Investing in startups can be very rewarding from a financial standpoint and from a personal satisfaction standpoint. But there are very few people who understand all of the nuances and complexitities of this unique asset class. It is much easier to lose money than to make money, if you do not know what you are doing. 

At  Sheltowee Venture Fund, our managers understand this unique asset class very well. The team members have built companies and have invested in many companies. They understand how the deployment of capital at a very early stage can have a major impact on a company. They also understand how combining monetary capital with human capital can dramatically increase the value of an early stage company.

The team also understands the personal satisfaction of investing in companies that have major societal impacts. The team has been involved with a variety of companies, from one that developed an effective vaccine for Ebola that saved the lives of American healthcare workers, to a company that is manufacturing high quality sheet graphene, that will change the way this amazing material can be used in manufacturing.

The Sheltowee Venture Fund invests at the pre-seed and seed stage level of a company. This means that we are getting in at valuations that are the lowest they will ever be for a successful company. This allows us to take a substantial equity position for a relatively small investment. By the time most other investors are considering an investment in one of our companies, the valuation will have risen dramatically.

In today’s world where, valuations of early stage companies continue to increase, the Sheltowee Venture Fund finds opportunities that very few people have yet seen. By investing in these early stage opportunities, the portfolio of the Sheltowee Venture Fund is insulated from the high valuations of the public markets and the later stage startup market. Yet, the early capital provided by Sheltowee can place a startup in that value stream that will see dramatic increases in valuations.