We are a Venture Capital fund.
Overlooked Ventures is a venture capital fund. Our venture capital fund launched in May of 2021 and is currently raising under 506(c) with a total goal of $50MM for fund 1. So far our venture capital fund has invested in 8 founders and we are deploying capital as we raise it, which is no easy task but we love every moment of it.
You’ll notice in the above description of Overlooked Ventures there’s no mention of being a “diversity fund” an “impact fund” a “social good fund” or a “social justice fund” … because that is not who we are, simply put we are a venture capital fund. Here’s a question that I would love to hear your answers on. Since we know that less than 2% of funding goes to women founders, an abysmal statistic that’s actually decreasing, will we call the funds that don’t fund women “Patriarchal Protection funds?” Will we call funds that aren’t funding Black, Latino and other people of color founders “White supremacy funds?” If not, stop referring to us as a diversity fund.
While we’re here, let’s take a moment to discuss how we avoided the hype/FOMO investing that’s led to billions of dollars lost and investors having to “unlearn” bad habits as Bill Gurley so eloquently put it. The founders we invest in don’t raise at inflated valuations, we get in early and work with them to grow their phenomenal impactful startups. Often we’re first check in and we invest with conviction, do our due-diligence and never let outside noise influence our decision making process. On average the startups we invested in had a valuation between $2M-$8M, the hype-bug never caught us. This strategy didn’t come without pushback, some potential LPs questioned our “ability to get in hot rounds” which is silly, because that’s not what venture capital is about, we’d explain that and talked about the downside of relying on hot-deals but ultimately they passed… it’s okay because the LPs who did see our vision have been amazing and appreciate the strategy we’ve implemented from day 1.
I didn’t want to write this post, I wanted to stay heads-down and keep building our fund, raising and deploying simultaneously while also being fund-managers and working closely with our founders… but some of the conversations we’re having now are alarming. I want other emerging fund managers or potential emerging fund managers to know what they are getting into if looking to raise soon and I want founders to know that many of the barriers you face, we do as well. Venture capital is difficult, raising and deploying simultaneously adds another layer of difficulty but one thing that should never impact the job or make it more challenging is the fact that I am a Black man and my partner a white woman. Yet..
“ The need to invest in diversity funds isn’t a priority 2 years post George Floyd.”
“ Our diversity allocation is already full.”
These are just a few responses from potential LPs, more in this thread. I won’t get into the absurdity of these statements, it’s self-explanatory but I will ask one more question. As we see billions of dollars wiped out, a massive valuation correction, companies having to lay-off workers to cut their burn-rate and startups shutting down because they can’t raise a follow-on round due to their overzealous valuations from previous rounds… Do you think it’s time to try something different? Do you think the overlooked founders that have been building despite their lack of funding and help might be a great opportunity for outsized returns? Do you think that the small “diversity allocations” should be eliminated and you should just invest out of your main fund?
Let’s work smarter, not harder. I’d be happy to share our process of finding phenomenal overlooked founders at the earliest stages with great valuations to any funds that need help with it, even though that seems to be one of our competitive advantages we’re founder focused and want this ecosystem to be better for everyone.
Back to work. It’s been a hectic few weeks and can be quite overwhelming for some people, I want you to know that we’re rooting for you all. No obstacle is too big to overcome and even though your stocks, cryptos or NFTs may be going through a tough period it can come back and money can always be made. If you start feeling too overwhelmed take a step back and breathe, try speaking with someone like a peer or friends. If it’s a conversation you don’t want to have with friends and you don’t feel like anyone will understand then reach out to me and I’d be happy to talk.
