Twelve Below Raises $108M Across Two Funds to Fuel Early-stage Startups
Twelve Below Raises $108M to Support Early-stage Startups
A New York-based venture capital firm, Twelve Below, has recently secured $108 million in capital commitments across two funds. Co-founded by Taylor Greene and Byron Ling, the firm aims to fuel pre-seed and seed companies in various sectors including fintech, healthcare, energy, SMB, and consumer sectors. With a focus on maintaining trust and building strong relationships with entrepreneurs, Twelve Below follows a high conviction, high ownership investment strategy.
A Return to Old-School Venture Capital
Greene and Ling, with their extensive experience in venture capital, have adopted an “old-school” approach to investing. By keeping their fund size small and making a low number of investments, Twelve Below aims to earn a 10% to 15% ownership stake in their core investments. The founders believe that trust is essential in the venture capital industry, and their personalized approach allows them to have a deep understanding of their portfolio companies and make a meaningful impact on their success.
Expanding Support for Portfolio Companies
With their new capital, Twelve Below has also introduced an opportunity fund to further support their existing portfolio companies. This unique fund focuses solely on investing in their current companies, allowing Twelve Below to provide additional funding as their portfolio companies grow. The firm sees great potential in their existing investments and is excited about the risk-reward perspective and pricing opportunities they offer.
Strong Backing and Growth Plans
The success of Twelve Below’s first fund, which invested in 21 companies, has attracted support from large university endowments, institutional fund of funds, and large family offices. With the new funds, Twelve Below plans to invest in approximately 25 companies from their second early-stage fund and between five and eight companies from the opportunity fund. The firm expects to make its first investment from the second fund early next year.
Overall, Twelve Below’s recent funding round will provide a significant boost to early-stage startups, particularly those based in New York City. With their trust-based approach and focus on building strong relationships with founders, Twelve Below is poised to make a meaningful impact on the startup ecosystem.