The easiest way to work with and for VC funds is to become a scout, getting compensated for sourcing investments. But how do you do that?
We’ve been studying VC scout programs, not just to improve our deal sourcing, but for four broader reasons:
1. To help our founders in transition
Versatile VC runs a no-cost community for founders in transition, “Founders’ Next Move.” We have collected a wide range of resources for founders who may be considering launching a new company; angel investing/becoming a VC; buying a company; joining boards; consulting; serving as an interim executive; or just getting a job. Our goal is to invest in, co-invest with and/or recruit founders in transition.
2. Monetizing our deal flow
All VCs, including us, regularly see investment opportunities that don’t fit our mandate. We may as well get compensated for referring them to others. There are a number of VC funds that share the carry earned in their co-investment to the referring party. Another option is our becoming a formal scout for other VCs through programs like those we list below.
3. We’re launching our own scout program and want to benchmark compensation and structure against our peers
We already have a senior team of venture partners who help us in origination and diligence. They may also consult with companies directly or serve on boards, in which case we’ll expedite their being compensated directly by the relevant company. Scouts are intended to be a lighter-touch relationship, focused only on sourcing. We envision we can have an unlimited number of scouts, but only a small number of Venture Partners.
4. Scouts help promote diversity in VC
This is true both on the investor side and also among portfolio company management.
What really matters is scout-fund fit. You’re not going to earn any money if the sort of investments you source are not a fit for the VC you’re scouting for.
We’ve identified a number of VCs besides us that have publicly discussed their scout programs, and in some cases publicly shared their economics. We found these by looking through firms’ websites, social media, blog posts, etc. We list all of them below.
In addition to formal scout programs, note that many VCs will structure one-off arrangements with “friends of the firm” to compensate them for sourcing. You can’t normally “apply” for those relationships unless you have a pre-existing relationship with the VC.
How much can you earn?
Scouts are typically paid a percentage of carry-on investments they source. So excluding any upfront cash, your cash compensation, which is normally paid out when that startup exits (typically three to 12 years from the present) equals:
# companies you source
* (% of companies the VC invests in)
* (average VC check size)
* (average multiple generated, minus 1)
* (your percentage of the carry pool, typically 2.5%-10% of the fund’s carry pool on a given investment, i.e., of the typical 20% that the fund earns)
If you’re paid on a per-deal basis, your contract may have adjustments for netting of carry. For example, if the overall fund is a 0.9X multiple, you may get paid zero even if you source a winning investment for that particular fund.)
Certain late-stage VCs have invested in some of my past funds, partly to motivate us to refer future investment opportunities to them. A few firms also or instead pay a cash bounty to scouts, typically 1% of the amount invested into the company. Alternatively, some firms pay a fixed percentage of total fund carry per deal sourced, i.e., if you source one company out of a planned 30 companies in a fund, you might get 10%*(1/30) = 0.333% of the carry pool. This structure has the advantage of simpler accounting and it motivates the scout to be a resource for the entire portfolio, not just the one company she sourced.
A few funds (e.g., Accel, Sequoia) give the scout a small pool of capital. Effectively, the scout is then managing a tiny pocket of that VC fund. Typically, the backing VC will have some ability to veto the scout’s investments in this structure.
That said, a generous carry percentage is irrelevant if the fund’s metrics for the other components of the formula above are low. What really matters is scout-fund fit. You’re not going to earn any money if the sort of investments you source are not a fit for the VC you’re scouting for, because they just won’t put money to work.
Some scouts also have the opportunity (or expectation) to help raise money for the fund by seeking fund commitments from potential LPs. Typical incentive payments for fundraising from VC limited partners is 0.5%-2% of cash raised, with larger percentages for smaller funds. Check with counsel to make sure that these compensation structures are compliant.
Other investors that pay sourcing fees
Our focus here is venture capital, but the private equity industry employs origination-focused team members also. These are primarily full-time team members, but PE funds also employ investment banks as well as freelance “finders.”
