Amanda Salzman

Principal at Smash Capital

📍 United States🔄 Updated September 2026💼 12 investments📅 14 years investing🗓 Last invested Jan 2022
VC🌍 United States
12
Total investments
1
Early stage
3
Mid stage
4
Late stage
14y
Years active

Portfolio

11 investments · sorted by recency
All investments
Early stage
Mid stage
Late stage
Investor
2022
Fever is the leading global live-entertainment discovery tech platform with a clear mission: to democratize access to culture and entertainment. Fever has developed a proprietary technology that inspires its global community of over 125M people through personalized and curated experiences in their local city whilst empowering entertainment and event creators to reach new audiences and enhance their experiences. Some successful examples include the “Candlelight Concert Series” attended by over 3 million guests last year, the Los Angeles-based “Stranger Things: The Drive-Into Experience” co-produced with Netflix, or the “Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience” winner of USA Todays 10 Best Readers Choice award. The company, present in over 100 major cities across the globe, is backed by leading investors such as Goldman Sachs, Alignment Growth (growth equity investor in global entertainment and consumer tech, led by former Warner Bros and Time Warner), Goodwater Capital (the largest dedicated consumer technology platform globally), Smash Capital (a late-stage venture capital firm led by former Disney and growth equity investors, backer of Epic Games), Eurazeo, Vitruvian Partners and Atresmedia among others. To pursue our objective, we are looking for bar-raisers who want to work hard, have fun, and make history with us.
Investor
2021
Step is the safe and easy way to build your credit for free and get more from your paycheck with best-in-class banking products. At Step, we put our users first and live by our mission of improving the financial future of the next generation by reimaging how banking should work. It isn’t easy learning about money. Schools don’t teach you, and families don’t always talk about finances. Traditional banks make it even harder to get ahead by charging fees for standard services like checking accounts, atms and even spending cards. We dont belive in that. Step is a next generation financial services company building the best banking experience to help young adults achieve financial independence and knowledge at an earlier age. Step is founded by a team with 50+ years of combined financial technology experience. Our mission is to create a bank that gives you the tools to become smarter with your money and rewards you along your financial journey. Step gives you a free bank account with no monthly or hidden fees. Track your balance and see your transactions from the Step mobile app. You can also send and receive money instantly on your phone. Shop in style with the Step Black Visa Card, where you can get up to 8% cashback on every purchase and earn 5% on your savings.
Investor
2021
SonderMind is your mental health home. For nearly a decade, weve been delivering high-quality, outcome-focused mental health care, supporting tens of thousands of people across 15 states and DC, both virtually and in person. To date, weve facilitated over 3 million sessions, helping people connect with the right care, and the right provider. SonderMind supports a community of mental health care clinicians with the tools, continuing education, technology, marketing and administrative support to be able to deliver quality care and operate thriving practices. With thousands of therapists and psychiatric providers across the country, were able to connect people to care in days, and help them find the right care for them. Become a SonderMind clinician by applying at: sondermind.com/join-us. For corporate careers, please visit: sondermind.com/careers.
Investor
2021
DuckDuckGo is a free browser you download to your mobile and desktop devices. Unlike Chrome, the DuckDuckGo browser has privacy built in, including our private alternative to Google search that doesn't spy on your searches, our best-in-class tracker blocker that blocks cookies and creepy ads that follow you around, and more. We've been an independent company since our founding in 2008. Our mission is to make getting privacy simple and accessible for everyone. Join tens of millions of people who rely on DuckDuckGo’s free all-in-one privacy solution to help take control of their online privacy. Install the DuckDuckGo browser on your mobile and desktop devices, today!
Investor
2020
Founded in 1991, Epic Games is a leading interactive entertainment company and provider of 3D engine technology. Epic operates Fortnite, one of the world’s largest games with over 350 million accounts and 2.5 billion friend connections. Epic also develops Unreal Engine, which powers the world’s leading games and is adopted across industries such as film and television, architecture, automotive, manufacturing, and simulation. Through Unreal Engine, Epic Games Store, and Epic Online Services, Epic provides an end-to-end digital ecosystem for developers and creators to build, distribute, and operate games and other content. Epic has over 40 offices worldwide with headquarters in Cary, North Carolina.
