Weekend Fund invests in early stage startups. If you have questions about the fund, you're in the right place. :)
So, who are you?
Weekend Fund is a two-person team: Ryan Hoover and Vedika Jain.
Ryan started his professional career as a product manager in the gaming industry. His fascination with technology and behavioral psychology led him to help write Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products.
In 2013 he founded Product Hunt, inspired by his curiosity and a desire to support early stage makers and founders. The company raised capital from Y Combinator, Andreessen Horowitz, and others before joining AngelList. Shortly after the acquisition he started Weekend Fund.
Vedika started her professional career at Stripe in 2015, just as they were experiencing explosive growth. Her love for product as a discipline led her to join TrueLayer in London as their first product manager. The company grew from 8 to over 80 people during her tenure.
Her curiosity led her to spend nights and weekends writing “fantasy” investment memos on startups, before joining Weekend Fund. She now writes real memos (among many other things).
What stage do you invest in?
We invest in pre-seed and seed stage startups. The earlier the better!
But we also invest between rounds, post-seed and pre-Series A. If you're planning to raise an A soon, we might be able to connect you with the best investors at that stage. Reach out.
Do you ever invest in late-stage companies?
Occasionally! We've led SPVs in late stage opportunities where we have high conviction and unique access. When we lead an SPV, we invite our LPs alongside strategic operators and founders that can be particularly helpful as the business scales.
Do you lead rounds?
Nope!
What's your check size?
We typically invest between $100K and $300K.
What industries are you most excited about?
We're open-minded!
We invest broadly but we're particularly attracted to companies that are capitalizing on a consumer behavior or technology shift. This includes startups in remote work (like Deel), audio tech (like Voiceflow), vertical job marketplaces (like Pattern), no code/superpower tools (like Graphy), psychedelic therapy (like Mindbloom), and the creator economy (like Makeship).
We've written about some of these themes here, here, and here.
How do you support founders?
We know how busy founders are and try to be very respectful of their time. For this reason, we avoid asking for agenda-less “coffee meetings” and instead focus our time on specific asks.
We see ourselves as a pit crew, ready to support when needed. We’re most helpful with:
Product – Ryan and Vedika have a background in product management. We enjoy jamming on product strategy and serving as a thought partner to founders, especially in the early days as they're navigating a path toward product/market fit.
Community – This is an area we’re uniquely qualified to help with. Ryan spent seven years building the Product Hunt community – very few investors have that experience. We enjoy helping founders deploy a community building strategy that aligns with their business goals to drive WOM, increase retention, and create a long-lasting brand that people want to be a part of.
Fundraising – Our relatively small check size allows us to remain collaborative with other early-stage investors. When we invest, we often help founders close their round by making introductions to other investors that might be particularly helpful or strategic. When it comes time to raise the next round – typically a Series A – we’re eager to be a partner with them throughout the fundraising process.
We also help with press, recruiting, and marketing when we can. More details in our Founder Manual.
What do you look for in founders?
We don't invest in resumes. We look for founders that have a bias toward action and unique insight into a market. We invest in founders that truly understand and capitalize on shifts in consumer behavior or technology.
How can I get in touch with you?
You can email us at ryan@weekend.fund or vedika@weekend.fund.
Where are you based?
Weekend Fund is based in Miami and London, but we live on the internet.
Where else can I find you on the internet?
Ryan's on Twitter, LinkedIn, AngelList, Product Hunt, and his personal site.
Vedika's on Twitter, LinkedIn, Product Hunt, and her personal site.
Read more about the fund on TechCrunch and Forbes.
Who are your LPs?
We're thankful to have the support of over 350 LPs, mostly operators and founders, with diverse backgrounds across industries and expertise. Our LPs are an extension of our small team. Here are a few: