A curated list of investors who write first checks at the earliest stage, backing founders before traction when conviction matters most. View this sheet and more on VC Sheet, where founders find the right investors for their round. Curated by Mat Vogels.
Why does Canada not have more pre-seed funds writing first cheques? | Boris Mann posted on the topic | LinkedIn
Why does Canada not have more preseed funds writing first cheques? It’s (I think) a recognized fact that this is the case. Is it because we are so close to the US ecosystem that the massive number of preseed funds there effectively cherry picks our top founders? I have heard that Canadian pre-seed has the opposite problem. They have to wade through a lot of inbound in Canada (many low quality), but themselves have such small funds they deploy very little. I have been thinking about what I did at Full Stack. The ecosystem was smaller then. There was no institutional preseed. 9 deals in 6 months made me one of the top investors in Canada. I say that not to boast, but show how low the bar was (is?). I modeled smaller cheques with much higher velocity during the pandemic with Venture Scouts. Recently talked to Jesse Rodgers who is thinking something similar. The model I have in mind would be - across Canada - scouts in every community (diverse young people) - 10k - 25k lead cheques - don’t need to wait for a lead, we say yes first - scouts check the hygiene - legal setup, founders reverse vesting etc - syndicate every deal 50 - 100 deals annually? One of the experiments here is if one can find and execute on this many. Not all would be venture track, so slightly different IndieVC style deal terms might be needed. Overhead is massive compared to capital deployed. Not enough AUM for management fees to pay for much. What do you think? Let’s build ;) | 37 comments on LinkedIn
Purpose Ventures - Purpose
Conventional VC is often at odds with the ambitions of purpose-driven entrepreneurs and their founding values and missions. These founders are interested in more than growth for growth’s sake. They want to build lasting, impactful businesses and preserve their mission in the future.
Seed Round - Vylit - Crunchbase Funding Round Profile
Discover innovative companies and the people behind them.
Pre Seed Round - MintStars - Crunchbase Funding Round Profile
Discover innovative companies and the people behind them.
Philanthropy 2.0: What the Evolution of For-Profit Investment Tells Us About the Future of Giving
Gaps in philanthropic funding for era-defining science and discovery demand a new approach. In this piece, we look at how learning from venture capital is a game changer for catalytic philanthropy.
Philanthropy 2.0: What the Evolution of For-Profit Investment Tells Us About the Future of Giving
Gaps in philanthropic funding for era-defining science and discovery demand a new approach. In this piece, we look at how learning from venture capital is a game changer for catalytic philanthropy.
Sidecar funds, corporate vehicles, club deals: how do startup studios get financed?
As explained in The Rise of Startup Studios, a white paper published by The Global Startup Studio Network in 2019, the term “startup…
America’s Seed Fund – NSF SBIR/STTR | NSF SBIR
America’s Seed Fund powered by the National Science Foundation (NSF SBIR/STTR) supports startups with research and development funding to create technologies.
Founders Hub | Transform Finance
The founder playbook for building a company that lasts and stays true to why you started it. Research, case studies, and practical tools for incorporation, fundraising terms, board structure, ownership, and culture.
Meet the AI OnlyFans: How one startup raised millions to build an ‘erotic companions’ platform | Kai Nicol-Schwarz
Meet the AI OnlyFans: How one startup raised millions to build an ‘erotic companions’ platform --- When AI erotic companion startup Oh raised a $4.5m funding round in January, it had something few in the shadowy new sector could boast. A roster of named investors, publicly backing the company. VCs are often bound by “vice clauses”, which prohibit firms from investing in controversial products like pornography or weapons. As a result, startups working on ethically contentious products often rely on angel investors and family offices to stay afloat. But Oh, which generates NSFW adult content and conversations with both fictional characters as well as bots based on real people, has tapped into a group of seemingly less squeamish investors: crypto VCs. It’s drawn backing from the likes of Tangent, Kosmos Ventures, Big Brain Holdings, Bodhi Ventures and Tagus Capital. “Raising money for a business like this from non-crypto VCs is very difficult,” says Oh founder and CEO Nic Young, who positions the startup as a “decentralised platform” and offers payments via crypto. “A lot of crypto VCs don’t have vice clauses — it’s more liberal and free.” Oh wants to use those fresh funds to build the “AI OnlyFans”, with plans to roll out autonomous scantily clad bots that can market themselves on social media and direct message users with spicy conversation starters. The biggest challenge? Convincing enough users it’s not that weird turning to AI when you’re looking for romance. https://lnkd.in/eRF7a5Dn
1517 Fund - Backing Dropouts, Students & SciFi Science
1517 Fund is an anti-establishment educational institution and VC firm backing founders at the earliest stages of their careers and companies.
Pre-funded startups
Build a strong foundation for your startup with the Google Cloud's Start tier that offers the right tools and learning resources.
HOME | A-Force Ventures
A-Force Ventures is an early-stage venture capital fund that invests in female-led consumer, internet, and mobile startups.
How We Evaluate Companies: Our 8 T Framework
When evaluating startups for investment, byFounders uses its 8 T framework to structure their thinking. Looking for funding for your startup? Check it out!
novel funding mechanisms
funding models that doesn't depend on VC. funding models that keep things accessible and open but yet provide enough incentive for people to pay
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Let's Talk Money - Interlinked
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The future is low-tech: lessons from the early 2000s ft. Jésabel DC | Config 2026
The Real Reason that Substack is Collapsing
goals-based universal paywalls - pivot point - Obsidian Publish