MJ

Michael Joseph

Founder and CEO at Scratch Kitchen

📍 Boulder, Colorado, United States🔄 Updated September 2026💼 15 investments📅 10 years investing🗓 Last invested Oct 2021
VC🌍 United States
15
Total investments
9
Early stage
4
Mid stage
1
Late stage
10y
Years active

Portfolio

15 investments · sorted by recency
All investments
Early stage
Mid stage
Late stage
Investor (via Acquisition)
Oct 2021
Instacart, the leading grocery technology company in North America, works with grocers and retailers to transform how people shop. The company partners with more than 1,500 national, regional, and local retail banners to facilitate online shopping, delivery and pickup services from more than 85,000 stores across North America on the Instacart Marketplace. Instacart makes it possible for millions of people to get the groceries they need from the retailers they love, and for approximately 600,000 Instacart shoppers to earn by picking, packing and delivering orders on their own flexible schedule. The Instacart Platform offers retailers a suite of enterprise-grade technology products and services to power their e-commerce experiences, fulfill orders, digitize brick-and-mortar stores, provide advertising services, and glean insights. With Instacart Ads, thousands of CPG brands – from category leaders to emerging brands – partner with the company to connect directly with consumers online, right at the point of purchase. With Instacart Health, the company is providing tools to increase nutrition security, make healthy choices easier for consumers, and expand the role that food can play in improving health outcomes. For more information, visit www.instacart.com/company.
Investor
Sep 2021
ResQ is the only facilities management platform designed to streamline repair and maintenance operations for restaurants. It allows operators to efficiently track their assets, choose from a network of high-quality vendors, enhance team productivity through work order management, and gain better visibility into financials. ResQ is trusted by over 5,000 leading restaurant groups including Nobu, McDonalds, Five Guys, Pret a Manger, Jersey Mikes, Hai Hospitality, The Keg, Fogo de Chão, Tarka Indian Kitchen, Parker Hospitality, Hattie Bs, and so many more! We were founded with the belief that restaurant operators and service providers should have a much better way to operate their businesses — and our product reflects this. We are built by restaurant operators, for restaurant operators! We are trusted by worlds leading restaurant brands and are venture backed by top tier VCs.
Investor
Mar 2021
Guest House helps sell homes 10x faster by automating staging, cleaning, photos & more. Plus, customers can pay at closing with easy-to-use financing. Available in Colorado, San Diego, Orange County and Los Angeles today.
early stageReal Estate
Investor
Oct 2020
Lunchbox is the only all-in-one restaurant technology platform built for modern enterprise brands. We help growing and scaling restaurant chains streamline operations, grow revenue, and take control of their digital stack—without stitching together disconnected tools. Our fully integrated system includes online ordering, catering, loyalty, marketing CRM, third-party manager, order aggregation, and call center. Trusted by Firehouse Subs, Papa Johns, Hawaiian Bros, BRIX, Salty Donut, Tacombi, and more, Lunchbox is the one-stop shop for restaurant operators building what’s next. Explore the platform at www.lunchbox.io
Investor
Oct 2020
MilkRun is a weekly subscription service for local produce, meat, dairy, eggs and bread delivered directly from local farms. We believe that by making local food shopping simpler, and local food growing and logistics more efficient, we can achieve a pretty amazing result: develop an alternative to todays global food system that is better for the people eating it and growing it.
mid stageRetail
Investor
Jul 2020
Bikky is the first Customer Data Platform (CDP) built exclusively for large, multi-unit restaurant brands. By integrating with point-of-sale systems, online ordering providers, payment processors, and loyalty programs, Bikky is the only CDP able to build comprehensive datasets about everything from the performance of menus to the frequency and lifetime value of guests. With the platform, everyone from the C-Suite to the marketing team is empowered to make better decisions about the business and measure if those decisions are contributing positively to the bottom line. Bikky was founded on the belief that restaurants deserve the same access to data as the largest, most sophisticated businesses in the world, and is proud to serve thousands of restaurant locations across the U.S., including major brands like Bojangles, MOD Pizza, Dave’s Hot Chicken, and Long John Silver’s. Bikky is based in New York City and has raised over $15 million in funding to date.
Investor
Mar 2020
Agot was founded in science and built by a team of experts. Our proven technology combined with field research and industry expertise has led to deployments with many of the largest Blue Chip brands in the QSR space. Our success has attracted backing from Kitchen Fund and Continental Grain Corp, who support our vision of Agot AI as the future of QSR technology.
