We adhere to the formal definition of a venture capital fund, which is defined as an organization that has dedicated professional that manage more than $1 million capital for others. These managers make investments in riskier ventures, usually through the purchase of shares of equity in the private marketplace, although some funds also use debt instruments.

In the United States, many venture capital funds are members of the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA).

Not all funds are members however.  Some funds not to join as members, and others don’t meet the criteria (below) that the NVCA sets forth for membership:

“Your firm must be engaged in or planning private equity investing on a cash for equity basis, must be investing from a dedicated pool of private equity capital of at least $1 million or, in the case of a corporate investor, investing off of the balance sheet. The applicant must employ a professional staff of at least one full-time employee, or full time equivalent, whose sole purpose is direct private equity investing or through VC fund-of-funds.”

Cornell University

Meet Contrary’s venture partners at Cornell and 35+ other universities. We lead most deals and invest up to $500,000 across all industries.