Philosophy
We believe in the unbundling of early-stage vc. We also believe that the following statements are true, and that they have profound implications for both founders and LP returns:
1
Founders' unique insights > VC partner theses
2
Portfolio construction theory hurts Seed returns
3
Experienced founders tend to be helpful investors
4
VC management fees often create misalignment with LPs
5
Putting founders first is both right and good business
FOUNDERS FIRST IS BUILT DIFFERENT
We are proudly vertical agnostic and anti-thematic. We like being surprised and love making contrarian bets.
We target initial investments of $25k-$100k but will go as low as $10k if a round is oversubscribed. Why? If we love a founder, we want to be involved, and by being a great partner, who knows, perhaps we will earn the right to invest more in future rounds.
We've built 4 venture-backed startups, and so we hope to be actually helpful beyond our check.
We are among the largest investors in our own funds, so we have skin in the game, and we take 0% management fee. So, we make money only if our LPs make money, by taking 20% of the profits we drive (carry share). We believe that meaningful General Partners' (GPs') financial commitments without management fees creates true alignment with LPs. In addition, we keep our funds small so that we can get into great companies in early rounds, without needing to worry about board seat time restraints and portfolio construction, which artificially deter otherwise sound investment decisions.
We put Founders First in everything we do. We move extremely quickly in making funding decisions, so we don't slow you down. We leverage our vast personal networks to help fill out your rounds and make key hires. We are our founders' partners, mentors, and cheerleaders, but never their bosses. So we don't ask for board seats and never force our founders to do anything they don't think makes sense.