Q&A with Ben Orthlieb of 2.12 Angels
General Manager
Luminary Series:
2.12 Angels is an emerging seed fund with a disruptive model and operating system. Their mission is to maximize returns, which, at the seed stage, requires an extensive portfolio and high-quality co-investors. They have 3 specific superpowers: (a) their sourcing process is programmatic, (b) they provide Founders with the highest value-add per dollar invested, and (c) they only collaborate and co-invest with the best 40 VC firms in the US. They made 28 seed investments in 2021, and 9 already raised a Series A. They are now raising a 30M-Fund II, backed by top firms like Emergence, NFX, and Foundation, successful entrepreneurs, and large Family Offices.
Are you interested in the Future of Venture Capital?
Join us for a private Family Office Insights Webinar featuring Ben Orthlieb and Romain Serman, General Partners at 2.12 Angels. They are bringing Data Science and Technology to the Art of Seed Investing. 2.12 Angels is a disruptive Seed Fund, backed by Tier 1 Venture Firms like Emergence, NFX and Foundation Capital. They use a Machine-Learning-based algorithm to source thousands of companies a year and screen the best Founders. They provide high-value services to companies and win all the deals. They only co-invest with the best investors. They launched 18 months ago and they are already ranking among the Top 10 Seed Funds in the US! The Future of Investing is here!
November 17, 2022 at 2:15pm-3:15pm EST
RSVP & Confirmation Required
Family Office Insights is a voluntary, “opt-in” collaborative peer-to-peer community of single family offices, qualified investors and institutional investors. Join the community here www.familyofficeinsights.com
What is the minimum ticket size for anyone interested in committing to Fund II?
The minimum ticket size for interested LPs ranges from $250,000 for individuals to $500,000 for Family Offices. After the first close that will be held in December, minimum ticket sizes will increase (respectively $500,000 and $1,000,000).
How do you assess your performance?
The most predictive metric of a seed fund's future performance is how many companies graduate from seed to Series A in less than 18 months. The average in the market is 17%. Our current ratio is 32%: we invested in 28 seed rounds in 2021 (less than 18 months ago), and 9 have already raised a Series A. Based on this metric, we rank #6 among all seed firms in the US (for now). Our MOIC stands today at 1.40 (after 18 months of operations).
How diverse is your portfolio?
Our original intention was not to focus specifically on diversity when we launched in 2021. This said, our portfolio is 10X more diverse than the market average. Out of 38 portfolio companies (28 investments in 2021, 10 in 2022): 40% have at least one Woman Co-Founder, 18% have a Woman CEO, and 7% have at least a Black Co-Founder. There are various reasons for such performance. Mainly: the main challenge for under-represented Founders is the size and quality of their network. In other words: the data show that, on average, white male entrepreneurs have a more extensive network and are of better quality than women and minorities. With our programmatic approach, Founders do not need any mutual connections with us for us to find them. This "network barrier" doesn't exist with 2.12 Angels, hence a more diverse portfolio.
Ben Orthlieb of 2.12 Angels
Ben Orthlieb is a worldclass operator, who used to work closely with Reid Hoffmann as VP Corporate Development at LinkedIn. Romain Serman is running the US Office of the French Sovereign Fund, a 35B-AUM financial institution.
Contact Ben: ben@212angels.com