FOUNDERS
Do you dare disturb the universe?
- Adapted from T.S. Eliot
OUR APPROACH
We are looking for inspirational and badass founders with the ability to execute on their vision to define a market category. Founder qualities that excite us are tenacity, fluid intelligence, coachability, adaptability, obsessive drive and passion. We also look for signs of integrity and proactive, collaborative behavior. We want to see whether you can rock with our vibe.
Why? If we select your startup for investment, we are all in. We have the ability to provide follow-on funding, and have established connections with other investors for other sources of funding. Need more customers? Need a first customer? We leverage our network to provide real customers for our portfolio companies.
Our superpower is positioning founders to win their first contracts through government, education, and business development support. We also provide operational and inspirational help for our portfolio companies. Need help in operations, back office, hiring, marketing ideas? Consider us a resource. We are committed to the growth and success of each of our portfolio companies, and are here to help anytime, with anything.
Our Process
Want to know what to expect from our team as we evaluate your investment opportunity? VC 414’s investment diligence process is tailored to our investment thesis and has the following general steps:
- Initial Screening – We conduct a weekly evaluation of all inbound startups based on criteria such as full-time founder commitment, enterprise vertical technology focus (Frontline Industries and Workers), stage (Pre-seed/Seed), status of product development (must have an MVP), and whether VC 414 can add value to the startup’s growth.
- Initial Meeting – We hold an initial 30-minute exploratory meeting to assess team strength, market opportunity, product appeal, and go-to-market strategy.
- Follow-up Conversations – Further discussions include a product demo and delving deeper into the startup’s potential and alignment with VC 414’s investment thesis.
- Market Opportunity – We evaluate the market size, growth potential, and competitive landscape related to the startup’s offering.
- Due Diligence – We conduct a comprehensive review covering technology/product assessment, user experience, financial viability, legal diligence, and data room examination.
- Terms Negotiation – At this final stage, we formulate an offer and negotiate investment terms.
Our Evaluation Criteria:
- Team Strength – we want to understand why you and your team are the right people to solve this problem. Our process allows us to get to know you, your background and experience, domain expertise, as well as leadership and management capability.
- Market Potential– we want to understand the scope and scale of the customer problem you’re aiming to solve.
- Product – we want to understand the breakthrough nature of your product within the industry landscape. Because we generally invest in B2B and B2B2C products, we want to understand a customer’s entire product experience, in addition to the value of the technology itself.
- Go-to-Market – we want to understand your sales strategy and your momentum with customer adoption.
- Financial Viability – we want to ensure that the investment deal and your company is structured in a way that allows you to raise future dollars, as well as ensure a market rate return to VC 414 and its investors.
General
Parameters:
- Vertical B2B or B2B2C
- At least one undercapitalized founder with more than 10% equity
- Pre Seed or Seed Stage
- Serves Frontline Industries and Workers
- Founder with relevant domain expertise
Minimum
Requirements:
- Be a Delaware C-Corp
- Headquartered in the US
- Have a minimum viable product (MVP)
- Have a full-time founder
- Have evidence of early market traction
NOT A
GOOD FIT IF:
- The product needs FDA or other regulatory approval
- The product is a consumer packaged good or hard technology
- The company is majorly capital intensive
- The company is not nationally scalable
- We can’t share your product with our kids
Pitch Us
Think you are a good fit for VC 414?
Click below to introduce your startup to our team.