Including bonuses, the ballpark salary for a new business development associate with a private equity firm is around $100,000. Some PE funds publicly advertise rewards for anyone who refers them to an investment, while independent sponsors can earn a 20% fee for facilitating deals.
Similarly, certain revenue-based finance investors also have open-access scouting programs.
“Given the instant nature of RBF, the payout is immediate: a successful affiliation typically generates up to 1% of the amount raised to the finder,” OpenVC CEO Stephane Nasser noted. “If you have access to post-revenue SaaS or e-commerce companies, you can easily make $1,000 to $10,000 per company within a few days.”
Most scouts get paid only on a success basis, without a retainer. If your responsibility is just forwarding emails and making an occasional intro, it’s less common to get a retainer. You can make an argument for a retainer (or an investment in your fund, if you’re a VC yourself) if some combination of the following applies:
- You’re going to spend significant time marketing, sourcing and filtering investments, beyond your normal business activities. If you’re going to work for an hour a week, most people are comfortable knowing they may not get paid, if at all, until a decade from now. But if you’re doing more than an hour a week, ask for more certainty of cash and/or equity compensation. I suggest getting clarity on the number of hours/week you’re expected to work, and multiply it by what you consider a reasonable hourly rate.
- You’re involved in other aspects of the firm’s activities: due diligence, portfolio acceleration, board service, etc.
- You’re prominent enough that your affiliation with the firm generates brand value.
How to find a scout job
Scouts are typically hired because they are well-networked and credible in an industry, geography and/or community that a VC is focusing on. Joel Palathinkal, CEO of Sutton Capital, observes that scouts usually fall into one of three categories:
- The part-time practitioner: These are senior executives or lawyers who want to be exposed to the ecosystem, education and the upside of potential carry. However, they do not have an interest in leaving their full-time profession.
- Aspiring full-time VC: For this type of candidate, the intended outcome of the scout role is to pivot into a full-time role in VC or PE. This role helps augment the candidate’s profile with personal branding, networks, track record, deal flow and industry best practices.
- Solo GP training. A common trend that we are seeing now is emerging GPs who become scouts to solidify their foundation and serve as a catalyst to help raise a fund.
I suggest you ask the following questions of an investor who’s interested in your becoming a scout:
“So that I understand how to source the most relevant investments: Could you tell me as much detail as possible about your filter beyond what’s on your website?” (Pet peeve: It’s amazing to me how many VCs don’t provide basic information about their filter, check size, etc., on their site.)
“So that I can estimate my economics: How many companies per year are you investing in? What is your typical check size? What percentage of companies that apply do you invest in? How often do you lead rounds?”
“So I can use your and my time efficiently: In my normal business activities, I typically come across __ companies/week that I think fit your mandate. Do you want me to forward you everything that I think fits your mandate, or do you expect me to take a meeting first to do an initial screen?”
“Is there any additional diligence or involvement you would want from me, beyond just making an introduction?”
In the startup funding landscape, I would compare AngelList and Gust to dating sites. In the dating industry, I’ve seen the emergence of sites with professional matchmakers who serve as intermediaries, e.g., JRetroMatch.
The parallel in startup fundraising are firms like Superscout and Landscape OpenScout. Superscout provides learning resources for current and upcoming VC scouts, a community forum, and tools to help scouts present their deals and find the right investors to send them to.
We compiled below a list of all VCs with public-facing scout programs. The first group publicly discusses economics and typically has larger scout programs. The second group does not (to our knowledge) publicly discuss economics. Please contact us if we’re missing any.
