Beta Boom – a pre-seed and seed stage venture capital firm committed to achieving impact at scale – announced today it closed a $14.5 million Fund II raised by Managing Partners Kimmy and Sergio Paluch. With Limited Partners that include Ally Bank, Pivotal Ventures (A Melinda French Gates Company), Bank of America, and Atento Capital, the fund will support early-stage startups that address the most critical needs of the fastest-growing yet least-served populations.
With a fiercely untraditional approach to evaluating founders, Beta Boom looks beyond referral networks and major tech hubs, consciously focusing across America’s Heartland. And prospective investments are evaluated on over 30 dimensions across 5 categories – nearly 50% of which is attributed to the team execution and founder qualities such as grit. The attributes related to pedigree, like having attended an Ivy League school, results in detracted points to adjust for bias.
In hopes of taking a closer look at pedigree bias, Beta Boom recently conducted an analysis of the top 10 venture capital firms and after analyzing over 800 seed investments made throughout the last five years, they found that 69% of investments were linked to pedigree.
With a self-funded Fund I and its current Fund II, Beta Boom has already invested in 20 companies along with leading investors like Union Square Ventures, Acumen America, SoGal Ventures, Serena Ventures, BBG Ventures, Alumni Ventures Group and others, supporting impact-driven companies like:
— Bolder Money, an online money coaching program that has increased the wealth of members by an average of $12K
— Canopie – which addresses the maternal mental health crisis with accessible and evidence-based care, and has helped 80% of its mothers achieve clinically significant improvements in depression score
— Attane Health, providing healthy food access for those living with chronic health conditions such as diabetes and heart disease, which affect one-third of all Americans Beta Boom’s General Partners have led innovation and growth projects for some of the world’s leading brands, companies like Google, TiVo, and Bank of America. Individually, and as a firm, they have been awarded for their commitment to changing both the business and venture capital landscape through recognition from Utah Business, Kem C. Gardner Institute, Silicon Slopes, Living Color, and other highly-respected accolades and organizations.
KEY QUOTES:
“The closing of this fund allows us to continue investing in software startups that not only solve real and meaningful problems, but that also have strong market potential. We see the greatest needs and opportunities in fintech, digital health, and the future of work, and that’s where Beta Boom’s focus remains. We’ve always seen ourselves as somewhat of outliers in the VC space, and we have so much conviction in that. Not only have we created a sourcing strategy that’s purpose-built to identify incredible founders outside major tech hubs like Silicon Valley, but we are also ludicrously hands-on in the way we support our founders – because our investment in their success is driven by purpose.”
- Kimmy Paluch, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Beta Boom
“Beta Boom is doing something different. We’ve been impressed by Kimmy’s deep experience and relationships, allowing the team to have steady, individualized support for their founders. Their unmatched growth mindset gives them the flexibility to learn, absorb, and adjust in an unpredictable ecosystem,”
- Erin Harkless Moore, Senior Director of Investments at Pivotal Ventures
“Many of our founders tell us that Beta Boom is the first time they feel like they’ve been taken seriously – which is both encouraging and discerning at the same time. We don’t care about a founder’s professional background or location; what we’re truly looking for is someone who has persevered in the face of adversity. Founders who are intimately connected to the problem they are trying to solve not only have a proven track record, but also have the power to become the next generation of unicorn founders – if given the opportunity.”
- Sergio Paluch, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Beta Boom
“Beta Boom’s approach is truly unique and special. Time and time again Kimmy and Sergio demonstrate their roles as true partners and champions, and not only because they provide critical, actionable support, but also because they see the potential and greatness in founders when they often struggle to see it themselves. Simply put, Beta Boom sets a new standard for the relationship investors need to have with their portfolio companies.”
- Emily Brown, Cofounder and CEO of Attane Health
