Backing outlier founders at the earliest stages.

Backing outlier founders at the earliest stages.

Backing outlier founders at the earliest stages.

We are a small, tight-knit team of investors. We work internally with a high degree of interoperability and aspire to be trusted early partners to founders.

We are a small team of investors grateful to be partnered with a network of limited partners, founders, operators, and industry friends.

Founding Partner

Semil

Shah

Semil founded Haystack in 2013 and has been a prolific early stage investor over the last decade, including early investments in companies like DoorDash, Instacart, Figma, Hashicorp, and Applied Intuition. Prior to investing, Semil held various product and operations roles at early-stage startups. Semil was named to the Forbes Midas Seed List in 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, and 2026, as well as to the Forbes Midas List in 2026.

Outside Work

Principal

Divya

Dhulipala

Divya invests across stages at Haystack. She is additionally responsible for the firm’s capital formation efforts, as well as for its annual industry conference, The Alignment Summit.

Outside Work

Founding Partner

Semil

Shah

Semil founded Haystack in 2013 and has been a prolific early stage investor over the last decade, including early investments in companies like DoorDash, Instacart, Figma, Hashicorp, and Applied Intuition. Prior to investing, Semil held various product and operations roles at early-stage startups. Semil was named to the Forbes Midas Seed List in 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, and 2026, as well as to the Forbes Midas List in 2026.

Outside Work

Principal

Divya

Dhulipala

Divya invests across stages at Haystack. She is additionally responsible for the firm’s capital formation efforts, as well as for its annual industry conference, The Alignment Summit.

Outside Work

Newsletter

Provisions is our collective effort to curate content for founders.

Newsletter

Provisions is our collective effort to curate content for founders.

Newsletter

Provisions is our collective effort to curate content for founders.

© 2026 Haystack Management Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

© 2026 Haystack Management Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

© 2026 Haystack Management Company, LLC. All rights reserved.