VC firms with scout programs that publicly share compensation details
| Firm | Brief summary | Economics |
| Accel | Accel brings more than three decades of experience backing companies including Atlassian, Braintree, Cloudera, DJI, Dropbox, Dropcam, Etsy, Facebook, Flipkart, Lookout Security, MoPub, Qualtrics, Slack, Spotify, Supercell, Vox Media and others. | Provides some capital to scouts to invest. |
| Ada Ventures | “We are there at the start, which is usually post-product, pre-revenue. We are a pre-Series A investor with a first cheque of £250,000-£500,000. We invest in U.K. technology companies with global ambitions.” | “These scouts are rewarded for both finding those investments – with an upfront fee – and if those investments do well, with a longer term, carry linked incentive.” (Source) |
| Allied Venture Partners | Growing and diversifying Western Canada’s technology startup ecosystem. | “If we invest, you’ll receive 20% of our carry on the first investment in exchange for your assistance & expertise in identifying, assessing, and negotiating the investment.” |
| Atomico | Atomico is an international investment firm that focuses on helping disruptive technology companies scale globally. It partners with technology founders at Series A and beyond. Atomico was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in London, England. | “Angels get a share of the upside when the founders they back succeed, in the same way that Atomico would. If one company takes off, all the angels benefit: in order to promote collaboration, we have allocated some carry per investment to an ‘Angel Pool’, from which all the angels share. In this way, one company’s success benefits all the Atomico Angels as a group, not just the Angel that partnered with that company.” |
| Calm Company | “We’re building the pre-eminent ecosystem for founders and funders of “calm” companies, while catalyzing the opportunity for more funds, services, and partners focused on serving these businesses.” | “There are two tiers of compensation, contingent on whether the scout submits a viable investment memo.
Cash: No Memo: $2,000; With Memo: $5,000 Carry Share: No Memo: not available; With Memo: 10% of our carry on the deal.” |
| Catapult VC | Catapult is a global venture capital platform serving entrepreneurs and investors committed to building transformational companies addressing fundamental human needs. We are product and geographically agnostic and have the experience to creatively and thoughtfully structure the right investment product–equity, debt, or a combination thereof–regardless of stage, timing or circumstance. | “We bring them onto our platform, provide more capital for them to deploy on our behalf, and share economics with them on investment on which we collaborate. It’s a win-win.” (Source) |
| Chapter One | Chapter One – the product people on your cap table. | “In a true partnership, partners split carry — we want you to feel the same way. As such, Chapter One shares economic upside with our scouts (scouts will receive half of Chapter One’s carry on each investment they make).” |
| Consilience Ventures | Our greatest strength is our exclusive network of entrepreneurs, hands-on investors and functional experts. Through this community, we accelerate value creation and align incentives, leading to attractive rewards shared equitably among all stakeholders. | “Become a member of Consilience Ventures and whether you refer an investor or a startup we invest in, you’ll earn a 3% success fee in cash or in shares of the portfolio. The entire portfolio is tokenized – no paperwork – accredited investors only.” |
| Female Founded Club | The Female Founded Club is a sourcing platform that investors use to find top female-founded startups in need of capital. | High performers will be recognized on the Female Founded Club website/newsletter. Free entry to Club events. |
| G. Ventures | “Who is it for: It’s for students who want to learn about, practice, and discover venture capital.
