Alpaca VC

We’re early-stage company builders. We’ve founded 10+ companies and invested early in startups now worth over $50B. We’ve been in your shoes, we have the scars from being founders ourselves, and we know it takes incredible effort and determination to transform an idea into a category-defining company. We roll up our sleeves and provide hands-on support to our founders, which leads to big results. Our track record speaks for itself: in just 9 years, we have seeded 7 companies currently valued over $1B and 3 public companies. Pre-seed We lead pre-seed rounds. Our pre-seed companies participate in PearX, an early-stage bootcamp for founders with high potential ideas. We help founders build the right product, find the right market, and lay the foundations for a scalable venture company. We have been leading pre-seed rounds for the last 10 years and we believe a small-cohort, 14-week program is the most efficient way to start building a company. We customize PearX for every company and adjust it to their needs. For this reason, we are very selective with our pre-seed investments (less than 1% acceptance rate, 15 companies per cohort). How we help at pre-seed Pear partners with you at every step of your journey. Pick the right market: Picking the right market is critical. We help you size your market and thoroughly understand it. You will avoid markets that are too small and prepare to take on markets that have foiled many others. Understand your customer: The best companies are built on deep and differentiated customer insight. Our companies go through a rigorous customer development process to discover promising customer personas and needs. Once you internalize your customer’s problems as if they were your own, you can start solving them. Define your product: Based on your customer insights, we help you iterate on the minimum viable product that tests your market. Ship fast, learn quickly, and gradually discover where to double-down. Iterate iterate iterate: We’re not afraid to make multiple iterations and pivot until we get things right. You can count on us to be honest with you whether the data supports your thesis or we should adjust the product. Prove your product-market-fit: We help you define and hit the milestones needed to raise more capital. Not all traction is equally valuable, though. First, we focus on making sure your customers love your product; only then do we work on finding more customers. Build your team: Your team is your biggest asset. We are here to help you identify gaps, set up a polished recruiting process or conduct interviews – all to ensure you’re bringing on the best. Fundraise: We take an all hands on deck approach to make sure you can raise capital. We help you define your story, put together your deck, and pitch the right investor. We run a demo day twice a year that is attended by over one thousand investors. Use our network: Whether it is a customer, a partner, an investor or another founder, we help you get the introductions to the people that matter most for your business. How PearX works Phase 1: Idea development - WEEKS 1-4 Customer development Strategic market positioning Big company story development Defining key team needs Defining key KPIs for the program Phase 2: Execution - WEEKS 5-10 Build initial MVP Get early customer traction and data Go-to-market experimentation and development Iterate until you get it right Phase 3: Demo Day prep - WEEKS 11-14 Demo day/fundraising preparation Develop the pitch and iterate on the Demo Day deck Create fundraising strategy Phase 4: Demo Day and fundraising - DEMO DAY Pitch to 1,000 investors Help you vet term sheets, negotiate the best terms, and close your seed round Seed We lead and co-lead seed stage investments. Then we roll up our sleeves to get you to Series A. We help founders in four key areas: product-market fit, go-to-market, recruiting, and fundraising. How we help our seed founders Make your first hires: The best use of your capital is to hire the best team. We help in a unique way – our exceptional in-house recruiters partners with you, at no cost, to close your first engineering and technical hires. Before Pear, that team recruited thousands of engineers at Instacart, Uber, and Meta. Grow exponentially: Each company has a unique go-to-market strategy and seed is when you design your scalable growth engine. We iterate with you to test organic growth, paid growth, channel partnerships, sales org development and other models to hone on the right model for you. Sell effectively: We run a “Sales Bootcamp” to improve your sales skills, share how to run a sales organization, and help you iterate on your sales pitch and messaging. We also work our extensive networks to provide customer introductions. Retain your customers: Success is not only about acquiring customers. Retaining and expanding existing customers is ultimately even more important to your company’s success. We work with you to optimize the value of each customer over time. Achieve operational excellence: Great companies out-execute. While vision and innovation are critical, running your company like a machine is how you win. We help you define operating plans, run effective board meetings, clarify the KPIs needed for your next round, and focus on culture and personal development. Raise your Series A: We help you set your Series A fundraising strategy from day one. When the time to start fundraising comes, we run a “pitch deck clinic“ to build your story, gather your evidence, review your deck, design it, and master public speaking. Then, we work with you to get the right VC introductions, and, finally, we coach you through the negotiations. Our rigorous process produces results with over 70% of our seed companies raising series A’s from tier-1 institutions. Access to PearX programming: As a Pear portfolio company, you have the option to join the PearX program. This is a great way to come up to speed quickly on the ins and outs of starting and running a company. Invitation to Demo Day: We run investor demo days twice a year. As a Pear portfolio company, you are invited to present at our Demo Day. You can join our PearX fundraising bootcamp three weeks prior to Demo Day and we’ll work with you to get you ready to present to hundreds of top-tier investors. What are typical check sizes? We write early checks that range from $250K to $5M. No idea is too early to bring to us. We meet mission-driven founders where they’re at, and we’re willing to back entrepreneurs who are eager to solve big problems in large markets, even prior to finding the perfect solution. PRE-SEED: $250K -$2M SEED: $1M – $5M FOLLOW-ON: Up to $10M Our focus areas. We invest in the following market sectors. Consumer: Technology including social, marketplaces, subscription, e-commerce, creator economy, and more. SaaS: Purposeful tools that help businesses of all sizes work faster and smarter. Enterprise: Infrastructure powering the next generation of developers and builders. Web3: Infrastructure for the next generation of the internet and the ownership economy. Healthcare: Software and tech-enabled services innovating on care delivery. Deep Tech: Companies focused on space, robotics, semiconductors, and more. FinTech: Solutions for payments, infrastructure, data analytics and privacy, and more. BioTech: Platforms across therapeutics, diagnostics, and life science tools and services. Climate Tech: Technologies that have the ability to create more sustainable systems around energy, transportation, carbon removal, food systems, buildings, and more.

