Rookridge Ventures

Pinecone is a "venture studio" – a company dedicated to building impactful businesses by collaborating with driven founders. We focus on turning ambitious ideas into successful and meaningful ventures. STUDIO VS. INCUBATOR/ACCELERATOR – WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE? Unlike incubators and accelerators, venture studios generate their own ideas, create startups from scratch, provide funding, recruit founders, and actively participate in operations without a fixed timeline. Studios also assume a significant portion of the responsibilities and risks associated with ideation, validation, and launch, making them more deeply involved in the long-term success of their startups compared to other startup support models. WHY CO-FOUND WITH PINECONE? Co-founding with Pinecone is akin to getting 10+ co-founders on your team, for the "price" of one. Through mentorship, network and access to capital, we greatly increase your chances – and speed – of success. WHO CAN CO-FOUND WITH PINECONE? We partner with people who are determined to create something big, something meaningful. You should possess an unfair advantage, whether industry insights, skills or network/distribution. We mainly base our decision on trust, a shared vision and ambition are must-haves. We also look for traits like: resilience, adaptability, resourcefulness, curiosity, humility, passion, and drive. Last, but not least, we consider the ability to rally people behind a vision, a rare, yet decisive, skill. CAN PINECONE INVEST IN MY STARTUP? While our main focus is to build companies from scratch, with or without a co-founder from the start, we occasionally will look at investment opportunities that align with our portfolio. Such strategic investments should bring value to our existing portfolio companies or vice versa. WHERE IS PINECONE LOCATED? Pinecone is based in Oslo, Norway. However, we operate globally with partners of several nationalities and locations, and we invest and build companies globally, too.

We believe in your vision before anyone else. The founder’s ally When ambitious ideas meet brilliant founders, there are no limits. From our team’s entrepreneurial experience to our ever-growing international network, everything we do is to create an environment where founders can thrive. The first believer We want to be your first call. To make an impression, all you need is an outstanding team and driven founders with a strong idea. The leading European ideas Good ideas know no borders - and neither do our investments. We’re a European fund with a genuine curiosity for new challenges and founders motivated to solve them. When we investPre-seed: It’s never too early for us to meet a founding team. We often invest before you have the product or revenue figured out. But we believe that the earlier we join, the farther we can take a company on its mission. Seed: We are an early-stage fund with an interest in all industries and sectors across Europe. If your idea seeks to solve the more challenging issues or brings light to emerging ideas, we’d love to hear from you. Our initial investments range between €300k and €3m. Support: A startup’s success isn’t just defined during funding rounds. Once you’ve hit the ground running and it’s time to build a strong team, our specialists and network experts are by your side to help on the most crucial tech and executive hires, strategic decisions, communications questions, and more. Beyond investments, we make connections.

As one of the oldest and most active early-stage investment firms in the Southeast, our investment philosophy has been honed from years of experience. We fund entrepreneurs who are applying technology and business model innovations to industries in the earliest stages of digital disruption with an emphasis on underserved places and stages. Underserved Geographies We believe that talent, entrepreneurial spirit and world-changing businesses are not confined to the historical innovation epicenters. Many cities in North America have all the ingredients to be thriving ecosystems yet have been oft-overlooked by traditional venture capital firms. Our team and expanded network of boots on the ground have decades of experience finding, funding and supporting the best teams in these underserved regions. Underserved Stage Both seed stage and growth stage capital have never been more abundant. However, influxes of capital to traditional early-stage investors has raised the bar considerably for middle stages. As such, even great companies are often seeking additional capital beyond the seed and before growth stages to support their journey from initial product/market fit to scale.

