Utopic Ventures

Idea: Be the first investor and Shadow Co-Founder to the most promising founders.

• This is my Founder Accelerator.

Problem: Too many of the world’s best founders are stuck.

• Stuck working at a business that doesn’t value their talents.
• Stuck running their last startup that’s hit a plateau.
• Stuck trying to find an idea for their next startup.

Solution: Invest in the best founders before they create their next startup.

• Give founders 1+ years of freedom to work full-time on their next startup idea.
  • Help founders skip one or more funding rounds and potentially avoid VC funding entirely.

Deal: Utopic Ventures (UV) will be your co-founder + first investor for 50%.

• Help founders sprint through the idea maze and get to product-market fit ASAP.

Why: Most founders already own less than 50% of their company by their seed round.

• 1 co-founder (50/50 split) + 1 pre-seed round (20% dilution) = 40% ownership pre-seed.

How: Support founders with money, feedback, and friends when they need it the most.

• Funding: Founders often stay too long at their last startup and/or rush into their next startup because they need money.
  • Solve their money problem so founders can focus on the World’s Biggest Problems.
• Coaching: Founders rarely have an external voice in their corner who’s aligned with their interests.
  • Investors often pressure founders to fundraise and scale prematurely.
  • Advisors usually don’t provide much value because they don’t have much equity.
• Community: Founders get energy from connecting and commiserating with other founders.
  • Group founders into 6-8 person crews that meet weekly to share highs, lows, challenges, and opportunities.
  • Create a buddy system where every founder always has at least one other founder they can text or call whenever they need.

Model: Dreamville (or Roc-A-Fella) for startups.

• Be a creative hub for the best founders to riff on product and growth challenges.

Strategy:

• Be First: Be the first believer + investor in the next generation of great founders.
  • Founders always remember their first backer.
• Think Global: Expand the pool of potential founders by increasing access to funding and support.
  • “Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere.” — Anton Ego – Ratatouille
• Be Free: Minimize the downside risk of starting a startup.
  • Funding Pool: Rolling Fund allows us to invest in founders before they start a startup.
  • Founder Pool: Founders that pool equity get access to a concentrated portfolio of startup bets.
    • This also incentivizes our founders to help each other and help us recruit, select, and mentor future classes of founders.
• Think Bigger: Inspire founders to push themselves to their best possible work now.
  • Help founders Zoom Out and see all their possible opportunities.

Mission: Be the world’s earliest angel investor.

• Invest in and inspire the next generation of creators.

Values:

• Be independent: “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
• Bootstrapping is a privilege: “Anyone who has ever struggled with poverty knows how extremely expensive it is to be poor.” — James Baldwin
• Make a move: “If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you’ll never get it done. Make at least one definite move daily toward your goal.” ― Bruce Lee
• Don’t give up: “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” — Thomas Edison
• Be a believer: “I’d rather be optimistic and wrong than pessimistic and right.” — Elon Musk
• Power to the founders: “The startups that can retain control tend to be the best ones. They’re the ones that set the trends, both for other startups and for VCs.” — Paul Graham
• Invent the future: “The best way to predict the future is to invent it.” — Alan Kay
• Build a great team: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” ― Margaret Mead
• Change the world: “Those people who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world are the ones that actually do!” — Steve Jobs
• Pay it forward: “The world is often unkind to new talent, new creations, the new needs friends.” — Anton Ego

Vision: Support the best founders so they can solve the World’s Biggest Problems!

This idea is a work-in-progress. If you’d like to riff on it, hit me up @neilthanedar on Twitter!