Anamcara invests in companies focused on building technologies that serve and enable SMBs. We are pre-/seed stage venture fund that invests in B2B SaaS, online commerce, marketplaces, fintech, future of work, supply chain management, creator economy and decentralised/Web3 technologies. Anamcara invests across Europe and opportunistically the MENA region. Our distinctive approach is crafted around a curated network of industry leaders, investors and SMB owners. This is the Anamcara flywheel of value. Deep industry expertise and access.

We support founders from first check to exit. To change the world, you'll need more than just capital; you need experts to embark on this expedition with you. That’s where we come in. We fund tech to solve the world's biggest problems from startups with: Team: You are a visionary founder or an established founding team. Ideally, one founder is technical and another is focused on another key part of the business. Vision: You’ve got outlandish ideas to solve big problems. You have a clear vision and are uniquely qualified to solve your customer’s problem. Strategy: Your business idea is fully-developed, including supporting market research and analysis. You have a business plan in place or - for pre-revenue companies - a plan for how the business will eventually generate revenue. Customer: Whether you are selling to other enterprises or directly to consumers, you understand your customer and what problem you are solving for them. MVP: From a landing page validating your idea to a prototype, you are ready to show us what your vision looks like in practice, not just in theory. What categories of tech do we invest in? We are generalists who don't fit neatly into any single category. Lately, we've been excited about founders innovating in: Future of Commerce + Work Hardware + AI Web3 ...but that's just a handful of our latest portfolio additions! Keep exploring our Funding FAQs to see if you're a good fit. A strong founding team is our #1 investment criterion. The Outlander Founder Framework empowers our team to build conviction for early-stage startups before most investors - often pre-product and pre-revenue - by screening for founding teams with extraordinary: VISION - innovative solution to a clearly defined problem INTELLIGENCE - extraordinary IQ + EQ to solve the world's biggest problems CHARACTER - strength to persevere through hardship + rally others to join you EXECUTION - ability to act quickly, decisively, + advance into the unknown Currently, the Framework consists of 38 characteristics divided into these four categories. Outstanding founders need strength in each area.

Paige & Josh met as most people do now, through a mutual friend on the internet. They quickly became best friends & co-investors, and founded Behind Genius Ventures. Investment ThesisTypes of Companies Future of Work Future of Play Sub-categories in the Future of Work Dev Tools API-First Products Fintech No Code Sub-categories in the Future of Play Health and Wellness Entertainment & Media Gaming E-Commerce The Passion Economy Stage of Investment Pre-Seed Seed Geography USA and Canada only Check Size $100K - $200K Investment Process Even though we invest unanimously, we try to move as quickly as possible as Solo GPs. Companies we invest in will go through all the steps below before an investment decision is made. On average, our entire due diligence process takes between 2-3 weeks to complete. ‍Step 1: Partner #1 Zoom Call Step 2: Additional questions asked through Loom or asked through email asynchronously Step 3: Partner #2 Zoom Call Step 4: Additional questions asked through Loom or asked through email asynchronously Step 5: Potential third call with all partners available - product demo if applicable Step 6: Review additional information internally‍‍ We try our best to be as transparent with founders as possible. If we meet with you and decide to pass on the opportunity, we try our best to either: Tell you immediately at the end of our meeting Provide a personalized email response as to the reason we are passing