Lewis & Clark Ventures was founded by former founders and operators to support the tech ecosystem. We’ve built venture-backed companies and have navigated the terrain of going from idea to exit multiple times. We are excited to partner with dynamic founders them on their journey to build successful companies. What We Look For Stage | Sectors Late seed through Series A and are sector agnostic technology investors. Investment We typically invest between $2M - $3M in our initial investment, but have flexibility in either direction. Between The Coasts We seek to fund companies in geographies that are overlooked by coastal venture funds Market Large opportunity, with high growth potential. Founder | Team We look for founders that have a big vision, a bold idea, and a strong ability to build and lead a great team - an exceptional founding team with either previous startup experience, domain expertise, or are very close to the problem they’re solving. Role We prefer to lead investments, but this is not always a requirement. Market-Fit We look for rapidly accelerating growth metrics and lean toward a minimum of $500K - $1M in revenue. Customers Companies that are establishing strong product-market-fit through close customer relationships, and are beginning to demonstrate a consistent go-to-market process. Mission To partner with visionary founders to build iconic companies between the coasts. Our Ethos Empathy As former founders, we are rooted in understanding and supporting the founders’ journey. People who embark on this journey command our respect. Execute We take pride in doing great work and care about the details. Initiative is in our DNA and we always have a bias towards action. Navigate The path to success and significance is rarely a straight line and decisions are rarely black and white. We believe in navigating the complexity of startups with our experience to accelerate growth. Shoot Straight As partners for the long term, we believe an open, transparent and candid communication style, based on mutual respect and trust, is the best way to communicate and achieve the best results. Smart Growth We believe in smart growth, not growth at all costs. We work with founders to build sustainable, enduring companies, combining rapid growth built on a foundation of strong fundamentals. True Partners We believe that the people you surround yourself with make the difference in life. We work with people we respect, that challenge us to dream bigger, and that we enjoy spending time with. We support each other and win as a team.

We seek to back entrepreneurs with revolutionary technologies committed to solving major global problems. We deliver extraordinary financial returns by investing capital in a sustainable, compliant and impactful manner. We let Founders focus on what they do best. We are long-term partners that understand the importance of providing entrepreneurs with space to grow, whilst supporting our founders with the Vickers network to fuel their growth. The Vickers Investment Strategy Our strategy is the result of decades of experience in venture investing. Dealflow: We cast a wide net to source for category defining companies from a large and global deal flow. Investing: We sieve and invest in companies with the best chance of success. Growing: We provide our expertise and our time to support our founders and build strong businesses. This is our strategy and our advantage. Deal FlowBest of Vickers: Our strategy to double-down in companies we have cultivated, using later funds, where we know the team, strategy and have witnessed execution success in sectors that are still in the high growth stage.‍ Best of Vickers is important for our risk mitigation strategy that sets a firm foundation for each fund’s portfolio. Macro View: Emphasis of portfolio construction following macro trends, draws on our investment committee’s experience and nuanced understanding of the big picture. This has been key to reduce beta risk because sound investments are not subject to trends and stand the test of time. Global Presence: We are a global team of diverse individuals with broad interests and deep knowledge and expertise across various deep-tech sectors to find the best technologies. InvestingRisk Mitigation: Our strategy to double-down in companies we have cultivated, using later funds, where we know the team, strategy and have witnessed execution success in sectors that are still in the high growth stage. Platform plays: Emphasis of portfolio construction following macro trends, draws on our investment committee’s experience and nuanced understanding of the big picture. This has been key to reduce beta risk because sound investments are not subject to trends. People Investing: We invest in founders and teams with vision, resilience and integrity, three traits crucial to turning ideas into successful businesses. GrowingInvesting our Time: Spending the time and working side by side with our portfolio companies on fund-raising, strategic planning and operations. Introducing Our Network: Introducing our broad network to help our companies discover synergies, expand and grow. Sharing Experiences: Our partners have extensive track records to provide insights and invaluable lessons for navigating the challenges faced by growing companies. Our Commitment Vickers is committed to integrating Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) in both our investment philosophy as well as our internal processes. We invest in technologies that can Fund a Better World. Internally, we continuously monitor our performance, and work with our portfolio companies to devise actionable ESG plans to improve screening, reporting and issue-resolution measures specific to their individual needs. Our ESG Report provides details on our ESG framework and progress for both Vickers and our portfolio.

We fund early stage ventures determined to change the way we live and do business. We are doers, here to help you grow Having been at the forefront of technological innovations, we hold a passion that matches yours to solve problems, sometimes, in unconventional ways. We believe in questioning the status quo, doing the right thing, and getting stuff done efficiently while pushing onward and upward. Accelerating innovation in SoCal and beyond We think Los Angeles is an optimal place to build a company, and also enjoy life. We are committed to pushing innovation in Southern California, but support founders across the globe.