There’s no place in the world like New York, especially for startups seeking venture capital. We like to think that’s what John Updike meant when he said that “The true New Yorker secretly believes that people living anywhere else have to be, in some sense, kidding.” And that’s the level of community and investment that we’re seeing with these up-and-coming New York VC funds in 2019; firms that are literally changing the game.
With everything we’ve been keeping active browser tabs open on this year, these are the companies to watch.
Quake Capital Partners
Working closely with key advisers, and tapping into exclusive relationships developed over the last 30 years, Quake is a unique accelerator focused on making seed level investments in new and early stage ventures across a wide range of industries. Generally funding around $200,000, in exchange for 5.33-10% equity, Quake boasts unparalleled access to the top players in finance, development, manufacturing, and distribution.
Point72 Ventures
Led by Steven Cohen, Point72 is a global asset management firm that uses Discretionary Long/Short, Macro, and Systematic strategies to invest in early-stage ventures. Cohen has been doing this since 1992 and previously headed his own trading division at Gruntal & Co. where he managed proprietary capital for 14 years. Providing more than capital, when Point72 invests in a company they offer an experience-backed perspective on the state and evolution of the industry; deep domain expertise in the financial markets and the technologies that power it; and a proving ground with demanding and engaged customers.
The Fund
Unlike anything else, The Fund is a grassroots collective of some of New York City’s finest founders & operators who have all invested personally into The Fund as LPs (they call them Members). This firm is a community of over 70 successful New York City founders & operators who care deeply about supporting the next generation of their city’s entrepreneurs. The Fund invests in New York-based technology companies at their earliest stages, usually pre-seed and seed rounds.
Third Prime
Providing financial and strategic support to purpose-driven teams, Third Prime is a seed-stage venture capital firm with offices in New York City and Charleston, SC. Third Prime is a firm looking for companies that aim to solve important problems and demonstrate an unwavering commitment to transparency, fairness and human progress. Their company list speaks for itself, including Bench, Gameco, Latch, Naborly, and more.
Outbound Ventures
Knowing that entrepreneurs are on the frontlines of change and wanting to support them on their paths to success, Outbound ventures is a NYC based seed stage fund that focuses on brands that connect with a digitally native demographic, and technologies that help other brands do the same. They’re on the lookout for three main focus areas: extraordinary management teams, companies that target large addressable markets with clear efficient distribution markets, and transformational value propositions.
Story Ventures
Focusing on automated systems, Story Ventures boasts a full-stack approach. As an early stage VC fund based in NYC, they invest in entrepreneurs with big visions that leverage technology and the proliferation of data to impact the way people interact with the world. Their portfolio includes companies like Sayspring (acquired by Adobe), Petal, Muse, and more.
SoGal Ventures
As the first female-led millennial venture capital firm, SoGal Ventures invests in early stage startups in the US and Asia with diverse founding teams. They boast a global community of over 50,000 diverse entrepreneurs and investors— all on a mission to level the playing field and redefine the next generation of founders and funders. SoGal focuses their investments on global-first tech businesses tackling major consumer, healthcare, and enterprise opportunities.
Chetrit Ventures
Founded in 2018, Chetrit Ventures is a family operated venture firm focused on early/growth stage investments. With their headquarters in New York, founders Michael and Sam Chetrit also operate the Chetrit Group, a real estate agency in New York.
Carbon Ventures
Formerly McCune Capital, Carbon Ventures is a venture capital fund focused on delivering top quartile returns, while reducing carbon emissions through early stage tech investing. Whether you are an investor, innovator, or simply passing through, they invite you to join them on their mission: to drive down carbon emissions (hence the name “carbon” ventures). They invest in seed stage companies and follow on through series A. The typical investment amount is $500k into companies valued <$5m.
Green Egg Ventures
With over 10 years of combined experience in venture capital and technology startups, Green Egg Ventures is an early stage venture fund providing actionable advice and capital to the best entrepreneurs and technology startups in the world. They provide entrepreneurs and companies with tangible support, a worldwide network of strategic alliance partners, and capital to help guide them from inception to progressively sustainable and growing entities. Past companies have been acquired by Nordstrom and we.com.
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