500 Global is a venture capital firm with more than $2.7 billion in assets under management that invests early in founders building fast-growing technology companies. We focus on markets where technology, innovation, and capital can unlock long-term value and drive economic growth. We invest far and wide, across sectors and geographies. 500 Global’s Southeast Asia family of funds have backed over 270+ companies, including $1B+ companies Grab, Bukalapak, Carousell, Carsome, and FinAccel. This is just the beginning – we are actively growing to serve more founders, as well as connect startups with capital, expertise, and global networks to help them succeed. To uplift people and economies through entrepreneurship We believe these will be the growth areas in Southeast Asia, and actively invest in the region’s most talented entrepreneurs shaping the future. Sustainable Cities Cities are the lifeblood of Southeast Asia which we believe will be home to almost 400 million people by 2030. Can technology transform our cities into environmentally sustainable havens through innovations in energy, transport, waste management, food and agriculture? Can these cities bring us closer in a safe and empathetic way? Rural Digitization The story of cities is only part of the story. Can we include and uplift the rest of our region and seize the rural technology opportunity? Can we build solutions that help leapfrog rural development and provide people with the same access and conveniences as cities? Fintech for All The digital economy depends heavily on financial infrastructure to connect us together. We believe financial technology and embedded finance can usher in a new era of financial inclusion and returns, from smoothing income volatility, access to credit, to insurance that matters. Can we architect a financial-savvy world where no one is left behind? All-Commerce Ecosystem e-Commerce of the past decade seems to have expanded into “all-commerce” where consumers demand to buy anything, anywhere (whether online or offline), and have delivered to their doorstep anytime they choose. What innovations in global trade, logistics, supply chains and trust are needed to make this a reality? Human & Machine Productivity Technology can profoundly impact a nation’s future through increases in productivity and GDP. Likewise, we believe competition is also making technology adoption among MSMEs and large enterprises a necessity. Can ed-tech, machine middleware, low and no-code software solutions, SaaS platforms, and other innovations build more resilient economies? Healthcare & Self-care We believe healthcare is often overlooked and underinvested, until it is too late. The recent pandemic has underscored the importance of taking care of ourselves. To us, this “self-care” extends beyond just the body and also into the mind and spirit. How will technology help us take care of ourselves and each other holistically? Web 3.0 The internet is ripe for evolution, and users are discovering unprecendented ways to own, sell and trade digital assets. What do we need to create a new and completely decentralized ecosystem that’s safe and inclusive The Creator Economy Independent creators are building successful businesses through sharing their knowledge, skills and creativity. We believe this will be the main way we teach, learn, and entertain each other, and more importantly, grow together. How can technology help creators foster more authentic connections with people? Our expertise is local We have team members across Southeast Asia who bring experience as entrepreneurs, investors, and operators from leading technology companies. A regional investment strategy based on diversification and scale Across 500 Global’s Southeast Asia family of funds, we invest in founders building technology companies that drive economic growth in fast-growing markets in the region. In doing so, we provide investors with both diversification, scale and returns. Our goal is to back the best wherever they’re based. Our early stage funds typically invest US$250,000 to US$500,000 in founders based primarily in or serving Southeast Asia. After our wire reaches you, our team becomes your first call for strategy, capital growth, marketing, and all-things company building.

As capital becomes a commodity with more early-stage investors flocking to Africa, what will make us stand out will be our networks, relationships, and reputations. What we look forLarge Markets: A clear market opportunity that is massive and growing, captured through a scalable business model. We aim at reaching sustainable impact across a large audience by addressing deep markets, or investing in market-creating innovations. Scalable Economics: Tech-enabled businesses with proven, highly leverageable and defensible revenues, coupled with the ability to improve unit economics through cost and capital efficiency are able to achieve top-trend growth more easily than less efficient business structures. We are disciplined in ensuring the unit economics of the business we invest in are sustainable and attractive. Strong Agile Teams: We are looking for founders that combine strategic vision and executional capacity. Strong teams tend to be bound by a cohesive, inclusive, all-hands-on deck culture. We are seeking founders and teams guided by a clear value proposition and differentiated position in the market. Repeatable Growth: Solutions with highly replicable growth models and transferable problem-solution sets can most benefit from our growth investment and market expansion facilitation. As African markets are not uniform, we carefully model and test solution-market fit. How much funding will you get? If you are an African founder of a tech enabled startup that is solving a significant African development challenge please apply here. If you have little or no revenues, we will refer you to our Angel Fund for $10k to $100k funding consideration. If you have meaningful revenues with high growth potential, we may invest $50k-$250k.