Syndicate Details

• Participation is limited to individuals that meet Accredited Investor qualifications
• No upfront capital commitment from LP to back the syndicate
• No minimum participation requirement (LP can opt-in or opt-out of any deal presented)
• Minimum LP investment on participated deals: $1,000.00 (most deals)

My Background

The Foundation

• My story began in a suburb of Pittsburgh, PA – a tough, blue-collar town
• Raised by resourceful parents that both lacked a college education - yet had the grit and resiliency to forge their own path and become successful entrepreneurs
• Post-college, caught the entrepreneurial bug and felt compelled to immediately make an impact for the family biz (Deacon - Industrial Sealant Manufacture)
• As an operator, wore every hat imaginable from: finance, ops, biz dev, marketing, etc.
• Strategic initiatives that accelerated growth started attracting buzz as we began receiving interest from prospective buyers (private equity, strategic acquirers, public investment firms)
• Successful exit to publicly traded investment firm (CSW Industrials) & exhilarating journey built the foundation for what would propel my next chapter & present day focus:

“Partnering with visionary founders solving problems capable of shaping the future of technology”

Next Chapter

• MBA (Strategy, Finance); The Ohio State University, Fisher College of Business
• Corp Dev @ HBM Holdings - middle market investment firm in St. Louis, MO
• Financial Modeling & Valuation Analyst (FMVA)®; Issuer: Corporate Finance Institute®
• Venture Capital Executive Program; Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

Present Day

• Venture Partner for VU Venture Partners (Pre-Seed – Series B)
• Active Investor (50+ Investments via Direct Investment & Syndicate)
• Full-time vision to align Bruckner Ventures with top-tier investment opportunities

My Unfair Advantage

• Entrepreneurial Foundation – operational skillset critical in identifying & resonating with unique founders capable of executing the vision
• Continuous Learner – (read ~1 book/week) + fueled by tremendous curiosity for the future of technology & innovation
• Generalist – know a little about a lot + can build conviction fast
• Responsiveness – inbox zero mentality. You'll be hearing from me very quickly.
• Deal Guy – sourcing deals is a passion. Unconventional methods to find deals early. Rolling up the sleeves, getting scrappy and resonating with Founders is my competitive advantage.
• Full-Time Endeavor – building Bruckner Ventures will receive all of my time & energy

Investment Thesis

Bruckner Ventures targets partnerships with founders disrupting enormous market opportunities capable of generating outsized venture returns (10-100x+).

We will target rounds that are led by Top-Tier VCs capable of adding tremendous value.

Bruckner Ventures will be extremely selective (~1% investment rate) given our robust pipeline of opportunities.

Stage + Allocation Target

• Stage Focus: Pre-Seed - Series A
• Target Allocation: ~$100K-$500K+

Vertical + Geography

• Frontier Tech - AI/ML, Robotics, Space, Transportation
• United States

Team

• Prefer investing in multiple founders that operate with integrity + passion + laser focus
• Ability to lead + execute long-term vision + attract talent + raise capital
• Prior startup experience (success or failure) + resilient + ability to iterate quickly

Problem + Solution

• Clearly identified pain point void of a sufficient solution in the market
• Value proposition effectively communicates the uniqueness of the solution

Market Characteristics

• Total Addressable Market (TAM) of $10B+
• Market is or will soon experience rapid growth + market evaluated for proper timing

Metrics + KPIs to Evaluate

• ARR, MRR, ACV, AOV, ARPU, Revenue Growth Rate, Gross vs Net Revenue
• Unit Economics, LTV/CAC, Gross Margin, Contribution Margin, Capital Efficiency
• Available Runway, Burn Rate, Path to Profitability, Additional Funding Needs
• # Users, # Active Users, # Paying Customers, Customer Churn Rate

Traction

• Evidence of early-traction and confirmation of product/market fit
• Targeting ~6+ months of continuous user and/or revenue growth (20-30%+ MoM)
• Targeting ~18+ months of remaining runway post-funding

Sustainable + Unfair Competitive Advantage

• Long-term defensibility achievable at-scale to become dominate category leader
• Creating breakthrough technology - not just incremental improvements
• Unique growth hacks + viral capabilities/strong network effects + strategic partnerships/advisors
• Competitive landscape fragmented – no dominate category leader

“Definite optimism works when you build the future you envision. What valuable company is nobody building – have you identified an opportunity that others do not see?” - Peter Thiel

Milestone Roadmap + Exit Opportunities

• Strategic + logical roadmap presented to hit critical milestones + achieve scale
• Viable strategic exit opportunities exist + IPO possibility

Investment Terms + Signals to Target

• Favor Priced Rounds: Preferred Stock, SAFE (Capped), Convertible Note (Capped)
• Try to Avoid: SAFE (Uncapped) and Convertible Note (Uncapped)
• Pro rata + Information rights
• Top-Tier VC-lead + Insiders following-on

• Outbound – building pipeline by leveraging premium outbound platforms
• Inbound – proprietary network of LPs, Founders, VCs, and Angels providing referrals
• Inside Access – Accelerators, Demo Days, Pitch Events and Universities