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Alter
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Subscription Amount
$25,000+ Quarterly
Subscription Period
4-5 Quarters
Management Fee
2.5% per year over 10 years
Carry
20%
Admin Fee (annualized)
$2.5k + 0.2% of contributed capital
Invest Account
Select invest account
Note from The Alter Team
Alter is raising a $30M early-stage venture fund to capitalize on our conviction that the next decade’s unicorns will be created and led by entrepreneurs based not only in the Silicon Valley, but in South and Southeast Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa. This fund will make investments - ranging from $200K to $500K - in Pre-Seed, Seed & Series A financing rounds.
We started Alter 9 years ago as a non-profit entrepreneurial support organization, interested in learning about and contributing to the growing entrepreneurial ecosystems in emerging markets.
In February 2020, we began investing into early-stage opportunities in South and Southeast Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa. We invested ~$9M into 18 companies, earning a 2.6x Multiple on Invested Capital (“MOIC”). We doubled down where we had high conviction and invested another ~$6M of follow-on capital into 3 companies for an overall MOIC of 2.3x.
With our strong track record and proven process, we launched our Rolling Fund in November 2021 and have invested $14.3M into 21 companies ($7M RF; $7.3M SPVs) over the past 11 quarters. In all, we’ve backed 34 amazing companies.
Alter is building a venture capital firm for the next generation, backing the world’s boldest tech founders. We are here to alter the status quo and venture boldly. This is not impact investing - this is venture capital with a higher purpose.
Our Mission & Approach
Our theory of change is predicated on the belief that one company’s success can spark a ripple effect of growth that extends beyond the success of that business; a scalable venture can be the foundation for socio-economic development in ways even traditional aid cannot. Our mission is to catalyze emerging tech ecosystems by backing future success stories led by role model founders - and to make top-decile venture returns along the way.
By 2030, seven of the world's 10 largest economies will be emerging markets, including India, Indonesia, Turkey, Brazil, and Egypt. By 2050, the world's top 20 economies will feature these countries, as well as Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Vietnam. This is where Alter operates, backing high-character founders custom-building startups in Commerce, Financial Services, Logistics, and Education for emerging markets.
As investors, we seek to be allies to our founders in all aspects of their businesses, working closely with them on developing their products, connecting them with talent, and sharing their stories. Through our signature Alter Fellows program founded in 2018, we’ve sent ~100 young professionals from Google, Facebook, McKinsey and more to work directly with ~30 of our ventures. Moreover, 15 stayed on full-time. This deep, daily focus on becoming true partners has earned us an NPS of 91 from our portfolio, and we aim to be #1 on every cap table when it comes to our ‘Check Size: Helpfulness’ ratio.
Our Investment Thesis
A+ Founders: Early-stage investing is a people business. In pursuing where to invest our time and capital, we prioritize the quality, integrity, and potential of the founder(s) above everything else. We seek long-term partnerships with founders who will be the role models of tomorrow - catalyzing the next generation of entrepreneurship and growth in their countries.
Emerging Tech Cities: We focus beyond the US and China, which still absorb the majority of the world’s investment dollars. Instead, we seek to invest ~50% in India, Brazil and Indonesia, fast-growing markets we believe many category-creating businesses will come from over the next decade. The other ~50% will focus on other key markets in Latin America (Mexico, Colombia, Argentina), Asia (Turkey, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Philippines), and Africa (Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya).
Business models we know...and can see coming: With deep ties to founders in 30+ countries, we observe and closely study dozens of business models, giving us a sustainable competitive advantage to see “what’s coming next” in these ecosystems. For instance, we were early backers of the global SMB digitization wave by investing in Bazaar in Pakistan, Kippa in Nigeria, and Sumer in Colombia.
Our Team
- Jesse Sullivan: Founder & CEO of Alter. Presidential Leadership Scholar and Stanford GSB grad. Previously served with the DoD in Afghanistan.
- Allen Taylor: Founding Board Member of Alter & Managing Director of Endeavor Catalyst, the innovative co-investment fund of Endeavor. 250+ emerging market investments, including 50+ Unicorns. Kauffman Fellows board member.
