Mike Sherbakov
About Mike Sherbakov
Mike Sherbakov was born in Russia and moved to the United States at age five. After 9/11 he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and spent five years on active duty. He later earned a bachelor's degree from San Diego State University.
After the military he built companies in health and wellness, including the HMS Fitness franchise and Karuna Towels, a yoga towel company with a social impact angle. He also helped launch a venture-backed startup and worked with another company as it scaled to the public markets. He sold his health and wellness company in 2015. He has been CEO and Managing Partner of Greatness Ventures, a business accelerator for impact-driven leaders and brands, since about 2015 to 2016.
He launched the San Diego chapter of Founder Institute and is now Managing Director for Southern California. In that role he oversees the veteran vertical, which gives veterans and military spouses a scholarship. He has been a Techstars mentor and a Republic venture partner since 2022.
Sherbakov has said his first angel investment came in 2015, the year he sold his health and wellness company. He has said he wanted to invest well with his own capital before taking money from others. In 2021 he became a General Partner at The Veteran Fund, which he co-founded with Ryan Micheletti, Justin Nahama and Lisa Song Sutton.
Public descriptions of his portfolio vary. His X bio says 120+ portfolio companies, and a podcast description mentions a 130-company portfolio. Crunchbase lists only a handful of his personal investments.
AI is one of The Veteran Fund's stated focus areas, alongside cybersecurity, space and advanced manufacturing. Third-party investor profiles also list AI among Sherbakov's sectors. The sources I found did not name specific AI investments or dates, so none are listed here.
The Veteran Fund backs early-stage startups led by military veterans that build critical, dual-use technologies for national security and commercial markets. Sherbakov has said the thesis is technology companies with veterans in leadership roles. The firm closed an oversubscribed Fund I and announced plans for a larger Fund II in 2025. It also runs a pitch competition for veteran-led startups, with a $100,000 investment as the prize.
Third-party profiles describe him as a pre-seed investor in sectors including space, GovTech, DeepTech, SaaS, cybersecurity and AI. NFX Signal lists an investment range of $100K to $1M with a $500K sweet spot, and Rho gives the same range. These are profile listings, not statements from Sherbakov.
In a founder masterclass, he said investors look for proven traction, resilience and authenticity. He also recommended short investor updates focused on the bottom line.
- Powur: equity crowdfunding round, January 2020 (Crunchbase, NFX Signal)
- Nurish.me: pre-seed round, 2020 (Crunchbase)
- Hive Global: seed round, 2019 (Crunchbase)
- Vivid Labs: pre-seed round, 2018 (NFX Signal)
- Qualia Life Sciences: pre-seed round, 2017 (NFX Signal)
- VATN Systems: pre-seed round, date not listed (NFX Signal, Rho)
- Neurohacker Collective: named as a notable company by Rho, no date given
- crunchbase.com/person/mike-sherbakov-d6b4
- signal.nfx.com/investors/mike-sherbakov
- rho.co/blog/angel-investors-for-space
- rho.co/blog/angel-investors-for-deeptech
- businesswire.com/news/home/20241126503996/en/The-Veteran-Fund-Debuts-I
- veteran.fund/updates/2024q3
- wearethemighty.com/mighty25/michael-sherbakovs-journey-from-the-battle
- infinitefrontiers.io/conversations/bridging-military-expertise-and-tec
Investing activity
Mike Sherbakov is listed on Lounge as an angel investor. The deals desk records Series A and later AI rounds and seeds over $10M, so smaller checks may not show here yet.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Mike Sherbakov
Does Mike Sherbakov invest in AI startups?
AI is one of the sectors The Veteran Fund lists, and third-party profiles list it among his focus areas. The sources I found did not name specific AI deals.
What stage does Mike Sherbakov invest in?
He is mainly described as a pre-seed investor. His profile on NFX Signal also lists a seed investment from 2019.
What is Mike Sherbakov's check size?
NFX Signal lists a range of $100K to $1M with a $500K sweet spot. Rho gives the same range. He has not confirmed these figures publicly in the sources I found.
Does Mike Sherbakov only back veteran founders?
The Veteran Fund's thesis centers on veteran-led startups. The fund describes itself as investing in veteran-led companies building dual-use technology, so founders with military leadership backgrounds are the clearest fit.
What does Mike Sherbakov look for in founders?
In a masterclass he said investors look for founders who show traction, resilience and authenticity. He also said investor updates should be short and focused on the bottom line.
How can founders reach Mike Sherbakov?
He is on LinkedIn and X, and his personal site is mikesherbakov.com. He also runs the Founder Institute veteran program and The Veteran Fund's pitch events.
Is Mike Sherbakov an angel investor?
Yes. Mike Sherbakov invests personally as an angel.