co-investment
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The Venture Firm That Sells to the Heart Surgeon in Des Moines
Most venture firms wave off small checks from individuals. Alumni Ventures built a business out of taking them - roughly $1.5 billion of them.
Sydecar
Sydecar is a deal execution platform that automates the back office for venture investors. It lets fund managers, syndicate leads, and emerging VCs spin up Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) and funds with banking, compliance, contracts, tax, and reporting handled in one place - turning what used to take weeks of legal and administrative work into a next-business-day process. Founded in 2021 and based in San Francisco, the company has supported thousands of investment vehicles and administers more than $1 billion in assets.
Maxine Minter
Maxine Minter is Australia's first solo female General Partner at a venture capital fund, and the Founder & GP of Co Ventures - a $5M pre-seed fund dedicated to backing software-led companies with at least one Australian founder building for global scale. Based in San Francisco, she started her career as a tech lawyer, pivoted into startup founding and operating, and began angel investing with $2,500 cheques before raising her own fund. She co-hosts the 'First Cheque' podcast with Cheryl Mack, champions a 'belief capital' philosophy, and has built a portfolio with over 50% women founders.
Sean Engel
Sean Engel is General Partner and Chief Investment Officer at Top Tier Capital Partners (TTCP), a San Francisco-based venture capital firm with $8.1 billion in regulatory assets under management. A UC Berkeley alum and former varsity rower, Engel joined TTCP's predecessor Paul Capital in 2010 and has spent over 15 years building expertise in LP secondary transactions, direct co-investments, and fund of funds strategies. He co-led the firm's landmark $925M capital raise in 2022 - the Venture Velocity Fund 4 - which included a dedicated $421M climate tech separate account. Engel oversees a global investment team, serves on the Investment Committee, and is known for a data-driven, relationship-first approach to identifying high-growth venture-backed companies across pre-seed through Series B.