One of the Triangle’s newest investment firms has launched a rolling fund and is targeting early-stage startups across the region.
On Monday, Durham’s Primordial launched a rolling fund through AngelList as its next vehicle to invest in early-stage startups. The entry point is low – so low that Jenn Summe, fund director, hopes to attract a number of players in the Triangle.
“We’re doing a $5,000 minimum for four quarters, so it’s not a huge capital commitment,” she said. And as a rolling fund, fundraising can happen publicly.
The goal is to secure at least 30 investors in the fund’s first couple of months. Over the next year or two, the aim is to get closer to 100.
Summe envisions writing $50,000 checks to pre-seed and early-stage companies – similar to the thesis it took on at inception.
Primordial has made eight investments since it launched in April. Next year, the goal is to invest in three to five startups per quarter.
Summe says the sweet spot is companies below $500,000 in revenue with a handful of early customers. The product is already built and ready to go to market – though the product market fit might not be fully matured.
Primordial is an initiative out of Joe Colopy, the serial entrepreneur who cofounded Bronto and saw it through its exit by NetSuite. Unlike Colopy’s other investment firm, growth-stage funder Jurassic Capital, Primordial is focusing most of its dollars on pre-seed companies.
Jurassic closed its first fund earlier this year, with $30 million in commitments.
Primordial wrote its first check earlier this year to Raleigh-based software startup Coworks. Other investments include DIY tech startup Bristles and energy management startup Nimble Software.