Tim Chen, solo VC at his firm Essence VC, just closed his fourth fund, a fresh $41 million, without even trying. Limited partner investors (LPs) were so eager to invest, they pre-empted it, he told TechCrunch. He hadn't even time to generate a pitch deck. True, $41 million might not sound like much in this age of multi-billion venture firms and solo VCs like Jack Altman (who just raised his second giant fund, at $275 million).
Back when Deliveroo was a tiny London-based platform, with just a few restaurants in its repertoire, there was one man who believed it'd go on to become the multi-billion-dollar brand it is today: Martin Mignot. "They had eight employees. They were in three London boroughs. Overall, they had a few 1000 users to date, so it was very, very early,"