The potential worth a celeb investor can convey to a client firm, past simply writing a examine, is clear: advertising and marketing and promotion. However that worth is much less clear in relation to backing B2B startups. Alex Pall and Drew Taggart, also called the Chainsmokers, assume their VC fund Mantis VC can convey a price add conventional VCs can’t.
At TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 alongside one among their founders, Dan Lorenc, the co-founder and CEO of cybersecurity startup Chainguard, Pall stated that the group initially obtained into B2B investing as a result of they obtained uninterested in feeling just like the QVC of startups working with client corporations that simply wished to work with them for promotion.
The duo grew to become more and more inquisitive about B2B as a result of sturdy market alternatives in that area regardless of not having a lot expertise with these kinds of companies.
“It felt like a market alternative to form of stand out and possibly present, you understand, a special perspective or completely different sort of worth again to these kinds of corporations,” Pall stated. “Our technique and the best way we mannequin our fund is to form of be this like Robin to everybody’s Batman, and form of present a special stage of help and perspective and connectivity that possibly the normal fund isn’t so centered on.”
Taggart added that they aren’t seeking to be the following Sequoia both, as a result of that agency already exists and comes with a sure stage of worth.
“Our purpose at Mantis was to only get into these offers, outwork each different individual on the cap desk, work out no matter scrappy manner we may add worth, after which within the hopes that our founders would flip round and form of assist us construct our model inside that group,” Taggart stated.
One space the place they assume they may also help corporations is thru their community. Pall stated that the Chainsmokers have performed non-public exhibits for just about each Fortune 500 firm. And whereas they didn’t consider it as constructing a community for investing on the time, they’ve since been capable of join their portfolio founders to those corporations.
“It labored out rather well for us, as a result of these are, you understand, some actually highly effective decision-makers or leaders of their respective areas,” Pall added.
Lorenc backed up these statements, too. He added that they’ve not solely been useful in making introductions for him to potential clients however they’ve additionally been useful on the hiring entrance, too.
Lorenc’s firm as soon as wasn’t positive they have been going to land a potential worker on account of a compensation disagreement. However they have been capable of get this candidate over the road after he obtained a five-minute Cameo video of Pall on why he ought to be a part of.
“You don’t need to be Sequoia,” Lorenc stated. “There’s already Sequoia. You invested in us on the similar time Sequoia did. Sequoia is nice. They’ve an incredible platform, group, superb community, all of that. However when you’ve got sufficient of these traders, it begins to overlap, and also you form of get diminishing returns. It’s the identical community, and the best way I describe you is a totally completely different one.”
The Chainsmokers hope that these early B2B investments that they’ve made assist them get taken extra severely within the area to allow them to proceed to construct out that portfolio.
