At @OverlookedVC, we are raising our first fund in public (as a 506c) so we can be transparent and share how the process works and that it is possible to raise a venture fund with no VC experience.

Let's pull the curtain back...

In the months leading up to the launch of the fund, we worked diligently to:
- define our thesis and build our brand
- work with our attorney on the legal docs
- set up the fund management backend
- create our materials (LP deck, website)
- grow our relationship with founders

It was hard to keep quiet about the fund bc I am generally someone who likes to share everything on the internet (see: millennial mom).

But we stayed hush and worked hard on nights and weekends as founders do. Any time one of us had doubts, the other snapped them out of it.

The most important meetings I've had were with other people in the VC space.

I always say peer mentorship is underrated. https://twitter.com/myfriendjanine/status/1400794715738550277?s=20

The week of announcing the fund was so exciting I could hardly sleep. The support from the community online and across the world has been so surreal.

It showed us that not only does the fund need to exist but that WE are the people to run it. https://twitter.com/myfriendjanine/status/1398284237862846473?s=20

We started pitching LPs on the fund this week and it is SO much different than when I was pitching VCs for my startup. Just a few reasons:

1. I am not tying my worth to the outcome
2. My partner and I are equally driven by the mission
3. There's no power dynamics in the meetings

We are only getting started but the energy from the meetings we've had is fueling everything in me to drive fast toward our mission.