iBOS Ventures

iBOS Ventures is a family office and early-stage venture fund founded in 2013 by Ravi Sharma and based in Orange, California. The name stands for 'Be Your Own Boss.' Ravi Sharma is a 4X founder with two prior exits and a former portfolio manager at Western Asset, where he co-managed approximately $1.3 billion in assets for sovereign wealth and family offices. He also serves on the UCI ANTrepreneur Center External Committee. iBOS Ventures focuses on tech-enabled businesses with a mission to positively impact society, with a particular emphasis on empowering underrepresented founders to break free from corporate careers and build their own ventures. The firm invests at pre-seed and seed stages with checks up to $500,000 across fintech, digital health, B2B software, web3, and mental health sectors. Known portfolio companies include Formulate (personal products, invested July 2025 and the most recent investment), Vyrill (video analytics B2B software, invested March 2022), and Hotelbids (hotel bidding platform, $200,000 raise). The fund also operates an AngelList syndicate to co-invest alongside its direct balance sheet. Investment criteria center on breakout technologies at secular inflection points, disruption through human capital efficiency, social impact ventures, and highly personalized products. iBOS Ventures operates with a hands-on ethos, drawing on Sharma's experience as a founder who has built, scaled, and exited companies. The firm's team brings experience across multiple startup stages — from incubation through M&A — and works directly with portfolio founders on go-to-market strategy, operations, and growth. The fund's dual focus on financial returns and underrepresented founder access gives it a distinctive mission-aligned investment posture.