Investor Profile: Draper Goren Holm — Thesis, Cheque Size & How to Apply

A blockchain venture studio built by billionaire Tim Draper alongside event entrepreneurs Alon Goren and Josef Holm — Draper Goren Holm funding comes with a twist most VCs can't offer: the same team that runs the LA Blockchain Summit also incubates the startups it backs. Launched in 2019 out of Santa Monica, the studio-and-fund pairs seed investment with hands-on incubation, formal introductions into the Draper Venture Network, and perks including AWS and Google Cloud credits.

Draper Goren Holm's investment thesis

The firm's own description is direct: it exists to incubate and accelerate "the best early-stage startups from around the world" in blockchain and fintech. The team — which describes decades of combined early-stage experience — takes a deliberately hands-on approach, helping portfolio companies overcome obstacles and hit milestones rather than wiring money and waiting. The studio model also serves a second purpose: it positions standout projects for co-investment by the firm's partner funds and follow-on investment from its own fund.

Sectors, stages and cheque size

Draper Goren Holm invests at seed stage in blockchain and fintech startups globally. Public materials do not disclose standard cheque sizes, and the total size of its blockchain fund has not been publicly disclosed — though the firm did announce a first close of $25 million for the fund. Founder roles are split clearly on the site: Tim Draper serves as Special Limited Partner and board member, while Alon Goren and Josef Holm are the two founding partners running day-to-day.

Notable portfolio

Press releases list a long roster of early-stage bets: LunarCRUSH (crypto social intelligence), CasperLabs, Ownera (securities tokenization infrastructure), Vertalo (digital securities), Totle (DEX aggregation), Plenty DeFi, Tezos Stable Technologies, Mavryk Finance (DeFi on Tezos), DeFi Money Market, Giftz, Degens, Simetria and Rivet. The portfolio reads as a map of the 2019–2021 crypto cycle: infrastructure, DeFi, and the early security-token experiments.

Programs and perks

The studio's platform is its differentiator. Portfolio companies receive strategic business advisory, a formal introduction to the Draper Venture Network — Tim Draper's global investor network — plus concrete discounts including AWS and Google Cloud credits. The same founding team produces the industry's flagship events: the LA Blockchain Summit, the Security Token Summit and the Global DeFi Summit, which double as deal-flow engines and demo stages for the portfolio.

How to apply for funding

Founders pitch the studio through the funding intake on drapergorenholm.com, under the site's Seed Investment section. Come prepared for a hands-on evaluation: this is a studio that wants to co-build, not a passive cap-table filler.