MANCHESTER, NH / ACCESSWIRE / December 14, 2023 / Alumni Ventures (AV) has shaped its portfolio with an innovative investment approach. It emphasizes diversification, co-investment with established lead investors, and a disciplined investment process governed by an objective scorecard. This commitment highlights AV's dedication to mitigating risk and creating diverse, deep venture capital portfolios that are designed to optimize returns for investors.
For example, Alumni Ventures Seed Fund is an opportunity for accredited investors to own a diversified portfolio of venture-backed pre-seed and seed-stage companies. Early-stage startups are vetted and scored by AV's experienced teams, offering investors the opportunity to invest in a diversified fund of approximately 50-75 venture-backed companies.
Investing in seed-stage ventures can be the riskiest stage of venture investing. However, it can also be the most rewarding. At this stage, there may be less demonstrated traction to support potential early-stage investments, but the trade-off is that you can often invest at a lower valuation, providing opportunities for significant value creation. Moreover, the more seed investments you make, the better your chances of maximizing returns. This is why Alumni Ventures' Seed Fund is designed to cultivate a large portfolio.
Investing in portfolio companies during their seed stage is a smart strategy that gives Alumni Ventures an advantage to benefit from the growth of earlier-stage companies in the long run. By investing at an early stage, Alumni Ventures can maintain ownership at a lower valuation and potentially increase its percentage of future funding allocations if the company progresses through series A, B, and C funding rounds.
Below, we delve into the impactful role that Alumni Ventures has played in recognizing and investing in a diverse array of early-stage startup companies in their seed stage and partnering with them as they grew. We believe this history illuminates the AV Seed Fund's past and potential contributions to fostering innovation and entrepreneurial growth.
One standout company in Alumni Ventures' portfolio is Agolo, founded by Sage Wohns. Operating out of New York, Agolo developed a content summarization platform to combat information overload. The platform's neural network training relies on a vast dataset of human-written summaries, enabling users to consume information more efficiently. Nassau Street Ventures, AV's fund for the Princeton community, led Alumni Ventures investment in Agolo. Alumni Ventures played a pivotal role in Agolo's growth by participating in a $2.5 million seed round in 2020 alongside Microsoft's VC fund, M12, as well as leveraging its network to support the company in functional areas like recruiting and sales.
On the West Coast, Clarent, previously known as Bateau, has experienced recent growth in Alumni Ventures' portfolio. Co-founded by Paul Jarvis and Henry Hutcheson, Clarent offers a software platform empowering senior living owners and operators to consolidate their data for better decision-making. Alumni Ventures participated in Clarent's $1.5 million pre-seed round in 2020, led by Founder's Co-op, and a subsequent $4 million seed round 2022 led by CRV. The support came from Alumni Ventures's Green D Ventures (the firm's flagship fund for Dartmouth community).
In the Mid-Atlantic region, MD Ally is a company that has grown under the guidance of Alumni Ventures. Founded and led by Shanel Fields, MD Ally specializes in patient navigation software and telemedicine solutions integrated into 911 computer-aided dispatch systems. This innovative approach helps transfer non-emergency callers to telemedical care, coordinate follow-ups, and automate referrals. Alumni Ventures played a significant role in MD Ally's journey, participating in a $1 million pre-seed round in 2020 and a $3.5 million seed fund in 2021. Within Alumni Ventures, the investment came from Chestnut Street Ventures, the firm's fund for the Penn community.
SonderMind, led by Co-founder and CEO Mark Frank, has made a mark in the health sector. SonderMind operates as a behavioral health network, facilitating connections between consumers, private practitioners, and partners or enterprises. Their platform simplifies the process of finding a licensed therapist, providing built-in customer support and integrations with medical billing systems. Alumni Ventures has been a key player in SonderMind's success, participating in a $2.5 million seed round in 2018 and a remarkable $150 million Series C in 2021. The investment came from the firm's alumni funds: Castor Ventures (MIT community), Congress Avenue Ventures (University of Texas community), and Purple Arch Ventures (Northwestern community.
Alumni Ventures is committed to identifying and supporting promising companies in their earlier stages with the goal of creating significant value for their investors. AV's Seed Fund thesis, which focuses on the potential for value creation and low company valuations, has proven instrumental in nurturing these ventures to achieve significant milestones in their respective industries. As Alumni Ventures continues to close its next Seed Fund, the prospect of discovering and supporting the next generation of innovative companies remains enticing for investors seeking to be part of groundbreaking success stories.
AV's Seed Fund 7 is set to close on December 31.
This communication is for informational purposes only and is neither an offer to sell, nor a solicitation of an offer to purchase, any security. Such offers are only made to eligible investors pursuant to the formal offering documents for the pertinent investment fund. Venture capital investing involves substantial risk, including risk of loss of all capital invested. Past performance does not guarantee future results. No representation is intended that any investment returns or performance discussed herein are representative of the results or experience of any AV investment fund or any investor. Alumni Ventures and its affiliates are not affiliated with, or endorsed by, any school.
About Alumni Ventures
Alumni Ventures offers accredited individuals access to network-powered venture capital - a key asset class missing from the portfolios of many sophisticated investors.
CONTACT:
Andrew Mitchell
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SOURCE: Alumni Ventures
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