A pair of graduates from the University of Pittsburgh are looking to raise capital from their fellow alumni peers to then use for investment into startups that are being led by former Pitt students.
1787 Ventures, an homage to Pitt's founding year, is being led by co-founders Jonathan Dane and Keith Schaefer, both of whom have had prior experience with investing and funding startups across the country. They're looking to onboard between 20 and 25 founding investors to join their venture capital syndicate, which could start making its first investments as soon as this quarter.
"We want to promote great alumni and great ideas coming out of the University of Pittsburgh," Schaefer said in a prepared statement. "1787 Ventures allows you to support fellow alumni and also benefit from their companies’ growth."
Dane and Schaefer developed the idea to establish the fund in 2022, which is set to be the first alumni-focused investment group that is specifically targeting deals for startups run by Pitt graduates. These startups do not have to be based in Pittsburgh to receive an investment, they just have to be run by a student who has graduated from Pitt.
1787 Ventures will look to focus on seed-level to Series A-sized deals for startups, though it won't limit itself to only these types of deals. Schaefer and Dane will vet interested companies seeking investment before presenting possible opportunities to the rest of the investors. All investors will receive returns on their investments in these startups if these companies have a liquidity event, some of the proceeds of which that go to Schaefer or Dane will then be donated back to Pitt.
“We have amazing alumni that have done amazing things that would love to give back, and other alumni who would love to have investors," Dane said.
