Ulu Ventures

www.uluventures.com

Seed-stage investing exclusively (pre-seed through post-seed) in US-incorporated software and internet companies. Primary sectors include enterprise software, fintech, edtech, blockchain, digital health, and sustainability, with strong connections to the Stanford ecosystem.

Check Size

Not specified

Stages

Pre Seed, Seed

Focus Areas

Enterprise Saas, Fintech, Edtech

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Investment Thesis

Ulu Ventures is explicitly committed to seed-stage investing as their core competency and passion. They believe seed-stage investing is ‘the highest leverage point to help people by creating valuable technology, generating profit, and leaving a dent in the universe.’ The firm applies rigorous decision analysis frameworks—borrowed from industries like pharmaceutical R&D and oil & gas exploration—to venture capital decisions in high-uncertainty environments. They are conviction-driven believers that diversity in founding teams correlates with superior returns, and actively seek out founders overlooked by traditional venture capital.

What Sets Them Apart

Exclusive focus on seed-stage investing for 14+ years—not a stepping stone to larger fund sizes
Application of decision analysis and 'Market Mapping' process to systematically evaluate risk/return, avoiding cognitive biases common in VC
Probability-weighted multiple (PWM) target of 10x return across all investments—explicit, quantified decision criteria
Founder-led firm (Miriam Rivera and Clint Korver) with 60% female and minority partner composition—rare in venture capital
Active recruitment and investment in diverse founding teams; empirical data showing diverse teams outperform homogeneous ones
No board seat requirement; evaluated follow-on investments using same 10x PWM criteria rather than automatic pro-rata reserves
Transparent, collaborative 3-hour 'Market Mapping' session during diligence that founders report as most valuable part of fundraising