The venture firm pairs women and underrepresented tech founders with investors, then puts its own money into selected companies. From caregiver training to climate technology, its portfolio tests whether a wider search can uncover overlooked businesses.
The company builder born in Miami runs on personal capital and an appetite for getting involved early. Its freedom comes with a very practical question: how much of tomorrow’s winner can it afford to keep?
The Boston pre-seed firm does more than write small checks. It builds a scouting system, support network and regional fellowship machine around founders the venture market routinely reaches too late.
ODF (On Deck Founders) is a San Francisco-based founder fellowship that helps aspiring entrepreneurs go from idea to conviction. Its signature offering is an intense one-week in-person experience in SF where 80-100 pre-vetted builders meet potential co-founders, pressure-test ideas, and commit to starting a company - followed by lifelong access to an alumni community, mentorship, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in startup perks. Unlike a traditional accelerator, ODF takes no equity. More than 1,000 startups have launched through On Deck, collectively raising over $2 billion from investors including Sequoia, a16z, Khosla and Founders Fund.