Allegro Venture Partners

Allegro Venture Partners aims to be the first institutional money a technology company takes in, arriving either alongside the friends-and-family round or straight after it. The firm describes more than twenty years of investing in seed and early stage companies, and says it keeps backing those companies for as long as they need it rather than stepping away after the first cheque.

Vision first, then a sound plan

The firm draws a line between a compelling vision and a workable strategic plan. In its view, early-stage companies too often take a large tranche of capital before the business model is settled, which pushes them to grow before they are ready. Allegro says it works with founders to build the plan first, so that later-stage capital designed to fuel growth is put to better use.

The 360 due diligence

A central part of its method is what it calls a 360 due diligence. Because launching a business carries so much uncertainty, the firm argues that raising the odds of success takes more than money. It therefore invests where it believes its own contacts, skills or both can fill the gaps that stand between a young company and the growth stage. It also says it brings personal entrepreneurial experience together with practices drawn from Fortune 500 companies, to give portfolio companies strategic and operational support.

Companies in the portfolio

Over its last ten years of investing, the firm lists Bazaarvoice, Tripwire Security Systems, Switchfly, OrderGroove, Experience Project and Coremetrics among its holdings. Its site also describes a wider group of current companies:

• AlpineReplay, which measures speed, airtime, vertical and distance for skiers and snowboarders using a phone.
• Edgecase, a shopping platform that combines machine learning with human content curation.
• Feed.FM, a music licensing service for businesses.
• Lawn Love, which lets customers find, book and pay for lawn care online.
• Other Machine Company, focused on desktop manufacturing hardware, software and a marketplace.
• Pley, a subscription service for renting LEGO sets.
• SALT, a payments platform with fraud detection and developer-friendly interfaces.
• Spredfast, a social marketing software company that joined forces with Mass Relevance.
• Tango Card, which supplies digital rewards through an interface companies can connect to.
• Trace, which edits action-sports video automatically and adds performance statistics.

A background in the venture business

The firm was founded by an investor and operator with more than twenty years in venture, with a strong background in software as a service, internet infrastructure and digital media. A venture partner adds experience in mobile, e-commerce, digital marketing, cloud and enterprise software. Both sit on or advise the boards of several portfolio companies.

Allegro Venture Partners invests in seed and early-stage technology companies. It has done so for more than twenty years. It is typically the first institutional investor, arriving with or right after the friends-and-family round, and it keeps backing companies through their life.

What Allegro Venture Partners does

• Seed funding: early institutional capital for technology startups.
• Broad due diligence: a review it calls 360 due diligence before investing.
• Strategic planning help: work with founders to turn a vision into a sound plan before large growth capital arrives.
• Follow-on support: continued backing across a company's life.

Clients

Founders of early-stage technology firms where Allegro has contacts or skills to fill gaps. Portfolio companies named on its site include Bazaarvoice, Tripwire, OrderGroove, Coremetrics, Lawn Love and Feed.FM.

Key facts

• Investing for: over 20 years
• Stage: seed and early stage