Investor Profile: Collaborative Fund — Thesis, Cheque Size & How to Apply

Collaborative Fund is a New York-based venture firm that calls itself "a leading source of capital for entrepreneurs pushing the world forward". Its investment test is unusually direct: "If this startup becomes massively successful, will it make the world a better or more interesting place?" If you are exploring Collaborative Fund funding and how to get funding from Collaborative Fund, here is what the firm has made public.

Investment thesis and sectors

Collaborative Fund funds "seed through growth", with its primary focus at the earliest stages (seed+). It specialises in consumer-focused companies outside venture's favoured SaaS model, with climate and sustainability running as a horizontal thread across everything it backs. Its stated sectors are AI, Consumer, Money, Health and Energy, and it has also raised thematic funds focused on kids, consumer and sustainability. Its venture funds invest from pre-seed through Series B and C.

Fund size and cheque size

The firm's sixth flagship fund closed at $125 million in June 2024, aimed at climate, health and food startups at seed stage, with roughly half the fund reserved for first cheques and the rest for follow-ons. The firm does not publicly disclose a standard cheque size.

Notable portfolio companies

Its homepage lists select investments including Phaidra, General Intuition and Periodic Labs (AI); Olipop, Sweetgreen and Reddit (consumer); Kickstarter, Upstart and Cafeteria (money); Loyal, Whoop and Bandit (health); and Dandelion, Brimstone and Anthro (energy). Other backed names include Lyft, Blue Bottle Coffee and The Farmer's Dog, with exits including Reddit's IPO and Scopely's $4.9 billion acquisition by Savvy Games Group.

Partners and programmes

Collaborative Fund was founded by managing partner Craig Shapiro. Its partners include Morgan Housel, author of The Psychology of Money, and Sophie Bakalar. The firm's flagship programme is the Shared Future Fund, launched in 2022: a climate-tech initiative writing $100,000 cheques via uncapped SAFEs into around 100 early climate startups, with decisions in about a week and funding within ten days. The firm does not publish a formal startup credits or perks catalogue.

How to apply for funding from Collaborative Fund

Collaborative Fund does not publish a public founder pitch form, application URL or contact route — no application page appears on its website, so there is no documented way to apply cold. The only public application route the firm has used was the Shared Future Fund's online application, which promised roughly one-week decisions. For the flagship funds, the realistic route is an introduction through the partnership's network.