Investor
2020
BYJU’S is a global ed-tech company, providing highly adaptive, engaging and effective learning solutions to more than 150 million students around the world. Founded in India in 2011, BYJU’S mission is to make high-quality learning accessible to students everywhere. The BYJU’S family of brands includes Disney-BYJU’S Early Learn, BYJU’S Future School, Epic!, Osmo, Tynker, Toppr and WhiteHat Jr, along with our beloved flagship product BYJU’S – The Learning App. Together, BYJU’S solutions support Pre-K – 12 education and a wide range of competitive exams. BYJU’S delivers a world-class learning experience with tools that sit at the cross-section of mobile, interactive content and personalized learning methodologies. BYJU’S geography-agnostic solutions and 12,000+ teachers make learning engaging, with visual and contextual programs that adapt to the unique learning style, skill level and pace of each student. In addition, we have innovative partnerships with some of the world’s leading companies, including Disney and Google, to drive engagement and help even more students become active and lifelong learners. BYJU’S is backed by blue-chip investors including the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Sequoia Capital, Bond Capital, Silver Lake, BlackRock, Sands Capital Management, Alkeon Capital Management, Sofina, Verlinvest, Tencent, Prosus (previously Naspers Ventures), CPPIB, General Atlantic, Tiger Global, Qatar Investment Authority, Owl Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Times Internet, Aarin Capital and IFC. Since 2017, we have completed more than 15 acquisitions, including companies in the U.S., UK, Austria, India and Singapore. A 2021 Time 100 Most Influential Company, BYJU’S is headquartered in India, with operations in more than 21 countries globally and learning programs in multiple languages. For additional information, please visit www.byjus.com.
Investor
2020
Founded by Paul Tran in 2016, San Diego, California-based MANSCAPED® is the global men’s lifestyle consumer brand and male grooming category creator trusted by over 10 million men worldwide. The product range includes a diversified line of premium tools, formulations, and accessories designed to introduce and elevate a whole new self-care routine for men. MANSCAPED’s collection is available internationally in 39 countries at MANSCAPED.com, Amazon in more than 100 countries worldwide and in major retailers including Walmart, Target®, Best Buy, Macy’s, Walgreens, Men’s Wearhouse, Jos. A. Bank, Military Exchanges, Tesco, Boots, Hairhouse, Woolworths and many more internationally.
Investor
2019
Its simple, we believe life is more fun when youre in on the action. For that reason, we’re committed to responsibly creating the world’s favorite games and betting experiences. At DraftKings, The Crown Is Yours. We are driven by the thrill of the future and the pull of possibility. As an original, continuous gamechanger, we’re shaping the present and future of sports entertainment and digital experiences, leading the way into new markets with new products, and providing the ultimate experience to our customers. Here, we believe in the power and impact that comes from innovation, collaboration, and a winning culture. We’re a strong and dedicated global team of 4,000+ teammates driven to achieve great things. From your very first day, you’ll be part of an amazing culture that welcomes your ideas, champions your growth, and values you for you. Ready to own what’s next?
Investor
2019
We make footwear and apparel for training and for daily life. Our mission is to help people get stronger—physically, mentally, and emotionally. We’re here to support in the daily pursuit to be better. NOBULL products are built to work. But they won’t do the work for you.
Venture Capital Investor
2014
struc•ture -- THE ARRANGEMENT OF AND RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE PARTS OR ELEMENTS OF SOMETHING COMPLEX. We are Structure Capital. We help passionate teams build great companies by investing seed-stage capital, time, experience and relationships. Building a valuable company is hard - weve done it - we can help you do it too. We love helping entrepreneurs reach their dreams. We focus on companies that create a new market or new set of buyers by exploiting, capitalizing and profiting on under-utilized assets. Assets might include cars, houses, planes, airports, time, skills, knowledge, storage, transport, office space, hotel rooms, event space, personal property, and much, much more. We also like service and solutions companies that support these types of companies. If you have a company that can generate lots of revenue by tapping into under-utilized assets, you should probably give us a holler. Thanks Current portfolio companies include Uber*, Peerspace, Surf Air, Boatbound, Breather, and 120 additional companies and teams!