- Yash Vardhan Kanoi: Partner, South and Southeast Asia Investment Lead.
- Yana Yasevich: Partner, San Francisco-based Head of Platform. A former founder herself, Yana is a key node in our global founder community, supporting our ventures and scaling Alter.
Our Track Record
Prior to our rolling fund, Alter deployed $15M into 18 companies, producing a 2.94x MOIC. With the majority of our investments at the Pre-Seed and Seed stages, we've also helped our founders raise follow-on capital from world-class funds like Sequoia, a16z, Lightspeed, and Founders Fund.
Join Us
As you’ve hopefully realized by now, we’re on a mission to create an unprecedented global network of the world's best tech founders, and we would love for you to join us. We consider ourselves incredibly lucky to already be backed by such an awesome network of LPs and advisors, and are excited to be opening up to outside LPs for the first time.
Click here to watch a short (4 minute) video featuring some of the amazing entrepreneurs we’ve backed so far in Indonesia, Nigeria, Bangladesh and Vietnam. Then, click to invest.
We invite you to venture boldly.
From,
Jesse, Allen, Yana, Yash and the entire Alter team!
Investment Details
Subscription Start Date
July 1, 2024
Minimum Quarterly Subscription
$25,000
Minimum Subscription Period
4 Quarters
Management Fee
2.5% per annum over each fund's 10-year life, payable quarterly over the first two years
Carry
Twenty percent (20%)
Admin Fee (annualized)
$2.5k + 0.2% of contributed capital
Fees for each quarterly fund in the Rolling Fund Program will vary based on each quarterly fund’s capital contributions since the fee includes a flat fee component. Last quarter, this fund closed $1.54M in capital. Learn more about how to estimate your commitment’s fees at our help center.
Fund Lead Commitment
The Alter Team's personal subscription per quarter will be at least $12,500.
Investor FAQ
How is this program different from venture fund investing?
How do subscriptions work?
How do management and admin fees work?
How does carried interest work?
How do distributions work?
Will a Limited Partner (LP) participate in all investments made by the funds offered through this Program?
Will an LP's percentage ownership of quarterly funds always be the same?
Are LPs guaranteed access to Alter's future funds?
How are subscriptions funded?
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Do funds in this Program have minimum or maximum investment sizes?
What happens if funds in this Program do not invest their total capital each quarter?
When will LPs learn about companies the funds invested in?
Can LPs opt out of specific deals?
Can LPs sell their investment in the fund?
Can LPs redeem their interests in the fund?
When will funds launched under this Program begin deploying capital?
How do I receive tax documents from this Program?
Unanswered questions? Contact AngelList
The performance of past deals or a lead investors' track record is not a guarantee of future returns. Venture capital fund investments are inherently risky and illiquid. Such investments involve a high degree of risk and are suitable only for sophisticated and accredited investors.
AngelList and its affiliates do not provide investment advice to investors. The information on this page should not be relied upon as research, investment advice or a recommendation of any kind. Information on this page is qualified in its entirety by the fund's Limited Partnership Agreement, Private Placement Memorandum and Subscription Agreement, which should be reviewed carefully prior to making an investment decision. Please see these documents for full details regarding risks, minimum investment, fees and expenses. The Fund Lead and the fund's investment advisor have the right to waive or charge additional carry to certain investors. The fund's legal name may be different from the name used above.
This fund may accept new investors after the fund undergoes a valuation update. Certain potential investors in the fund may then have access to materially different information concerning fund value at the time of their investment.
Current or future portfolio companies in this fund may use AngelList's recruiting platform and may pay an affiliate of the fund's investment adviser for premium recruiting tools and services. This may create a potential conflict of interest for the investment adviser, which you will consent to by subscribing to the fund.
Please read the disclosures in full here.
Apply To Subscribe
Subscription Amount
$25,000+ Quarterly
Subscription Period
4-5 Quarters
Management Fee
2.5% per year over 10 years
Carry
20%
Admin Fee (annualized)
$2.5k + 0.2% of contributed capital
Invest Account
Select invest account