Working Style

We try to do monthly syncs with every core check founder, and of course we’re always available ad hoc whenever anything urgent comes up.

Our approach is to be actively helpful and supportive without being meddlesome or getting in the way. We’re laid back and nonjudgmental – whether things are going well or not, we’re not going to add to your stress; we’re just going to roll up our sleeves to help wherever we can.

Below are some specific areas where we can help.

Fundraising Support

• The rate at which companies we work with raise follow-on rounds has historically been ~70% at both Humba and Susa Ventures. This is about 2x the 30-35% industry average.
• We’ll iterate on the deck content together, then introduce you to designers when the deck is ready for final touches.
• We’ll do pitch practice sessions together until you’re comfortable with the pitch.
• We’ll introduce you to the best investors for you – both the well-known ones that everyone wants to talk to, and the under the radar investors that have deep experience in the category you’re focused on.

Strategic Support

• We’re good thought partners for general company strategy: thinking about product roadmaps, moat development, navigating against key competitors, etc. We’ve worked with 100+ companies across many sectors and business models and have a lot of hard-fought lessons that we can share.
• We’ll provide feedback on your product, website, marketing copy, etc. whenever you want.
• We can help with GTM design and strategy.
• We’ll help you level up your product’s pricing.

Hiring Support

• We’ll help you close key candidates by getting on the phone with them and sharing why investors like us are excited about your company.
• We can help with recruiting process design, job spec reviews, and comp benchmarking.
• We help with sourcing whenever we meet a great candidate that could be a fit for your company.

Network/intros

• We’ll make intros to other founders, domain experts, functional experts, investors, and anyone else in our network that you want to talk to.
• For b2b companies, we will help you reach early customers through our 1st and 2nd degree network.

Misc

• We have negotiated discounts with lots of service providers, and for commonly used tools (public clouds, ATS and CRM software, productivity tools, etc.)
• We’ll amplify your key announcements on social media, and we’ll write a “Why We’re Excited” blog post when you announce your funding round.
• We are not an events-heavy fund, but occasionally run events with our sister fund, Susa Ventures.
• If you’re not based in SF but are visiting, you can use the Susa/Humba office space in the Mission district.