Slush 2022: FNDR launches first fund to invest in the “Equity of Storytelling”

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Venice, California-based FNDR (pronounced “founder”), a brand consultancy platform, announced on Friday at Slush 2022 event that it has launched FNDR Fund, the brand’s debut LP (Limited Partners) venture capital fund. 

The company says FNDR Fund will provide unique exclusive access for LPs to invest in transformative narrative-led businesses. 

Since its inception, the US company claims to have helped over hundred founders, including Titan, Airtable, Meati, and Sorare, through storytelling and narrative-led strategy.

“We have the privilege of having a front-row seat and intimate exchanges with some of the world’s most transformative founders,” says James Vincent, Founding Partner and CEO at FNDR. “This interaction has led to personal invitations to be vested in their success, which in turn led to the creation of the FNDR Fund.”

“This new fund will formalise this dynamic, unlocking the further value to more founders, the fund’s LPs, and FNDR employees who will share in the fund’s returns,” says the company. 

FNDR Fund’s three core principles

The FNDR Fund will make investment decisions following three core principles:

  • It will invest in companies re-imagining the world’s most impactful systems (e. g., food security, supply chain, energy, health) and utilising technology to create a more equitable and thriving world.
  • It will invest in founders with whom they’ve partnered to help draft their brands’ narratives and know them intimately.
  • It will invest in business models that balance profit and purpose in a way that scales intentionally and responsibly within societies.

The Fund will co-invest cheques up to $1M in early and growth-stage startups globally, with a primary focus on the EU and United States. 

In an exclusive quote to Silicon Canals, James Vincent emphasised on taking a cultural-based approach instead of a sector-based one. 

He says, “I don’t consider categories an investment strategy. But I think we have a pretty good sense of the places where culture is evolving and the places where it needs to evolve and has the biggest opportunity. I’m always thinking about my partners and if they will be interested in working with me on this brand. I want to make sure that it is relevant and needs to be resolved in today’s culture. It is something in this sort of Zeitgeist that needs to be resolved. So I don’t think we take a sector approach but a cultural approach.”

The fund is backed by FNDR partners and a curated group of LPs, including GPs from world-class venture funds, such as Danny Rimer from Index Ventures, back the fund.

Rebekah Jefferis, the founding partner at FNDR, says, “We provide capital with a point of view and support founders as strategic partners throughout their journey through the lens of language and narrative. Keeping the focus on the founder’s vision, ensuring their voice is heard loud and clear.”

“We don’t plan to actively lead or set the terms of our investments,” says Fabri Cara, Venture Partner at FNDR, leading the brand expansion into venture capital. “We are not traditional VCs; this is not a traditional fund. Instead, we invest in a special index of unique founders backed by top-tier investment firms across many verticals, stages, and markets.”

FNDR: What you need to know

FNDR was founded by James Vincent, Stephen Butler, Rebekah Jefferis, and Nick Barham in 2017 to help transformative founders across industries tell their stories and bring their visions to life. 

The Californian company does it through provocative conversations with its founders to formulate foundational narratives that will drive their companies forward. 

The four FNDR partners with decades of experience have worked with visionary founders like Steve Jobs and Brian Chesky during their most pivotal inflection points.

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