Questions
Venture Cooperative
What is the Venture Cooperative?
The Venture Cooperative is a free educational program and inclusive community that make Laconia's investments, processes, and learnings accessible for the next generation of early stage investors. The first of its kind, this structure expands financial access into the asset class and sheds light on the inner workings of a venture firm.
All cooperative participants will receive opportunities to financially share in our success, participate in our investment processes, collaborate with us on due diligence, hear perspectives from industry leaders, share their expertise within the community, and collaborate with early stage founders.
The application deadline for our 4th cohort is March 15, 2023. Applications submitted after this date will be considered for future cohorts.
The program will launch in April 2023.
Why is Laconia doing this?
Historically, the venture capital industry has largely been premised on exclusion, artificial barriers to entry, and proximity to social & financial capital. In addition to creating an industry that is largely homogeneous, it has already resulted in a perpetual dearth of resources allocated to founders at the very earliest stages of their company growth, as capital repeatedly consolidates across fewer firms, larger vehicles, and later stages of company lifecycles.
We believe the next 50 years of entrepreneurship will look nothing like the last 50 and that empowering the double long-tail of builders and investors is critical to a dynamic and sustainable startup ecosystem. As regulatory changes and technological innovation decrease the structural barriers to investing, truly leveling the playing field will require bridging the institutional knowledge gap. With the Venture Cooperative, our goal is to eliminate the dichotomy of industry “insiders” and “outsiders” and make it easier for anyone to make the leap.
Selfishly, we have no doubt that if the Venture Cooperative works half as well as we hope, it will result in more startups for us to fund, more employees for our companies to hire, more investors for us to collaborate with, and higher returns.
Venture Operators (VO) Program
Who is the VO program for?
The VO Program is for experienced entrepreneurs, startup leaders, and professionals with deep sector or functional expertise interested in easing into early stage VC investing and joining a trust group of peers. It is also a great fit for individuals interested in a higher level of engagement with early stage startup founders.
Do I have to be accredited?
Yes. If you are not yet accredited, we hope you will consider the Venture Fellows program instead.
Is there a cost to the VO program?
There is no program participation cost. The VO Program is designed specifically for individuals investing in our funds. In the interest of accessibility, we have waived our minimum LP commitment for VO program participants.
What does the VO program entail?
As Laconia LPs, VOs receive exceptional transparency into Laconia’s investment processes and operations, gaining an insider’s view of what early stage investing and fund management consist of. All VOs are included in Laconia’s ongoing LP reporting, investor events, and community initiatives. Over the years, we have hosted bi-annual Cocktails and Conversation dinners that bring together all of our LPs and founders, sector-/technology-specific events, and more. Laconia’s LP base consists of industry-leading professionals across finance, law, and media, to name just a few fields. We believe that engagement with this community is one of Laconia’s biggest strengths.
Beyond involvement at the LP level, the VOs will have full access to the Venture Cooperative, comprised of early stage investment education (live and on-demand workshops); in-depth reviews of Laconia’s pipeline, diligence, and portfolio companies (live, off the record); and opportunities to shadow investment processes of opportunities relevant to the their areas of expertise and interest (live, off the record). Laconia will also curate events that are particularly relevant to the VOs’ experience and interests.
VOs are welcome to participate in as many or as few of the events as they like. To get the most out of the experience, we recommend a time commitment of approximately 2-5 hours a month. This in-depth program provides unparalleled transparency into our investment process and visibility into the details of venture investing, relevant to angel investors, aspiring VC fund investors, and entrepreneurs.
Venture Fellows (VF) Program
Who is the VF program for?
The VF program is for anyone interested in participating in the startup and venture landscape, learning about early stage investing, and joining a community of peers. Perhaps you have been working at a tech company for the last few years and are intrigued by VC, or maybe your experience to date is entirely outside the tech/venture ecosystem, but you want to learn more about it.
The VF Program will provide a comprehensive understanding of the current investment landscape, the skills necessary to carve a personalized path within the growing ecosystem, a community of peers with whom to collaborate and co-invest over time, and access to trusted industry mentors.
VFs will walk away from this program with the ability to play a role in the tech startup investment ecosystem and build their own tangible track records, regardless of whether they are accredited investors, have personal capital to deploy, or can get hired by a VC firm.
Do I have to be accredited?
No.
Is there a cost to the VF program?
No -- the VF Program is entirely free. In fact, there is potential for reward for the participants.
What does the VF program entail?
The educational program consists of live and on-demand workshops over, with opportunities to participate in Laconia’s pipeline/diligence/portfolio reviews (live, off the record) on an ongoing basis. VFs may participate in as many or as few of the sessions as they like.
If a VF surfaces a company that is a potential investment fit for Laconia, Laconia will allow the VF to shadow our process and due diligence, similar to Laconia investment associates or interns. If Laconia invests in the company, the VF will receive participation in that investment. The VF Program is not a scout or sourcing-focused program; however, we believe in the value of providing transparency and the importance of shared reward.
To get the most out of the VF Program, we recommend a time commitment of 2-3 hours a week during the program. Think of this as gaining access to all the learnings you’d receive if you went through our intensive internship program, except you don’t actually have to do any of the work, and an opportunity to begin building your own tangible track record.
How is being a VF different from being an intern?
The Venture Cooperative’s educational content was largely designed based on our internship program, so the educational experience is very similar. However, our internship role is a job: interns are compensated by Laconia, as they are responsible for performing work (e.g. drafting investment memos, conducting research, managing our CRM/diligence documents/portfolio updates, etc.) that our team uses and relies on. As a VF, you receive access to effectively all of the learnings but are not expected to perform the work of an intern. VFs will get out of the program as much as they put in.
Additionally, VFs will have the opportunity to participate with Laconia on certain investments (similar to scout program mechanics).
If VFs are accredited, can they invest in Laconia’s fund(s)?
Yes, so long as there is available capacity.
Contact
For any other questions, feel free to email us directly at cooperative [at] laconia [dot] vc.