🇦🇲🦊 Announcing Hye Ventures - The Investment Syndicate
Welcome to all the new members of the Hye Ventures Crew. Our mission is simple. Accelerating the success of Armenian founders and funders to build a more prosperous, equitable future. Subscribe today to join early-stage founders, funders, and operators, as well as enthusiasts of the Armenian tech community, and get coverage on recent news directly in your inbox.👇
Today, I'm proud to launch Hye Ventures - The Syndicate, an investment vehicle backing the next generation of Armenian founders breaking through the noise with their tech startups. The investment vehicle is looking to invest with a wider group of angel investors who contribute on a deal-by-deal basis. That’s right, we are bringing together accredited and non-accredited investors (ie. anyone interested in investing) to be able to invest in up-and-coming Armenian startups through our Investment Syndicate (some conditions apply). More about this shortly.
We are looking for start-ups that offer solutions and products that help enable high growth and global companies. The hope is that portfolio companies will benefit from bringing in angel investors with a wide range of experience as there is huge value in getting operators on the cap table alongside VCs.
What we offer:Â
Naturally, we provide capital. Collectively we are stronger than when we go at it alone. We go beyond the capital to help new founders go from 0 to 1. Here’s how:
1. Network and Access - We are 10M Armenians around the World, with about 8M of them living in the diaspora. We saw last year what the diaspora was able to do in a short period of time where we collectively raised over $100M in less than 1 month. What if the same group of people could invest in these companies, help them grow, and see a direct upside in their investment? That’s where Hye Ventures comes in. All founders receive the network and access of our angel investors which will include lawyers, designers, product managers, engineers, etc…
2. Fundraising – Fundraising advice is widely available online, but for founders with no direct experience in raising a round of financing, finding the right advice as well as navigating the North American investment landscape could be difficult. This is where we come in to guide founders on how to successfully raise capital and connect them with the right players in the field.
3. OKRs - We believe structure helps foster success. That’s why we take the time to outline company milestones that set founders up for their next fundraise.
Why we're doing this
The venture landscape is changing at a rapid pace. We see an increase in the number of people with excess cash on hand looking to invest in other asset classes. Over the last few months, we've found ourselves in a unique position to be helpful based on our own experiences and our network. The Armenian startup ecosystem already has great Venture Capitalists, but we want to make this asset class more accessible and decentralized.
We’ve seen in the past that early supporters of startups such as employees or investors see a return on their investment (time and money), while the broader community who helped share their news and market their startup miss out on life-changing wealth creation. The next generation of the Internet will be the ownership economy as we currently see it through the early stages of Web 3.0. We aim to build a community that adds value by turning our network into a product that founders can use and own.
We are bridging the wealth gap and increasing access to startup investing for everyone, by allowing individuals to write smaller checks into startups. Receive investment memos directly in your inbox and invest on a deal by deal cases.Â
If you or someone you know is an investor and wants to back product-driven, Armenian founders, apply through the link below & we’ll be happy to share the deal flow. Receive our investment opportunities and keep up with how we are building Hye Ventures by subscribing to our newsletter to not miss any updates!
Link: https://bit.ly/3qszHqj
FAQ:
Do we invest in specific sectors?
We are generalists but focus on Fintech, The Future of Commerce/Consumer, Enterprise Software, Future of Work, PropTech, and Human Capital (HR, EdTech, and HealthTech). We are dedicated to these sectors due to their relevance in solving some of Armenia’s hardest problems while also facing industry-specific opportunities to democratize access to these services. Within each of these, we look for companies targeting large markets.
In which rounds do we typically invest and what is our typical investment?
We mainly focus on investing in Pre-Seed and Series A rounds, and sometimes Series B. If all goes well, we try to invest in multiple rounds. However, we love to start building relationships early in a founder's journey, no matter the stage. If you already have a team and a rough idea, it is never too early to reach out to us.
Do we lead investment rounds?
No, we only co-invest with other investors. We build long-term relationships, and we want to be your ally. Because of our selectivity with whom we commit for the long run, we make fewer investments than a typical early-stage investor.
Do we only invest in Armenia?
No. We invest in companies with an Armenian co-founder. We firmly believe that the talent and resources to build great companies can come from anywhere, so we are always looking for the best founders of Armenian descent. Certain restrictions might apply.
Please reach out if you have any thoughts or other questions.
Hi! 👋 Thanks for reading Hye Ventures Newsletter. We’d love your feedback - feel free to tweet us @hyeventures or email us at noubar@hye.vc.
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