What Scouts do: Scouts look for discounts on campuses all throughout France.” |
Scouts will receive training on best practices in venture capital, as well as access to a network of diverse young leaders and money (1% carried interest). |
| Hawke Ventures | Hawke Ventures is an early-stage venture fund that invests $100,000-$250,000 in consumer companies and technology that powers consumer companies. The firm focuses on growing U.S.-based companies earning $20,000-$100,000 in monthly revenue, are in the pre-seed or seed stage, and have gained quantifiable traction in their market. | “Hawke Ventures Scout Program teaches and trains postgraduate students interested in breaking into venture capital through critical discussions, readings, and community building activities.” |
| Microtransaction | “Today we are announcing the launch of Microtraction Scout Program — an initiative that empowers venture-backed founders and operators to identify and invest in high potential startups across the African continent.” | “Carried interest on the deals shared and made.” |
| On Deck Catalyst Scouts | On Deck is a platform serving the many strands of identity that unite ambitious people around the globe. Their ever-growing community and action-oriented programming will help the people to get there—fast. On Deck will up-level career, launch, and scale big ideas, or make lifelong friends. | Unpaid. “Catalyst Scouts is a 6-8 hour/week time commitment, designed to be completed alongside a full-time job or school. You should expect to meet with founders, attend a partner meeting, attend a workshop, and engage with the community each week…. Catalyst Scouts is a free program with a commitment to find and refer founders to On Deck.” |
| Republic* | Republic is a financial technology firm that allows everyone to invest in private markets. | “Refer a startup, get $2,500” |
| Saison Capital | They invest in Seed to Series A companies across South East Asia and India. Although they have a sector-agnostic fund mandate, they particularly like to work with founders that are building ecosystems with the potential to distribute financial services to the unbanked. | “The scout is compensated through non-financial means. The scout will receive hands-on mentorship, attend Saison Capital events, and join our network of advisors, venture partners, and industry experts.” |
| SHL Capital (Sahil Lavingia) | Open to anything “but especially B2B SaaS, future of work, consumer social, and developer tools.” | “If I invest, I’ll give you 25% of my carry. The rough math: If I invest $100,000 into a company that you help me source, then you’ll get 25% of my carry (about 20%), or 5%–as if you had invested $5,000 into the company yourself.” |
| Spearhead | Backed by AngelList. “Founders start with a $2M fund. If they make great investments, they’re eligible for a second fund up to $10M. There’s also follow-on capital available for breakout companies in their portfolios.” | “You earn carry on the fund, which means you get a share of the fund’s profit.” |
| TheSyndicate Open Scouting | The Syndicate is an investment group led by Jason Calacanis that invests in world-class founders. | “You get $5,000 cash or 10% of our carry in that investment (your choice!) if you are the first person to refer the company to us and we invest.” |
| Venture University | Venture University is a multi-stage investment fund and a trade school for venture capital, private equity, and angel investing. Venture University’s investment fund, VU Venture Partners, invests in seed through growth stage companies, initially investing up to $1M per company and up to $10M in follow-on rounds. Each quarter the investment team makes 3-6 investments. | “We provide ~2% carry per person on the cohort capital we invest across the deals; 5% carry (or 25% of carry) on LPs sourced by the scouts as if it’s their own fund entity; and after the program we give 1% carry on deals they source that we invest in as scouts.” |
| Versatile VC | Versatile Venture Capital invests in early-stage, capital-efficient companies. Our typical check size is $200,000 to $1,000,000. We lead rounds and will also co-invest. We can make follow-on investments into our companies where helpful. We periodically invest in Series A and later rounds with a reputable lead investor. | Versatile VC pays 10% of carry pool on all capital we invest in the company you source, subject to certain provisions to protect us in unusual circumstances, e.g., our investment is made out of a fund which as a whole generates no carry. |
VC firms with scout programs that do not publicly share compensation details
| Firm | Brief summary |
| 100X VC | 100X.VC is the first VC to invest in early-stage startups using India SAFE Notes. |
| 10K | “Industry agnostic. Geographically opportunistic. Founder-centric. Investing fast and early as possible. We aim to reach conviction to back founders within days, with sweet spot on stages in ideation/pre-product to Series A.” |
