ZELKOVA MANAGEMENT, LLC

Thesis

Zelkova Ventures is a venture capital firm that prioritizes investing in exceptional people, believing that founder quality is the most critical factor in a startup's success. While not exclusively, the firm has a strong focus on B2B SaaS companies, particularly those with horizontal products that aim to "help businesses do business better." They are also interested in founders who leverage AI to enhance business efficiency. Zelkova Ventures primarily invests in early-stage companies, often pre-revenue, and frequently provides a company's first institutional capital. Their stage focus includes Pre-Seed, Seed, and Series A. Geographically, they concentrate on the United States. Their investment strategy involves a "barbell investment approach" and they avoid a "spray-and-pray" method, typically investing in 6-8 deals per year and reserving significant follow-on capital. On average, they have invested up to three times in each of their companies, with some receiving up to six times their initial investment. Zelkova Ventures' current fund size is $15 million. Their typical check size for an investment deal is between $200,000 and $300,000, with a sweet spot of around $500,000. They aim for companies raising between $1 million and $3 million, typically with $100,000 to $1 million in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR).

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• Pre-seed AI investors
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• Seed-stage AI investors