We may look like other venture funds, but we’re built differently. We invest our own capital. That shapes how we operate.
Founded by former founders, we approach companies with a practical understanding of what it takes to build.
We invest in people first. We seek founders with the ambition and capability to build enduring, category-leading companies.
Infinitely inquisitive since 2018
“Our experience with them was unlike any VC we'd met. Transparent in their thinking. Transparent about how they arrived at the valuation, they walked [us] through the spreadsheet line by line. That level of openness told us something important before a term sheet ever landed: these were people who wanted to build with us, not negotiate at us.” - Joshua Nu'u-Steele, Ideally
We’re transparent in our thinking, direct in how we make decisions, and focused on building long-term partnerships.
We invest at any stage and do secondaries. Inception, Seed, Series A and beyond. We also buy founder and secondary shares where it makes sense, regardless of whether we’re already on the cap table.
We don’t have fund horizons. The best companies compound over time. We stay with them as they do.
We are industry agnostic. While we have experience in areas like advertising, marketing, legaltech and media, we invest wherever we see strong founders and clear insight.
What matters most is backing founders with integrity who are building companies that last.
What we look for
These are some of the things we look for. But we break rules when it matters. If you don’t necessarily tick all these boxes, please drop us a line regardless (it does not need to be a warm intro!)
Great people
Passionate entrepreneurs that we like and want to work with.
Complex domains
Companies that are solving significant problems.
Business software
Software that has the capacity to be mission critical over time.
Recurring revenue
Business models which are (or look like) recurring revenue.
Growing markets
Markets that are rapidly growing (though we often find the best businesses start with small TAMs).
Founders we can help
Companies and founders who have a deep ability to scale and learn, and where we understand their domains.
Our portfolio companies
View the full Shearwater portfolio
Meet the Shearwater team
We’ve all sat on your side of the table and built our own businesses. With Shearwater, we’re investing our own capital and experience to help you build a generationally great business.