| 500 Global | 500 Startups is a global venture capital firm with a network of startup programs headquartered in Silicon Valley with over $454 million in committed capital across four main funds and 15 thematic funds. The team of 150 people based in 20 countries manage venture investments across 74 countries and speak over 25 languages. |
| Accelerator Centre | Accelerator Centre provides an essential combination of in-house mentorship, educational programming, facilities, networking, and access to funding and facility services with a goal of building successful companies. Accelerator Centre is headquartered in Waterloo, Canada. |
| Adapt Ventures | We come in as early as the Family & Friends round and follow-on in subsequent rounds. Our firm has a presence in San Francisco, London and Mexico. |
| AeraVC | investing in the next generation of startups that will transform the world. We are remote-first with partners, operations and scouts around the globe. |
| AI.fund | Interested in advanced AI in Europe. |
| AirTree Ventures | AirTree is a venture capital fund with a mission to support the most ambitious Australian and Kiwi technology entrepreneurs. As one of the largest VC funds in the region with over half a billion dollars under management, AirTree aims to back startups from the earliest moments in their first funding round, often pre-revenue. |
| Alicorn Ventures | Investing in the future of AI in the USA, Israel, EMEA and APAC. |
| Alter | Alter Global is a venture capital firm investing in early-stage startups within emerging markets such as Southeast Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa. |
| Amadeo | Helps daring companies with innovative consumer-facing solutions expand to new markets. We crafted an expansion toolkit that combines capital, local operations and cutting-edge technology to power the expansion of early-growth stage brands. |
| Andreesen Horowitz | We are stage agnostic: We invest in seed to late-stage technology companies, across the consumer, enterprise, bio/healthcare, crypto, and fintech spaces. |
| Anonymous Ventures | We invest in early-stage startup companies run by underrepresented founders. We typically do micro-investments ranging from $1,000-$5,000 across various sectors. |
| Anthos Capital | The firm supports dynamic entrepreneurs building disruptive companies in a broad range of industries, including consumer services and products, technology, healthcare, business services, education, and financial services. The firm was founded in 2007 by Goldman Sachs professionals and manages $400 million across multiple funds. |
| Antler | Antler is a global early-stage venture capital firm that invests in the defining technology companies of tomorrow. The firm has offices globally across most major entrepreneurial hubs, including in London, Berlin, Stockholm, New York, Singapore and Sydney. |
| Apollo Health Ventures | Apollo Health Ventures is an Early Stage Investment Firm interested in accelerating breakthrough scientific discoveries to the clinic by building life science companies around new therapeutic technologies. Apollo invests in early-stage companies, works with scientists and entrepreneurs to create new ventures, and engages in hypothesis-driven company building. |
| APX | APX is Europe’s leading very early-stage VC. Based in Berlin and backed by Axel Springer and Porsche, we support and partner with the most ambitious founding teams from Europe and beyond – often as their first investor. We invest up to EUR500,000 in startups until a series A starting with a quick EUR50,000 investment, and within a few months, we can invest further. |
| ASIF Ventures | ASIF Ventures empowers young entrepreneurs in the metropolitan area of Amsterdam to rapidly develop their bold and bright ideas by providing both financial and social investment. We invest in student- or recent graduate-run startups, ranging from B2C products to SaaS and everything in between. |
| BackedVC | We invest in exceptional founders, at seed, in Europe. We invest across sectors including BioTech, Entertainment, Financial Services, Industry 4.0 and more. |
| Backstage Capital | Backstage Capital is a venture capital fund investing in the best startups led by underrepresented founders in the U.S. |
| Bessemer Venture Partners | With more than 135 IPOs and 200 portfolio companies in the enterprise, consumer and healthcare spaces, Bessemer supports founders and CEOs from their early days through every stage of growth. Bessemer has teams of investors and partners located in Tel Aviv, Silicon Valley, San Francisco, New York, London, Boston, Beijing and Bangalore. |
| Beyond Capital | Joint partnership between Endeavor Jordan and Silicon Badia. BeyondCapital supports startups and asset managers to build high growth ventures, accelerate job creation, advance and develop the investment eco-system, and encourage increased equity investment in early and growth-stage businesses in Jordan. |
