, describes itself as stage agnostic and invests from seed to growth. His documented lead deal was a $1.3M seed round in bluShift Aerospace in 2024.
What is Brady Brim-DeForest's check size?
Not public. Neither his site, Crunchbase nor the press coverage reviewed gives a check size or fund size.
What does Brady Brim-DeForest look for in founders?
His portfolio page says his thesis is long-term and big-bet focused. It centers on founders and companies taking contrarian views of the future.
How can founders pitch Brady Brim-DeForest?
His portfolio page invites entrepreneurs to pitch him, so start at brimdeforest.com. He is also reachable through LinkedIn (bradybd) and X (@bradybd).
What companies has Brady Brim-DeForest founded or run?
He founded Tubefilter and the Streamy Awards, Overwatch and OpenPlay, and was CEO of TheoremOne. He co-founded Monks and is CEO of Formula.Monks.
Is Brady Brim-DeForest an angel investor?
Yes. Brady Brim-DeForest invests personally as an angel and is Chief Executive Officer at Formula.Monks. Crunchbase counts 9 investments and 3 exits.
Where is Brady Brim-DeForest based?
Brady Brim-DeForest is based in Dallas, Texas, United States.
How can founders reach Brady Brim-DeForest?
Founders on Lounge can see Brady Brim-DeForest's contact details in AI Investor Contacts (paid plans), check for a warm introduction through members who worked with them under Warm Paths, and add Brady Brim-DeForest to their Investor Pipeline to track the conversation.