Why Startup Intros exists
Making merit matter
more than network.
Access to capital should not depend on your last tech job, your alma mater, or who already knows your name. It should depend on what you are building and why it matters.
Built in San Francisco for first-time founders, operators, and investors
What we are building toward
We're building the intelligence layer and relationship graph for private markets: starting with Bay Area venture, expanding from there.
Now
Democratize access to venture capital.
Make the most relationship-driven market in the world finally work for merit, not pedigree.
Later
Democratize access to the private markets.
Expand the same intelligence layer and relationship graph from venture into the broader private market stack.
The origin
A conference conversation,
leading to a new company.
Startup Intros started with a simple conviction: first-time founders should not have to guess their way into the right rooms.
February 2025
A chance meeting in San Francisco
At the MilVet Startup Conference, Dev Chandra introduced himself to Tim Hsia looking to partner. However, Tim wanted to bring Dev in to VC and pitched a vision for streamlining introductions for early-stage founders. Dev immediately saw the potential.
Six weeks later
A move and a launch
Dev Chandra relocated to SF and launched Startup Intros with a clear mission: help first-time founders access the right pre-seed and seed investors through intelligence, community, and earned trust.
What changed
The old model
rewards pedigree.
We are building something different: a system where the right founders surface because the data, context, and relationships are structured well enough to find them.
The people behind Startup Intros
Operators, Vets &
Venture Builders
Startup Intros is shaped by people who have operated inside the systems they are trying to improve: military leadership, venture capital, startup execution, and community building.
Dev Chandra
EIR at Context Ventures
Leading initiatives to connect founders with investors through better tools, structure, and community.
Navy Reserve Officer
Engineering Duty Officer supporting complex ship maintenance programs including the USS George Washington.
Founder & Systems Thinker
Previously helped scale B2B service providers through AI and automation at The Process Hacker.
Operator with range
Carnegie Mellon MBA grad, published writer, and traveler to 38+ countries.
Tim Hsia, Context Ventures
Distinguished service
West Point graduate, two Iraq deployments, Bronze Star recipient, and experienced infantry and logistics leader.
Dual Stanford graduate
Earned degrees from Stanford Business School and Stanford Law School while teaching ROTC.
Venture investor
Founded Context Ventures with a focus on veteran founders and backed companies including Workflow and thredUP.
Mentor and connector
Co-founded Service to School, serves veteran support organizations, and writes on leadership and entrepreneurship.
The network around us
Context VC, Vets &
Startup Momentum.
Context Ventures sits at the intersection of military leadership and startup ambition, with a long track record of backing founders who build with discipline.
Why it matters
Context Ventures hosts the annual Military Veteran Startups Conference and has built a strong network across fintech, consumer, and software. That proximity to ambitious founders and active investors gave Startup Intros its first proving ground.
Conference
Military Veteran Startups Conference
Focus
Veteran founders, software, fintech, consumer
Role
Community, access, and founder discovery
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