TheVentureCity

EXPERT DOJO IS THE MOST ACTIVE INTERNATIONAL EARLY-STAGE STARTUP ACCELERATOR IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. WE INVEST $100,000 IN EACH OF OUR STARTUPS AND HELP THEM GET TRACTION AND SCALE FASTER THAN THEY COULD EVER DO BY THEMSELVES. Since 2018, we have invested in over 220 startups to accelerate their growth. What makes us special is our focus on building visionary companies. We typically invest in pre-seed and seed stage startups that have a product, a go to market strategy and a potential for high growth. Most of our startups are minority and female founded technology companies. However, we remain industry agnostic and invest in founders from all over the world and from diverse backgrounds. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are important pillars of our community and we strive to improve in every aspect of our organization. Out of our 105 investments, 41% are into female founded/led companies. We rank higher in comparison to the top accelerators in the US, with an average of only 18.8% of their investments being into female founded/led startups.

January Ventures is a VC fund focused on angel/pre-seed in the US & Europe. We are replacing the friends & family round and re-writing the networks in venture. We believe the founders of the next decade will look fundamentally different: more female, more diverse and more distributed. We back founders based on their tenacity and ambition, not their pedigrees or who they know. Our vision is an equal opportunity tech ecosystem. Our firm is built on the principles of transparency and access, and we back founders based on their tenacity and ambition, not their pedigrees or who they know.

ID Ventures supports promising early-stage startups in Michigan with capital and expertise. We are a collaborative investor and provide inclusive access to our resources and network. In addition to capital, our team of experts works with ecosystem partners across our network in order to help our companies prepare for follow-on funding, scale their teams, and develop their boards and advisors. Additionally, our entrepreneurs are joining a family of early-stage companies in which to share, learn, and grow. We provide early-stage investment to promising Michigan-based, high-tech startups, as well as programs that strengthen the startup ecosystem. Since 2009, we have invested in over 200 companies with 14 exits, deployed more than $21 million through multiple funds, and leveraged over $1 billion in additional investment. CRITERIA FOR FUNDING We support companies with high-growth potential that are in the post-idea stage and seeking funding in the Pre-seed to Series A rounds. When considering investment opportunities, we look at a broad range of sectors and startups that meet the following criteria: Key founders and at least one full-time employee in Michigan Minimum Viable Product created Tech-enabled or high-tech component For-profit LLC, C Corp, or S Corp Identified scalable venture path Demonstrated progress against business model INCLUSIVITY MATTERS ID Ventures invests in minority and women led companies at 4x the national average because we see great opportunity in entrepreneurs from all backgrounds. By providing opportunities to underrepresented entrepreneurs, we can ensure representation, respect our state’s diversity, and create a start-up community unlike any other. WHAT TO EXPECT IN OUR FUNDING PROCESSINQUIRY: Fill out our online form to tell us a little about your startup and schedule an introductory phone call. INTERNAL REVIEW: Our team discusses the opportunity and assesses if appropriate to move forward. TEAM MEETING: If continuing the process, we’ll spend time getting to know your company and future plans through a series of virtual or in-person meetings to build a long-term relationship. DILIGENCE: Once both our teams are ready to proceed, we will ask for a set of company materials and references. APPROVAL: Company is reviewed with our investment committee for final approval. DOCUMENTATION: Investment documents are drafted, reviewed, and signed. FUNDING: Funds are disbursed per our agreement with ongoing reporting requirements. WELCOME TO THE FAMILY! Our team provides ongoing resources, support and networking opportunities for continued growth.

We invest in women-led companies, who forge new paths and make possible, the impossible. We’re inspired by entrepreneurs that reject the status quo, and who are driven by market traction. We value ingenuity, insight and intelligence. Going from startup to a successful exit takes dedication, engagement, and clear expectations. We accelerate success with resources, values and vision.

We want to invest in solutions to problems which impact a lot of people. If you are simply iterating a market, 7percent is not for you. We seek the 200x winners and pass on the less risky, less ambitious opportunities. We are looking for moonshots. We back the technologies and products that in ten years people will wonder how the world ever lived without - the breakthrough companies and technologies. What's in a name? “A good early stage growth rate is 5-7% a week. If you can hit 10% a week you’re doing exceptionally well, but if you can only manage 1%, it’s a sign you haven’t yet figured out what you’re doing“ Paul Graham - Y Combinator Why take our moneyMaybe don't. Not every entrepreneurial business should take venture funding. The venture capital journey is best for big risk, big outcome businesses. A startup is a company which is different because it is able to g Ex-founder led with Silicon Valley ambition. For >10 years we have been investing at pre-seed and seed as angel investors then VC’s. With experience operating as founders in both the U.K. and U.S. we have the confidence to back you to reach for the stars, with access to the expertise and capital via the three networks we co-founded. Read more here. Our Mantra: to help not hinder your startup. This is a guiding principle in everything we do. Because our Partners are ex-Founders themselves, this helps us empathise. We have a better understanding than many other investors, of the challenges you will experience when building a company from scratch, because we’ve done it ourselves. We have: Founded, grown and sold successful tech startups Founded tech startups and failed Taken angel or VC investment for our own startups and raised it for others Built transatlantic reach across startup ecosystems, from West and Eastern European to North America Backed >150 companies over the past 10 years, as a firm or as angels.

Visible Hands is a venture capital firm on a mission to highlight and invest in the limitless potential of overlooked founders. We envision a world where talent and execution - not race or gender - are the key predictors for success. Our Manifesto Our world is changing. Our communities are changing - they are becoming stronger and more vibrant in their diversity, and face fresh possibilities and challenges as a new generation looks increasingly different from the last. We believe that as new opportunities arise, anyone should have the chance to seize them. The best solutions come from those closest to the problem - as our problems evolve, so should the problem-solvers. We believe that investing in women, people of color, and other underrepresented groups is key to creating a more prosperous and equitable future for everyone. We celebrate the bold, the curious, and the irrational. We applaud those with big dreams, and who choose the harder, riskier path in relentless pursuit of pushing forward what is possible. We also acknowledge that being a risk-taker often comes from a position of privilege - opportunity and wealth gaps persist along racial and gender lines, and access to financial and social capital too often determines which ideas are nurtured to grow. We believe that we must first acknowledge that the playing field was built to be unequal in order to change it. We know that we must change it. High-growth entrepreneurship should not be reserved for the privileged few. We need to shine a light inwards on our collective blindspots, and cast out a wider and more inclusive net to find and support existing talent. Instead of relying on unseen market forces, we’re taking matters into our own hands. No one should have to look a certain way to be deemed deserving; great entrepreneurs are all around us but we must choose to see them. By sharing our privileges with those not born into it and manufacturing fairness where it doesn’t yet exist, we can fundamentally change access to wealth and opportunity in this generation. This is our open call for anyone who feels stuck on the outside looking in: We see you. We value you. We need you. Your perspective is unique, your lived experience is invaluable, and your potential is limitless. Never doubt that your voice matters and that you deserve to be heard, even if it can feel like it doesn’t. We believe that good ideas, regardless of who or where they come from, should rise to the top, and we will fight alongside you to get them there.