Venture Capital Investor
2012
Plug and Play is a global innovation platform founded in Silicon Valley in 2006. We connect the people and organizations that drive technology forward, and turn those connections into real business outcomes. We run accelerator programs, facilitate corporate-startup pilots, invest in early-stage companies, and help governments and institutions build innovation ecosystems. Our network includes corporations, startups, investors, universities, and mentors across more than 20 industries and 60 locations worldwide. Since inception, weve accelerated thousands of startups and invested in over 2,500 companies. Our portfolio includes PayPal, Dropbox, LendingClub, Honey, and N26. Industries we work in: Advanced Manufacturing · Aerospace & Defense · Agtech · Animal Health · Brand & Retail · Crypto & Digital Assets · Deeptech · Energy · Enterprise & AI · Fintech · Food & Beverage · Health · Insurtech · Lifetech · Maritime · Media & Advertising · Medtech · Mobility & Physical AI · New Materials & Packaging · Real Estate & Construction · Semiconductors · Smart Cities · Sportstech · Supply Chain · Sustainability · Travel & Hospitality Where we operate: Americas: Silicon Valley · New York · Los Angeles · Washington D.C. · Detroit · Seattle · São Paulo · Alberta Europe: London · Munich · Stuttgart · Paris · Amsterdam · Barcelona · Madrid · Milan · Turin · Gothenburg · Vienna · Istanbul · Antwerp · Vilnius · Tirana · Yerevan · Tbilisi · Limassol · Tashkent Middle East & Africa: Riyadh · Abu Dhabi · Cairo Asia-Pacific: Tokyo · Osaka · Kyoto · Singapore · Seoul · Shanghai · Beijing · Shenzhen · Jakarta · Kuala Lumpur · Phnom Penh · GIFT City
Experience · 20 entries
All (20)
Investments (12)
2022
Principal
2022
Emerging growth and later stage consumer internet and software VC firm. Smash Capital invests in founders building generational brands. We are hiring!
Investor
2022
Fever is the leading global live-entertainment discovery tech platform with a clear mission: to democratize access to culture and entertainment. Fever has developed a proprietary technology that inspires its global community of over 125M people through personalized and curated experiences in their local city whilst empowering entertainment and event creators to reach new audiences and enhance their experiences. Some successful examples include the “Candlelight Concert Series” attended by over 3 million guests last year, the Los Angeles-based “Stranger Things: The Drive-Into Experience” co-produced with Netflix, or the “Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience” winner of USA Todays 10 Best Readers Choice award. The company, present in over 100 major cities across the globe, is backed by leading investors such as Goldman Sachs, Alignment Growth (growth equity investor in global entertainment and consumer tech, led by former Warner Bros and Time Warner), Goodwater Capital (the largest dedicated consumer technology platform globally), Smash Capital (a late-stage venture capital firm led by former Disney and growth equity investors, backer of Epic Games), Eurazeo, Vitruvian Partners and Atresmedia among others. To pursue our objective, we are looking for bar-raisers who want to work hard, have fun, and make history with us.
2021
Investor
2021
Step is the safe and easy way to build your credit for free and get more from your paycheck with best-in-class banking products. At Step, we put our users first and live by our mission of improving the financial future of the next generation by reimaging how banking should work. It isn’t easy learning about money. Schools don’t teach you, and families don’t always talk about finances. Traditional banks make it even harder to get ahead by charging fees for standard services like checking accounts, atms and even spending cards. We dont belive in that. Step is a next generation financial services company building the best banking experience to help young adults achieve financial independence and knowledge at an earlier age. Step is founded by a team with 50+ years of combined financial technology experience. Our mission is to create a bank that gives you the tools to become smarter with your money and rewards you along your financial journey. Step gives you a free bank account with no monthly or hidden fees. Track your balance and see your transactions from the Step mobile app. You can also send and receive money instantly on your phone. Shop in style with the Step Black Visa Card, where you can get up to 8% cashback on every purchase and earn 5% on your savings.
Investor
2021
SonderMind is your mental health home. For nearly a decade, weve been delivering high-quality, outcome-focused mental health care, supporting tens of thousands of people across 15 states and DC, both virtually and in person. To date, weve facilitated over 3 million sessions, helping people connect with the right care, and the right provider. SonderMind supports a community of mental health care clinicians with the tools, continuing education, technology, marketing and administrative support to be able to deliver quality care and operate thriving practices. With thousands of therapists and psychiatric providers across the country, were able to connect people to care in days, and help them find the right care for them. Become a SonderMind clinician by applying at: sondermind.com/join-us. For corporate careers, please visit: sondermind.com/careers.
Investor
2021
Reddit is the heart of the internet, where millions of people get together to talk about any topic imaginable. Share, vote, and decide what matters in everything from breaking news, to fandoms, lifehacks, gaming, sports, health, and the internet’s cutest animals. With over 100,000 subreddit communities about every topic you could think of (and thousands more you couldn’t), whatever it is, there’s a place for you on Reddit. Interested in joining our growing team? Check out redditinc.com/careers.
Show all 20 entries ↓
Investment activity
2012–2022 · 12 investments
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