From the 42Phi Team to you - why we do what we do.
We set out on a quest over two years ago as a group of friends with a common ethos to prove one hypothesis. We believe that founders, regardless of where they are from, regardless of their physical attributes, regardless of their technical acumen can build really great companies given the right access to tools, resources, guidance, support and network. After enduring everything from 3 AM calls to rescue funding deals that were on the brink of collapse, to the states of emergency that arise when a system halting technical failure rears it's head prior to a big pitch, to companies who have raised millions from prominent VC firms and fear telling their investors they are clueless about how to move their business forward; we have over the years strapped on our capes, rolled up our sleeves and helped countless startups thrive.
This help has resulted in exits, glass ceiling breakthrough investments and shifting of entire industries. But much like Olivia Pope and the Gladiators, we as a team have done this and more with no fanfare and no glory. We do not place a lot of emphasis on marketing ourselves, we save that for our startups. Many of our peers are perplexed as to why we would expend our own money, our own time, our own talents, and our own resources to help startups win. What we do is quite unconventional for most investment models. For us the answer is simple. We have been founders, who have raised capital and wished for the type of judgement free, discreet, specialized, safe shelter of support and guidance we provide to our founders.
Nearly 99% of founders we engage all share one common characteristic; they want to obtain investment. Of the 99%, less than 5% are really even ready to approach the topic. We have a set of proverbs at 42Phi that we emboss into our startups. We always start with the first, the holy grail, the genesis of every other proverb,
“Those who raise customers, raise money”.
This truth is inescapable. Sure, there are exceptions, but the law of process says “never manage to the exception, but rather manage to the rule.“
Our mission is to help early stage startups fortify foundational structure, team building, product placement, technology, user adoption, revenue strategy, branding, and more, in order to maximize their ability to raise funds. We are not content to watch founders flail and innovation die for lack of access to needed resources and guidance.
And once startups do raise capital and their coffers are filled with cash, we become the air traffic controller to keep them on the runway. We make a long term commitment to work with each startup selected. Because of our practice of discretion, we are able to dive very deep into their business; how they are executing the model, the interaction of the team, and hands on viability and validation of the technology. Startups come to us at every stage from ideation to Pre-series A and we meet them where they are.
We are often asked, “are we competing with other Investors?”
Our answer: “No”. We provide value to investors as the day to day caretakers to help reduce the risk of investing in early stage companies and ensure that their investments grow healthy and strong.
We are subsequently asked, “are we competing with Incubators?”
Our answer: “No”. Most incubators are regional and are limited to a fixed time. Similar to the value we add to Investor, we become the day to day caretakers of the investment. We also help to guide startups beyond their regional experience on a more agnostic path towards Silicon Valley investment.
Lastly we are asked, “who are we competing with?”
Our answer: “Ourselves”. We challenge ourselves daily to ensure that startups, regardless of where they are from, regardless of their physical attributes, regardless of their technical acumen have equal opportunity for success.
After 12,000 startup interactions, 250 investment firms and 100 incubators, we knew the true importance of our work. As we embark on this new chapter in our journey we invite you to come along.
Team 42Phi
42Phi Ventures
(Four-Two-Phi) Ventures