We founded Mendoza Ventures in 2016 with this investment thesis: provide expertise and guidance along with investment capital to help grow early stage startups. Now, when every other VC says they do “smart money” investments that sounds typical, but what is different about us is where that smart money is coming from. Our investors are active in their fields, and can provide actionable intelligence based on recent experience in this market. In the past two years, we have proven our investment hypothesis, and saw a growing opportunity (currently at 4x) in the rising Fintech, AI and Cybersecurity verticals. Leveraging our deep experience in these three verticals, we invested in and helped grow an amazing set of portfolio companies.
There is a need for a pre-seed VC to help startups cross the funding gap between the very early friends and family rounds (100–150K) and the ever-growing Seed rounds (3–6M and growing). Mendoza ventures is that pre-seed VC. With our new $10 Million fund we plan to lead pre-seed rounds, between $500K to $750K, and execute our proven process of investing and growing early stage companies, innovation, and teams through the pre-seed stage.
With our proven track record, defined advising process, and operating experience, we help our startup founders and their teams grow with our portfolio companies. We bring diversity, deep market experience, and the passion of operating startups into our investments — We are not your typical VC firm, we are a family.
To entrepreneurs
Mendoza Ventures is looking for pre-seed companies that fit our investment criteria and are ready for a more robust and engaged investor. Our process is an involved 3–6 month diligence plan of working with our team and yours. This is important not to shortcut, its required before becoming part of our family.
Here is what we look for in pre-seed companies
- Tech focused (AI, Fintech, and Cybersecurity)
- Already raised a friends and family round (if needed)
- Early customer and market validation
- First product release or MVP
- Raising a seed round in a next year
To investors
As we move to our second funding close in June 2019 we are seeking active accredited investors who share our vision and want to help young companies grow. We welcome new investors to join our family, who believe that being hands on is critical to a startups success.
More about Mendoza Ventures
- Founded in 2016 by serial entrepreneurs Adrian & Senofer Mendoza
- The first VC in the northeast founded by a latino
- The only VC firm with all minority or female general partners
- The only Pre-seed VC with deep Fintech experience (30 years combined)
- Portfolio companies in Massachusetts, Texas, Maine, and the UK