| Blackbird Ventures | Blackbird Ventures is a venture capital firm that invests in inherently global Internet businesses formed by Australians. |
| BLCK VC Scout Network | BLCK VC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that equips Black investors with the access, education, and community they need to accelerate their careers in venture capital. Scouts are paid by the VC firm, not by BLCK VC. |
| Blossom | We lead the Series As of the courageous. We’ve been investors and operators in unicorns across the U.S. and Europe, so we know what it takes to build for hyper-growth. |
| Blue Collective | We are people-first, values-driven, multi-strategy, always-accessible |
| Bonfire Ventures | Bonfire Ventures leads seed rounds for business software solutions company founders transforming the industries they target. |
| Campus Founders Fund | The Campus Founders Fund is the first entirely student-run venture fund in Utah, established with the specific goal of providing seed funding to student entrepreneurs. |
| Cancer Fund | The Cancer Fund (CF) is the first early stage impact venture capital fund designed to impact cancer by commercializing promising cancer research for preventions, therapies, cures, and enabling technologies. |
| Class Global | We hope to build the best capital partner for emerging market startups. |
| Clearco | Clearco is a suite of performance financing products and services tailor-made to help founders win. Clearco’s portfolio spans small businesses across the United States, Canada, U.K., Australia, and the Netherlands to some of the biggest brands today, like unTUCKit, Vanity Planet, Andie Swim, Haus, and Farmgirl Flowers. |
| Clearvision Ventures | Clearvision Ventures is a venture capital firm that helps other entrepreneurs build category-leading companies. The company invests as little as $1 million to as much as $10 million in a single company at any stage, from early to expansion to late-stage growth. |
| Contrary Capital | Contrary is a venture fund that identifies and invests in the world’s top talent. |
| Costanoa Ventures | Costanoa Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in B2B startups. The firm helps startups go to market, achieve product-market-fit, and become successful. |
| Cowboy Ventures | Cowboy Ventures is a seed-stage focused fund investing in digital startups. We seek to back exceptional founders who are building products that “re-imagine” work and personal life in large and growing markets. |
| Craft Ventures | The firm consists of a team of 15 investors and operators that are united by a quest to find the next generation of world-changing companies and deep respect for the founders who create them. |
| Crescent Fund | For students from SoCal universities. |
| Crosscut | Crosscut Ventures is a seed-stage venture capital firm in Los Angeles. The firm invests $1,000,000 to $3,500,000 in startups. |
| D4 Ventures | London-based early-stage firm investing in companies with a technology focus. |
| Deniz Ventures | Our goal is to be the investment and growth platform of innovative technology startups with global growth potential in the EMEA region. |
| Depo Ventures | Our regional focus is mainly CEE and early-stage technology startups with global ambition. |
| Dorm Room Fund | We back student founders with a network of investors, mentors, and their first check. |
| Draper Scouts | “Operates out of Harvard, Stanford, MIT, USC, and various business schools” and seeking to invest at pre-seed and seed stage. Sponsored by Draper Associates. |
| Earlybird | Earlybird is a venture capital investor focused on European technology companies. Founded in 1997, Earlybird invests in all growth and development phases of a company. |
| Eatable Adventures | We believe startups are leading the way creating solutions to transform how FOOD is produced, transformed and consumed. |
| EDP Ventures | EDP Ventures is a venture capital investment arm of EDP – Energias de Portugal, S.A. specializing in seed, series A and early-stage investments. It seeks to invest in energy efficiency solutions, energy storage, smart grids, electric mobility, and information technology sectors. |
| Elevation Capital | Early-stage venture capital firm, based in India and Utah. |
| Evolution VC Partners | New York-based “culture-tech” venture investment firm. We are stage agnostic but prefer to see a developed and market-ready or launched product. |
| First Momentum Ventures | As a “first money in” investor, we help your startup to gain its first momentum by backing you with a first check as well as a broad industry network, world-class mentoring, a strong community and access to further financing. |
| First Round Capital | First Round is a seed-stage venture firm focused on building a vibrant community of technology entrepreneurs and companies, including Uber, Square and Warby Parker. |
