Organization · Venture Capital
Work-Bench
Work-Bench is an enterprise venture capital firm based in New York City that invests in early-stage enterprise software startups. The firm emphasizes a customer-community-first approach to sourcing startups and supports founders with go-to-market strategies.
Overview
What Work-Bench does
What Work-Bench is
Work-Bench is an enterprise venture capital firm based in New York City that invests in early-stage enterprise software startups. The firm emphasizes a customer-community-first approach to sourcing startups and supports founders with go-to-market strategies.
How it participates in the startup ecosystem
The current public profile supports funder and community capabilities. Each capability below is shown separately so organization identity and role-specific information do not get conflated.
Operational profile
Organization status and context
Organization status describes the entity itself. Funding and program availability appear within the relevant capability profile.
- Operational status
- Active
- Organization type
- Venture Capital
- Founded
- Founded in 2012
- Approximate age
- About 14 years
- Structured capabilities
- Funder · Community
- Last reviewed
- April 24, 2026
Official channels
Find Work-Bench elsewhere
Open the official website or a supported primary organization account.
Capability profile
Work-Bench as a funder
Investment thesis
NYC's go-to seed fund for founders with enterprise ambitions, focusing on AI, cybersecurity, developer tools, enterprise applications, and infrastructure software.
Focus narrative
Work-Bench invests in early-stage enterprise software startups, particularly in categories such as cybersecurity, data, AI & machine learning, enterprise applications & vertical AI, and infrastructure & developer tools. The organization leads seed rounds and emphasizes a strong go-to-market (GTM) strategy for its portfolio companies.
Value beyond capital
Work-Bench provides significant value-add to its portfolio companies by leveraging its deep connections within the NYC enterprise ecosystem, offering insights into customer needs, and facilitating introductions to potential clients and partners. The fund emphasizes a strong go-to-market strategy, helping startups refine their approach to market entry and growth.
Terms and economics
- Typical check
- $2,000,000–$4,000,000
- Sweet spot
- $3,000,000
Focus and fit
- Stages
- Seed · Seed+
- Regions
- North AmericaUnited States
Availability
- Currently deploying
- Yes
Portfolio and track record
- Recorded portfolio count
- 56
- Recorded notable exits
- Spring Health, Socure, Dialpad, and Cockroach Labs
Portfolio context
Notable portfolio companies include: Runhouse: Investment announced. Paratus: Investment announced. Artian: Investment announced. Goodfire: Raised $50M Series A for AI interpretability research. Courier Health: Raised $16.5M Series A from Norwest. AuthZed: Raised $12M Series A from General Catalyst. Cockroach Labs: Secured $278M Series F at a $5B valuation. Spring Health: Reached a $3.3B valuation. SOCURE: Raised $450M at a $4.5B valuation.
Capability profile
Work-Bench as a community
Community overview
Work-Bench is a seed fund based in New York City, founded to support early-stage founders with ambitions in enterprise technology. The organization focuses on helping founders build the next generation of enterprise, SaaS, and infrastructure software. With a unique approach that starts with the NYC enterprise customer community, Work-Bench identifies pain points and sources startups that are solving those problems, leveraging the concentration of Fortune 500 software buyers in the area.
Community focus
Work-Bench invests in early-stage enterprise software startups, particularly in categories such as cybersecurity, data, AI & machine learning, enterprise applications & vertical AI, and infrastructure & developer tools. The organization emphasizes a strong go-to-market (GTM) strategy for its portfolio companies, ensuring they are well-positioned for success.
Member value
Members of the Work-Bench community gain access to a robust network of industry leaders, potential customers, and strategic partners. They benefit from mentorship, guidance on go-to-market strategies, and the opportunity to connect with other founders and innovators in the enterprise technology space.
Membership
- Recorded members
- 56
- Pricing models
- free
Format and cadence
- Modality
- in-person
- Schedule
- rolling-admissions
- Commitment
- light
Availability
- Membership state
- Accepting
Audience and fit
- Audience
- Founders · Investors
- Benefits
- mentorship and network-access
- Program types
- community
- Selection criteria
- application
- Stages
- Seed · Seed+
- Regions
- North AmericaUnited States
Community activity
Notable members
Notable portfolio companies include Spring Health, Socure, Cockroach Labs, and Dialpad, among others. Founders Jessica Lin and Jonathan Lehr are recognized leaders in the venture capital space.
Common questions
What to know about Work-Bench
Upseed classifies Work-Bench under the Venture Capital organization type. Its current public profile includes funder and community capabilities.
Source and update disclosure
Know what this page is based on
Source basis
Public organization and program material, official websites, and structured Upseed records.
Last reviewed
April 24, 2026
Known limits
Capability profiles appear only when a structured public profile also contains decision-useful role evidence. Terms and availability can change.
Upseed is an independent guide. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by the organization described on this page.