Ezra Galston founded Starting Line to address what he saw as a relatability problem in Chicago venture capital, where few investors were under 45 and younger founders couldn't see themselves in local VCs, building his fund so entrepreneurs in their 20s and 30s had a culturally in-sync partner in the Midwest. He brings a unique combination of hands-on consumer marketing experience from gaming and daily fantasy sports into his investing approach, while incorporating subsidized mental health services for portfolio founders and using pop-punk and emo cultural references in his branding to differentiate himself from traditional finance-focused investors. Ezra Galston founded Starting Line to address what he saw as a relatability problem in Chicago venture capital, where few investors were under 45 and younger founders couldn't see themselves in local VCs, building his fund so entrepreneurs in their 20s and 30s had a culturally in-sync partner in the Midwest. He brings a unique combination of hands-on consumer marketing experience from gaming and daily fantasy sports into his investing approach, while incorporating subsidized mental health services for portfolio founders and using pop-punk and emo cultural references in his branding to differentiate himself from traditional finance-focused investors.