Investing With Us: Lifecycle Venturing
With more than a century of combined operating and investing experience, we have learned that building successful companies requires sharp focus. Similarly, no fund can succeed by being all things to all people. That’s why our investment strategy focuses on very early engagement in sectors where we have significant expertise.
Of course there are risks inherent in early stage company development, for both venture funds and entrepreneurs, and we work to overcome them.
That’s why we created our Lifecycle Venturing approach, in which we engage entrepreneurs when they’re just getting started, welcome a flexible approach to financing that includes small dollar investments, and help establish a lean and agile approach to company building. Often this includes establishing non-financial mentoring relationships with young companies even in advance of a funding event.
Our goal is to help you identify critical challenges early and quickly discover what works, and what doesn’t. We want to work with great entrepreneurial teams committed to pursuing short innovation cycles. Particularly when we are involved with established and complex industries such as energy and healthcare, we value creative entrepreneurs capable of applying lean methodologies.
Our active investing style is geared towards providing advice, funding and access to strategic relationship that will help you get a fast start and solve important challenges early. Probing with questions:
- How can you capitalize on existing tools and infrastructure?
- How can you deliver a viable product to customer quickly?
- How can you validate your distinct advantages in the market faster?
Given our own roots as entrepreneurs, we believe that the sweat equity, relationship development, and synergy that result from this process are invaluable to both the entrepreneur and to Claremont Creek Ventures.