Principles

01

Swing big

We'd love to back moonshot aspirations and velocity, defined as the ability to move quickly, adapt, and be a tenacious iteration machine. If you see a corner of the universe where things could be working differently and have an unshakable desire to fix it by building something great - against all odds and naysayers - we are thrilled that you found your way to our website.

We have an appetite for risk, but only if the potential reward for taking it is an outsized return. VCs can only invest in VC-fundable startups. Many great businesses often aren't compatible with this financing path.

02

Skin in the game

Incentives are everything. We love the job, but primarily we manage other people's money, and we're investors in the fund as well. We need you to also have skin in the game and 100% of your attention on the business. This ten-year-long-overnight-success can only happen if you're all in.

03

Greed is bad

A healthy captable is sine qua non if you want to keep the optionality of raising subsequent rounds. That's why we respect your captable and expect you will do too. Problems with dead equity, advisors with bloated stakes or angels who took way too much are painful to solve.

04

De-risking

Building a company is a tale of constant de-risking and validating the business model. There are dead ends, pivots, and soul-crushing setbacks along the way. As an early-stage investor, our main task is to be the cornerman who helps you determine which risks need to be eliminated at each stage to build value. If you succeed, your business will become investable for funds that are lower on the risk/reward curve and can fuel your rapid scaling.

05

Inconvenient truth

Most VC "value add" is an oversell. Yes, you read that right - on a VC fund webpage. In reality, small, early stage fund's support is limited to some networking (first clients, new investors, talent), being a sounding board in making key decisions and helping you not drown in the unavoidable sorrows. But it is You who is the Man in the Arena, who does all the heavy lifting and calls the shots. That's why we don't meddle, don't pretend to know better, and only try to help when both sides feel that we can really add value.

06

Be frugal & don't die

The first funding round is for building the engine of your business and testing it, not for revving it up before it’s well assembled. You’ll always have limited funds to navigate the next corner, so you’ll need to be resourceful and maximize the impact of each PLN you spend. Paradoxically, constraints and urgency help you focus on moves with the greatest leverage, build a healthier business foundation, and create an unbeatable organizational culture. The startup cemetery is full of overfunded startups which, instead of honing in on their core mission, died from premature scaling or spreading their efforts too broadly. 

Also, you mustn't die

07

Long term game

Building an outlier business from scratch is challenging, and we understand the risks and opportunity costs you are taking on. That's why we avoid unfair clauses in investment agreements, maintain a long-term perspective, and strive to be partners you feel you can confide in.

We have enough grey hair to have already learned that trust, candor, and integrity are prerequisites for long-term success.