SV3
Home
How We Fund Your Vision
SV3
Home
How We Fund Your Vision
More
  • Home
  • How We Fund Your Vision
  • Home
  • How We Fund Your Vision

Welcome

Take your time, look around, and learn all there is to know about us. We hope you enjoy our site and take a moment to drop us a line.

Problem / Solution

Here's the Problem

Should you and your business suffer because of it?

80% of VC-funded Companies Fail

As an average, 80% of VC-funded companies fail to reach the mountain-top (acquisition, IPO, or other liquidity event.)

Weak Founders are the Problem

It's not the product, the market or the competition that determines your success. These things change. The problem is that weak founders can't manage the pivots that such inevitable change requires.

Our Stress-Testing Finds the Strongest Founders

We want to find out if you and your team have what it takes to maneuver through the major challenges and pivots ahead and then make it all the way to a liquidity event with a great valuation.

The Goal: 80% of our Companies Win

Background: The VC Model is Broken

Each Winner Must Pay for Four Losers

So Every Investment Must be a Unicorn

So Every Investment Must be a Unicorn

In typical VC funds, only one out of five (20%) of funded companies win

So Every Investment Must be a Unicorn

So Every Investment Must be a Unicorn

So Every Investment Must be a Unicorn

Typical VC funds seek unicorns with every investment, leaving a lot of great companies behind. They have to do this because otherwise, there's not enough profit to pay for the four losers

The Unicorn Strategy Creates Losers

The Unicorn Strategy Creates Losers

The Unicorn Strategy Creates Losers

Inflated egos, unrealistic expectations, bad planning, poor execution, lack of trust between team members, and gaps in the team: all of this leads to running out of money before reaching a liquidity event

This Means They Need More Unicorns

The Unicorn Strategy Creates Losers

The Unicorn Strategy Creates Losers

To cover the cost of all of the expected losers, the typical VC fund needs more unicorns, thus creating more losers. It's a vicious circle. How do we and you escape this trap?

Stress-testing Finds the Strongest, Unstoppable Founders

And Avoids Weak Founders

Is it worth finding out just how unstoppable you are?

Stress-testing Quadruples Success Rate

In Shepherd Ventures II, this strategy was only partially developed, yet 67% of funded companies reached a liquidity event. We intend to do even better in Fund III. Don't you want the comfort of knowing you're highly likely to finish well?

You do not have to Pay for a lot of Losers

Even if the portfolio returns were the same, we prefer knowing most of our companies win. Like you, we want to make a difference while sleeping well at night. As founders what else could you ask for?

Result: a Risk-reduced Portfolio with Trusted Returns

The good news is, by finding the strongest founders, portfolio returns can be trusted and the risk of ruin reduced. Everyone wins.

The Goal: Everyone Wins

Three Tests Find the Strongest Founders

And Avoid the Weakest Founders

Is it worth finding out just how strong you are as a team?

Startup Funding Lab (Story Pitching)

Humans are wired to remember stories. Together we create the stories that go with your pitch ("Story Pitching") to generate virality, excitement and trust, while also making your pitch bullet-proof.

Sherpa-funding your Current Seed Round

Like climber and sherpa, we work together to ensure your current seed (or bridge) round is funded at the right valuation using a mix of our investor leads and your own. This solves two problems: 1) we learn everything we need to know about your team under stress so we can recommend you, and 2) you get the funding you need now.

Enhancing Valuation

Rather than using "due diligence" to reduce your company valuation, we use it to ENHANCE your valuation. We do this by uncovering and correcting how your business could run out of money. You retain control and minimize dilution. This is a win-win solution that helps both of us.

The Goal: Your Team Becomes even Stronger

Our Criteria for Investing

It's all about the Founders

Is it worth finding out if there's a fit?

Two or More Co-founders (or Equivalent)

We avoid one-person bands. We seek two or more working executives each with significant ownership in the company who know and trust each other (without a romantic relationship.)

Cognitive Diversity

We seek an executive team where there is a clear diversity of thinking methods, risk tolerance, and leadership styles, while sharing common values and goals for the company. This leads to a team that can deal with difficult decisions and major pivots.

Respect and Trust

The executive team must enjoy mutual respect and trust, as well as common values and company goals, to minimize destructive conflict and to ensure long-term viability

The Goal: Your Team has What it Takes to Win

Leading your Scaling Round

Finding a Lead is Hard

Our Commitment Helps Now

Finding a Lead is Hard

Most VCs want to follow, not lead, because leading is FAR more difficult. There's a lot of due diligence to complete and then we have to recruit the syndicate at a desirable valuation. Finally, we have to manage the relationship with your company and assist with the ultimate liquidity event. So finding a committed lead is like pushing a boulder up a hill.

We Commit to Lead

Our Commitment Helps Now

Finding a Lead is Hard

Once we have determined that you are highly likely to survive through pivots and stressful times, we are in an ideal position to set a high valuation and convince syndicate partners that you're a company worth supporting. For this reason, we led most deals in Shepherd Ventures II and will commit to lead your scaling round with Shepherd Ventures III. 

Our Commitment Helps Now

Our Commitment Helps Now

Our Commitment Helps Now

Once we commit to lead your next scaling round, you can inform investors now that you already have a lead for the next round. This puts you in a strong even enviable position when raising your current round.

Our Mission

To reduce the risk of early-stage investing, we extensively stress-test founders. This avoids weak teams BEFORE investing! We invest in AI, Life Science & Fin Tech. Investments must have trusted AND driven founders. The company must have a WOW! value proposition and extraordinary upside potential.

Copyright © 2024-25 Shepherd Ventures III - All Rights Reserved.

Disclaimer:  This website is intended for potential portfolio companies. The information provided on this website is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities or other financial instruments. The content is not intended to provide investment, tax, or legal advice. Any investment decisions should be based on your own research and consultation with a qualified financial advisor. Any performance data quoted represents past performance and does not guarantee future results.  

  • How We Fund Your Vision

Powered by

This website uses cookies.

We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.

Accept