Michael Rosengarten profile photo

Michael Rosengarten

General Partner at Builders VC

Venture CapitalStartup OperationsGovTechB2B SaaSApplied AITeam Leadership
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About

I'm Michael Rosengarten, a General Partner at Builders VC. My career has taken me from software engineering at companies like Yahoo! to founding and leading startups like Camino, which was successfully acquired, and now into venture capital. I focus on Series A investments, particularly in B2B SaaS, Applied AI, and GovTech, where I'm passionate about building healthier ecosystems and supporting founders. I offer practical advice on capital strategy, GTM, and hiring, and I'm always looking to connect with ambitious founders and public sector professionals exploring tech opportunities. I believe in showing up for the people I work with and making real impact through genuine collaboration.

Networking

What I can offer

  • ›Practical feedback on capital strategy, GTM, and hiring via office hours
  • ›Free, no-strings-attached advice to public sector employees interested in GovTech
  • ›Connector within the Nashville and broader startup ecosystem
  • ›Acts as a "fierce advocate" for founders

Looking for

  • ›Investment opportunities for Builders VC at the Series A stage
  • ›Aims to build conviction in and support the next wave of innovators, particularly in GovTech

Best fit for

Ambitious pre-Series A and Series A founders, especially in B2B SaaS, Applied AI, and GovTechGovernment/public sector employees considering a move into tech

Current Interests

GovTech / Public Sector TechVenture Capital & StartupsApplied AI & Intelligent EnterpriseB2B SaaSRegulation Tech (RegTech)

Background

Career

Started as Software Engineer at Invoca and Yahoo!, then Founding team/CTO & Product at OpenGov Inc., Founder/CEO at Persista, Co-Founder and CEO at Camino, EVP Technology at Clariti, now General Partner at Builders VC with board roles at Augment, ePlanSoft™, and Knapsack

Education

Bachelor of Science (BS) in Computer Science from UC Santa Barbara (2005-2010), Teaching Assistant for CS189A/B, President/Co-Chair of the ACM UCSB Chapter (2007-2009), taught Ruby on Rails workshops

Achievements

  • ›As Co-Founder/CEO of Camino, led the company from founding to a successful acquisition by Clariti Software in 2023
  • ›As part of the early founding team at OpenGov Inc., helped build products used by hundreds of Governments around North America and contributed to raising capital from top-tier investors
  • ›Recently led the Series A investment in Knapsack and Augment for Builders VC
  • ›As part of the Kellogg Alumni Club of Atlanta board, co-led a signature event that raised over $20,000 for Make-A-Wish Georgia

Opinions

  • "the bar for actually doing the job is actually on the floor" in VC, citing absentee board members and unprofessional behavior
  • "capital is not scarce, but attention is," and founders should choose investors who will "actually show up for you"
  • "the current govtech ecosystem is unhealthy," dominated by incumbents ("BigCorp") who don't innovate, while early-stage startups and government staff struggle
  • "in the next few years, most internal software will be vibe-coded by teams working with AI, engineers and business teams together"
  • "There’s never been a better time to build for the public sector"