Larger via SPV when warranted. Pre-seed to pre-A.
Local startups serving the African market, global startups with African market relevance.
Uniquely positioned to win? Stamina, intellectual honesty, execution muscle to build something that lasts. Founders growing faster than their business.
Uniquely positioned to win? Stamina, intellectual honesty, execution muscle to build something that lasts. Founders growing faster than their business.
Clear, simple value proposition, and a tech stack that's fit for purpose, not over-engineered for show.
Clear, simple value proposition, and a tech stack that's fit for purpose, not over-engineered for show.
Is the problem obvious and the market real? What network effects compound as the product scales?
Is the problem obvious and the market real? What network effects compound as the product scales?
Structural margin and moat over time. Where does pricing power come from?
Structural margin and moat over time. Where does pricing power come from?
For onchain plays, does the design hold up under stress, attack, and scale?
For onchain plays, does the design hold up under stress, attack, and scale?
We meet founders through our operator/investor networks, founder programs, portfolio referrals, on-chain activity, and inbound interest. Most of our best deals come from either people we already trust or watching founders build closely for a period of time.
One conversation to test fit, team, market, and instinct. We don't run founders through a process before we know if there's a there there.
As we seek to understand your team and your business, we don't look for perfection, the faster we skip performative dance, the more value you get from the process (regardless of investment), while informing what we underwrite.
We move fast when we have conviction.
We jump to your corner, dive into your biggest challenges early on, and fend future investor calls. You are in the driver's seat, and we look for 1–2 critical times in your company's life where we get hands on and add the most value.
We meet founders through our operator/investor networks, founder programs, portfolio referrals, on-chain activity, and inbound interest. Most of our best deals come from either people we already trust or watching founders build closely for a period of time.
One conversation to test fit, team, market, and instinct. We don't run founders through a process before we know if there's a there there.
As we seek to understand your team and your business, we don't look for perfection, the faster we skip performative dance, the more value you get from the process (regardless of investment), while informing what we underwrite.
We move fast when we have conviction.
We jump to your corner, dive into your biggest challenges early on, and fend future investor calls. You are in the driver's seat, and we look for 1–2 critical times in your company's life where we get hands on and add the most value.
We're building LAVA to be a firm we would want in our corner if any of us goes to build a startup.
Not theory. Pattern recognition from inside the chair.
We've sat in the chair, run the burn rate, brought and lost deals, made good + bad hires. We're not pattern-matching you against a spreadsheet, we know what you're carrying, and work towards clarity of what moves the needle.
What to expect
Four commitments.
Intellectual honesty
Direct feedback, in both directions. We will be a mirror as you grow as a founder while also growing the business. We expect the same from you.
Targeted hands-on support
We look for 1–2 critical moments in your company's life where we can create disproportionate value, fundraising, hiring, navigating tricky situations, closing a partnership. Outside those moments, we serve as a sounding board and a resource to you.
Bringing the world to you
We leverage our global network, leading founders, operators, researchers, capital allocators across East and West, to support you. We curated our LP base for this purpose.
A long horizon
We are here for the tough times, not just the good ones. We respect founder agency and won't pressure you in directions that compromise the big prize.
Intellectual honesty
Direct feedback, in both directions. We will be a mirror as you grow as a founder while also growing the business. We expect the same from you.
Targeted hands-on support
We look for 1–2 critical moments in your company's life where we can create disproportionate value, fundraising, hiring, navigating tricky situations, closing a partnership. Outside those moments, we serve as a sounding board and a resource to you.
Bringing the world to you
We leverage our global network, leading founders, operators, researchers, capital allocators across East and West, to support you. We curated our LP base for this purpose.
A long horizon
We are here for the tough times, not just the good ones. We respect founder agency and won't pressure you in directions that compromise the big prize.
What we ask
We ask for Execution then Transparency then Clarity and an unfailing hunger for Learning.
Right curve trajectory for execution quality and consistency. We're here to support you build a globally consequential business, and become a world-class founder.
Being early on hard problems, candid dialogues on what is and isn't working allow us to be part of the solutions, we didn't invest expecting a smooth ride.
Clarity of thinking, communication, and action.
Passionate curiosity and keeping the learning muscles fit keeps us all steps ahead.
Are you a founder?
We move fast when we have conviction. Tell us what you're building, we'll tell you cleanly if there's a fit.