| Firstminute Capital | Firstminute Capital is a European seed fund based in London. |
| Flare Capital Partners | Flare Capital Partners provides capital for early-stage and emerging healthcare technology companies. |
| Flat6Labs | Flat6Labs is the MENA region’s leading seed and early-stage venture capital firm, currently running the most renowned startup programs in the region. Flat6Labs provides a wide range of investment ticket sizes ranging from $50,000 to $500,000. |
| Flyer One Ventures | We invest in future-proof businesses founded by exceptional teams, help them polish their Digital Marketing and Product strategy, and act as a reliable Talent Acquisition partner. Genesis Investments is an early-stage venture capital fund, investing in Ukraine, Belarus, and Baltic countries. |
| Gen Z Scouts | A startup-scouting platform and fellowship program that leverages student networks to identify and vet startup founders for accelerators, angels, and venture capital firms. |
| German Accelerator | German Accelerator empowers German startups to scale globally. We don’t take any equity and our programs are free of charge with the exception of “Next Step,” a market discovery program for the Asian region. |
| GGV Capital | GGV Capital is a global venture capital firm focused on multi-stage, sector-focused investments. Founded in 2000 with roots in Singapore and Silicon Valley, GGV has expanded with additional offices in San Francisco, Shanghai, and Beijing. |
| GoAhead Ventures | GoAhead Ventures is a Venture Capital fund based in Silicon Valley managing over $100 million in AUM. |
| Index | Index Ventures is a venture capital firm based in London, San Francisco and Geneva. |
| Kleiner Perkins | American venture capital firm specializing in investing in early-stage, growth, and incubation companies. |
| Lightspeed | Focuses on seed, early-stage, later stage, expansion stage, startup, growth companies, and incubation and specializes in debt financing for startup and growth companies. |
| Monk’s Hill Ventures | Monk’s Hill Ventures (‘MHV’) is a venture capital firm investing in early-stage technology startups in Southeast Asia. |
| Mucker Capital | Mucker Capital invests in seed and “pre-seed” stage companies powering a software-enabled world. |
| Open Water Accelerator | Open Water is a new type of startup accelerator. Open Water provides selected startups with $125,000 in cloud credits and a dedicated team of engineers, designers and growth hackers. |
| Potential Climate Ventures | We’re funding 120 early-stage U.K.-based climate startups to unlock crazy innovations to help save our planet & improve life for every human. |
| Privilège Ventures | Privilège Ventures SA is a seed and early-stage venture capital firm. We proudly launched our CEO Scouting Program involving some of the best entrepreneurs we met over the years. |
| Rebel One | Rebel One is a global community of founders innovating to make the world a better place. |
| Score 3 Ventures | We engage with entrepreneurs with varied life experiences that have made it their mission to solve big problems. |
| Sequoia | Sequoia helps daring founders build legendary companies from idea to IPO and beyond. In aggregate, Sequoia-backed companies account for more than 25% of NASDAQ’s total value. |
| True Ventures | Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm that invests in early-stage technology startups. More than $2.8 billion under management. |
| Turn8 | TURN8 is Venture Capital-as-a-Service (VCaaS). |
| Upfront VC | We invest about half of our capital in the fast-growing Southern California ecosystem, with the balance across the country as well as investments in Europe and Israel. |
| Vamos Ventures | VamosVentures is a venture capital fund focused on Latinx and diverse founders leading early-stage tech-enabled companies in the United States. |
| Village Global | Village Global is an early-stage venture capital firm backed by some of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs. |
Methodology
Sources for compensation benchmarks are my industry experience; Julius Bachmann’s How to hire a venture partner and how much to pay?; and John Gannon’s 2021 Venture Capital Scout Compensation Survey.
We built our database through a combination of Versatile VC intern Akshat Dixit manually researching the ecosystem, SuperScout’s helpful database and Grata’s automated search through its proprietary database. Grata provided the first draft of the VC fund descriptions above. Thanks to Andrew Ackerman and Winston Waters II for the thoughtful feedback.
Disclosures: David Teten is an investor in OpenDeal Inc. (doing business as Republic ), the parent company of Republic Capital, which is a registered investment adviser. The investment is via HOF Capital, where Teten was formerly a managing partner.