BULLPEN CAPITAL
BULLPEN CAPITAL
Bullpen Capital A new early-stage fund has formed to make follow-on investments in the slew of companies that have recently raised seed and angel funds.
Bullpen Capital is an early-stage venture fund being formed to make follow-on investments in Internet technology companies that have been initially funded by super-angel capital efficient funds. Extending the capital efficient model beyond the seed stage keeps options open for the founders and investors.
The rise of the super-angels is a capital market response to a new technology trend: the rise of the lean venture, typically an Internet service deploying fast-to-market technology which enables rapid market validation before large capital requirements. The super-angels are emerging as a natural response to a decades long over-sizing of venture firms, built more to fund the semiconductor factories of the past than Internet firms of today.
Bullpen works with its super-angel partners to:
- Extend a seed round to give a start-up more time to prove itself
- Fund a company requiring more early money than the usual seed deal
- Restart a company that is a “fallen angel” but still has great promise
- Fund a rising startup needing a small B round it before it goes to VC auction
The lean model does not depend on the lightning strike of finding the rocket-ship that is immediately successful after its seed round. Almost every rocket-ship has a rocky start, requiring post-seed nurturing before ascending. This usually entails one or more pivot, in which a company’s basic direction must be changed to find its market. These changes are wrenching, and require additional capital before proof points are met. Bullpen’s major role is to lead post-seed stage rounds that support these pivots.