Investor
Feb 2020
Founded by Pablo Borquez Schwarzbeck, a fourth-generation farmer, ProducePay is eliminating the economic and food waste caused by the volatile, opaque and fragmented nature of today’s global fresh produce supply chain. Our AgTech company’s Predictable Commerce Platform is giving growers and buyers greater control of their business by providing unprecedented access to each other, capital, trading, insights and greater supply chain visibility. Consumers receive fresher produce more efficiently, knowing it is grown and delivered in responsible ways. This transformational approach is unlocking economic value, and creating a more sustainable global fresh produce industry.
Investor
Aug 2019
IF YOU CAN DREAM IT, YOU CAN SPARK IT. We believe in living a playful life rich in flavors & sparked by new experiences. We believe curiosity fuels creativity. We believe the joy of the cooking journey is the destination. It’s this spirit that fueled us to reimagine the creative possibilities of cooking with fiery charcoal to live & play flavorfully—every day. Spark Grills innovated the first & only charcoal grilling system with Swiss Army Knife culinary versatility —with an unrivaled precision controlled temperature range from 250°-900°F, there’s really nothing you can’t cook on a Spark. That's right, from a low-n-slow 250°F to a searing 900°F and all the glorious temps in between.🔥 Bet you’re wondering, sounds good…but what about all that precious time to get that charcoal fired up just right? Well, if you have 5 minutes, our proprietary charcoal Briq will be fired up and ready for you (and that rib-eye). And when it comes to clean-up, easy peasy. Allowing you to focus on that delicious & playful culinary journey. Founded by Benjamin West in 2017 after years of designing high-efficiency cookstoves in developing countries, Spark is on a mission to ignite a charcoal revolution and open up more culinary possibilities for home cooks than ever before. Spark also believes in sparking change—for every Spark Grill sold, Spark donates a locally manufactured cookstove to a family in Ghana in partnership with CookClean Ghana Limited. Spark provides hands-on customer care and home delivery throughout the contiguous United States. The Spark Grill, Briqs, bundles, and accessories are available online at www.sparkgrills.com.
early stageManufacturing
Investor
Jul 2019
Caper is the leading AI-powered smart shopping cart on the market. Caper Carts bring together online and offline shopping to create a seamless in-store shopping experience for customers, and drive meaningful benefits for retailers such as incremental customer spend, increased labor efficiency and alternate revenue streams. Ready to make shopping magic? Book your demo today.
Investor
Feb 2019
We believe that if you put three or more friends in a room together and add a bottle of bubbly, you have a party. And we’re here to make those occasions happen more often and more easily than ever. That’s why we offer elevated products, curated for any occasion and shipped to your door. We believe that spills, smudges, and imperfections are the mark of a party well-thrown, and there shouldn’t be any pressure to get all the details exactly right. We’d rather you pour over your guest list than your napkin choices—because after all, the people are what make the party. We’re just here to help you feed them and fete them until the bottles run dry.
early stageManufacturing
Investor
Feb 2019
Proof is revolutionizing service of process. Proof is a legal technology company that has created a powerful web-based platform to instantly connects law firms with independent process servers nationwide. Law firms can create electronic serve requests 24/7, receive live updates, see mapped verification of all attempts, and connect directly to servers via our Live Chat feature. Proof’s technology provides electronic time and date stamped proof that your serve was performed successfully plus a notarized affidavit from the server. Proof offers 1, 3 or 7 day service nationwide as well as internationally.
early stageLegal Services
Investor
Dec 2018
DIRTY LEMON was created to meet the evolving taste and preference of the modern consumer. The brand offers a range of innovative, ready-to-drink beverages to improve customers​ everyday routine. Each beverage incorporates high quality, functional ingredients that have been used in the naturopathic space for decades, blended with a base of organic lemon juice, ocean minerals and pink Himalayan sea salt (a natural source of electrolytes). Each beverage has less than 30 calories and less than one gram of sugar. The company’s SMS-based distribution platform enables seamless communication and frictionless access by selling its line of beverages via text message. Since its unprecedented launch in 2015, DIRTY LEMON has sold over 2 million bottles to more than 150,000 customers worldwide.
Investor
Jul 2018
Sunday is a Boulder-based startup that’s reinventing the lawn and garden space. Our data-driven service and products will help 90 million Americans turn their yards into verdant and sustainable ecosystems.
early stageRetail
Investor (Aquired)
Dec 2016
