11 Tribes Ventures

What is 11 Tribes Ventures?

11 Tribes Ventures is a Chicago-based venture capital firm dedicated to supporting purpose-driven entrepreneurs who are working on creating category defining technologies. As a multi-sector investor, the fund places a strong emphasis on the underwriting of people, rather than just the ideas they bring. They engage with founders who exhibit a deep, passionate commitment to solving problems, rather than just promoting their own solutions.

The firm operates under the belief that healthy founders lead to healthy returns, without compromising on vision or profitability, and puts a significant focus on founder resilience and well-being. Their investment approach is distinguished by a founder focus, which aims to cultivate the founder as the key asset of any business.

The fund typically provides the first institutional capital an entrepreneur receives, signaling a foundational role in an enterprise's growth trajectory.

11 Tribes Ventures is actively involved in funding businesses that operate in several industries, including Software, Business Solutions, HealthTech, Fitness, Blockchain, Cryptos, Developer Tools, Food & Beverage, Medical Devices, Hospital Services, Healthcare, Wellness, and Consumer sectors.

With investment amounts ranging from $100,000 to $300,000, the firm’s sweet spot for investment is approximately $200,000, catering to the pre-seed, seed, early stage, and Series A stages. They look for opportunities in competitive geographies, primarily domestic markets where their expertise and networks can provide the greatest advantage.

The firm fosters a community among its portfolio founders, exemplified by events like the Founder’s Summit in Chicago, which encourages founders to form deep relationships, share knowledge, and collectively enhance their organizational health. Overall, the ethos of 11 Tribes Ventures is encapsulated by a radical other-focus, aiming to provide both capital and nuanced care to founders at critical stages of their entrepreneurial journey.

What they say:

We invest in purpose driven entrepreneurs that are creating category defining technologies. We are multi-sector investors focused on the underwriting of people. We want to work with founders that are obsessed with a problem and not just their own solution and are looking for a partner to take their business to the next level.