pre-seed-investing
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Primary Built a 60-Person Pit Crew for the Riskiest Lap in Startups
Most seed investors sell access and advice. Primary has spent a decade building something more concrete: a scaled operating bench that helps young companies recruit, find customers and raise the next round.
The VC Firm That Wants the 11 P.M. Call
Oceans built its pitch around a scarce commodity in venture capital: useful attention after the wire lands. Its partners sell founders on operator time, candid advice and help with the hires and customers that decide whether an early-stage company gets a second act.
The VC Firm Betting the Next Big Market Is Simply Being Human
Human Ventures built a venture thesis around ordinary needs - health, work, money, attention and belonging. A decade in, its hybrid of capital, company-building and community offers a revealing answer to what an early-stage investor can still do that a spreadsheet cannot.
The Tiny Florida Fund Reading Every AI Healthcare Deck
Intelligence Ventures is turning an inbox full of early-stage pitches into a map of AI healthcare - then using that map to place small, concentrated bets on founders whose data may outlast the hype.
Lorimer Ventures Is Turning 100 Operators Into a Venture-Capital Product
The Brooklyn-rooted firm writes early checks for enterprise-AI founders, then puts a network of more than 100 working operators on the cap table. Its wager is that access to buyers, builders and follow-on capital can be packaged into something more useful than advice.
The $100,000 Checks Turning Knoxville Into a Startup Town
Market Square Ventures is making a simple regional bet: good founders do not become less investable when they live outside the usual venture map. Its small checks, operator network, and rapidly expanding portfolio are testing how much a hometown fund can change a startup ecosystem.