Our mission is to empower anyone to make better food at home, every day of the week. If youre passionate about great food and you want to be a key part of bringing ambitious products into the world -- and to do it with a diverse group of teammates who share those passions, then Brava is for you! Check out our open roles at careers.brava.com. Were hiring!
Experience · 22 entries
All (22)
Investments (15)
Founder (6)
2024
Co-Founder & Intern
May 2024
Fig Tree Pediatrics is a concierge pediatrics membership program in Boulder, Colorado. All primary care for children from birth through college is available at Fig Tree. Fig Trees membership / concierge model is focused on a heightened level of care and a more personalized level of care than exists in mainstream / commoditized pediatrics. Holistic care focusing on the total wellness of the patients is the focus of the practice, while offering substantial convenience for the parents / guardians. Rapid appointment availability, including prompt text message and telephone availability by the physician is a hallmark of the practice. For example, texting in a picture of your childs puffy eye could be diagnosed and a prescription sent to the pharmacy of your choice within an hour of reporting the problem. The founder and primary physician at Fig Tree Pediatrics is Dr. Alison Levine. Dr. Levine is a Board Certified Pediatrician who graduated from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Previously, she worked at the Childrens Hospital in Pittsburgh, prior to moving to Boulder, Colorado in 2018. Before starting Fig Tree in Boulder, Dr. Levine was a physician at the Childrens Hospital of Colorado and then a partner at the Pediatric Center in Boulder. At the Pediatric Center in Boulder, Dr. Levine had built her practice to nearly 2,000 patients whom she loved working with. Dr. Levine found that with this many patients it was not possible to give the level of personalized care that she believes in, which is how Fig Tree Pediatrics was born.
2021
Investor (via Acquisition)
Oct 2021
Instacart, the leading grocery technology company in North America, works with grocers and retailers to transform how people shop. The company partners with more than 1,500 national, regional, and local retail banners to facilitate online shopping, delivery and pickup services from more than 85,000 stores across North America on the Instacart Marketplace. Instacart makes it possible for millions of people to get the groceries they need from the retailers they love, and for approximately 600,000 Instacart shoppers to earn by picking, packing and delivering orders on their own flexible schedule. The Instacart Platform offers retailers a suite of enterprise-grade technology products and services to power their e-commerce experiences, fulfill orders, digitize brick-and-mortar stores, provide advertising services, and glean insights. With Instacart Ads, thousands of CPG brands – from category leaders to emerging brands – partner with the company to connect directly with consumers online, right at the point of purchase. With Instacart Health, the company is providing tools to increase nutrition security, make healthy choices easier for consumers, and expand the role that food can play in improving health outcomes. For more information, visit www.instacart.com/company.
Investor
Sep 2021
ResQ is the only facilities management platform designed to streamline repair and maintenance operations for restaurants. It allows operators to efficiently track their assets, choose from a network of high-quality vendors, enhance team productivity through work order management, and gain better visibility into financials. ResQ is trusted by over 5,000 leading restaurant groups including Nobu, McDonalds, Five Guys, Pret a Manger, Jersey Mikes, Hai Hospitality, The Keg, Fogo de Chão, Tarka Indian Kitchen, Parker Hospitality, Hattie Bs, and so many more! We were founded with the belief that restaurant operators and service providers should have a much better way to operate their businesses — and our product reflects this. We are built by restaurant operators, for restaurant operators! We are trusted by worlds leading restaurant brands and are venture backed by top tier VCs.
Investor
Mar 2021
Guest House helps sell homes 10x faster by automating staging, cleaning, photos & more. Plus, customers can pay at closing with easy-to-use financing. Available in Colorado, San Diego, Orange County and Los Angeles today.
early stageReal Estate
2020
Investor
Oct 2020
Lunchbox is the only all-in-one restaurant technology platform built for modern enterprise brands. We help growing and scaling restaurant chains streamline operations, grow revenue, and take control of their digital stack—without stitching together disconnected tools. Our fully integrated system includes online ordering, catering, loyalty, marketing CRM, third-party manager, order aggregation, and call center. Trusted by Firehouse Subs, Papa Johns, Hawaiian Bros, BRIX, Salty Donut, Tacombi, and more, Lunchbox is the one-stop shop for restaurant operators building what’s next. Explore the platform at www.lunchbox.io
Show all 22 entries ↓
Investment activity
2016–2021 · 15 investments
2016120182201942020520213
Recent (last 2 years)Earlier