K9 Ventures

K9 Ventures is a small technology fund in Palo Alto, California. It puts money into companies at the pre-seed stage, often before any outside capital has been raised.

Products and services

• Pre-seed investment: the firm aims to be the first professional investor in a company.
• Lead investor role: when it leads a round it takes a board seat and works closely with the founders.
• Priced equity rounds: deals use standard seed documents, not convertible notes or SAFEs.
• Selective approach: it makes only a handful of new investments each year so each company gets attention.

Clients

Founding teams that have not yet raised outside money or only have funding from friends and family. Companies already in an incubator or accelerator are usually too far along.

Key facts

• Based in: Palo Alto, California
• Stage: pre-seed, occasionally earlier
• Also publishes: a podcast and blog posts on venture topics