- Early-stage venture capital firm Inspired Capital announced it closed a $200 million institutional venture fund
Inspired Capital — an early-stage venture capital firm that was founded by LearnVest founder Alexa von Tobel and PSP Partners founder and former U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker — announced it closed a $200 million debut institutional venture fund. And the firm’s limited partners represent a range of institutional investor types, including pensions, foundations, and endowments.
Based in New York, Inspired Capital invests in seed and Series A stage companies where it believes it is advantaged due to its partners’ deep operational experience. Plus the partnership believes in working with exceptional founders and investing in tech-advantaged and capital-efficient businesses.
When Inspired Capital launched earlier this year, the firm has made investments in companies, including Chief (vetted network for women leaders) and Rho (digital business bank).
And Inspired Capital focuses on technology-driven businesses that are creating new categories or disrupting existing ones. The Inspired Capital team brings deep operating and investing experience in consumer technology, enterprise software, fintech, and proptech across thriving D2C and B2B businesses.
“Out of the gate, Inspired Capital is a modern firm that reflects the values of the entrepreneurs of tomorrow,” said von Tobel, founder and managing partner of Inspired Capital. “Our team is united by a shared passion for backing the very best founders and supporting their innovative visions. As both entrepreneurs and investors ourselves, we have launched products used by millions of consumers, built and sold game-changing technology, and backed companies that are changing the world. With this deep operational experience, we are here to help entrepreneurs win.”
Along with von Tobel and Pritzker’s deep experience as the heads of growing companies, Inspired Capital has assembled a strong team of former investor/operators who have worked together for more than a decade to join its ranks. The team also includes partner Lucy Deland (former co-founder and COO of Paperless Post), partner and COO Mark Batsiyan (former Head of Strategy at LearnVest and Partner at Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures), technology partner Ming Fang (formerly of LearnVest, PulsePoint, and RBC Capital Markets), principal Charlotte Ross (formerly of New Enterprise Associates and Goldman Sachs) and VP of Platform Annie Shapiro (formerly of LearnVest and Namely).
“The most durable businesses – regardless of market conditions – are those with strong technology at their foundation,” added Pritzker. “I’m incredibly excited about the opportunity to help the next wave of entrepreneurs build a new generation of technology-driven businesses and believe that Inspired Capital’s approach, paired with the team’s unique set of capabilities as operators ourselves, sets us up for tremendous success.”
