Summary:
Slow Ventures raising $275 million across two new funds.
$165 million fund VI and $110 million opportunity fund in focus.
Founded in 2009 by Dave Morin with a notable management team.
Investments span sectors like consumer, fintech, and crypto.
Adopts a generalist investment strategy with a focus on quality.
Slow Ventures on the Rise
Slow Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm with bases in New York, San Francisco, and Boston, is currently in the process of raising $275 million across two new funds: a $165 million fund VI and a $110 million opportunity fund. This information comes from two regulatory filings submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday.
Both filings reveal that Slow Ventures has not yet secured funds for either vehicle, potentially excluding prior commitments from their limited partners. Founded in 2009 by Dave Morin, a former Facebook employee, Slow Ventures has expanded its team to include former Facebook executives Sam Lessin and Kevin Colleran.
Investment Portfolio
Slow Ventures has a diverse investment portfolio, focusing on sectors such as consumer, fintech, and crypto. Some of their top investments include Robinhood, Nextdoor, Pinterest, and the cryptocurrency Solana.
Management Team Dynamics
The firm is distinguished by its management team. Sam Lessin, who was a classmate of Mark Zuckerberg at Harvard, joined Facebook after his startup Drop was acquired. Kevin Colleran was one of the first employees at Facebook, working in advertising sales before moving to venture capital. Will Quist, who joined in 2015, previously worked at Industry Ventures. They adopt a generalist investment strategy, emphasizing quality over speed with the motto, “Big things take time.”
Nontraditional Approaches
Slow Ventures has embraced nontraditional investment methods, including direct investments in cryptocurrency. They made an early investment in Solana, acquiring coins at $0.05 each, which have since risen to around $215. The firm has also experimented with decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) to purchase land and has engaged in a controversial strategy of investing in individuals' careers for a share of their future earnings.
Recently, Lessin has also made headlines for his attempt to join Harvard’s Board of Overseers, although his campaign did not succeed despite an endorsement from Zuckerberg.
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