Investor Profile: Great North Ventures — Thesis, Cheque Size & How to Apply

Great North Ventures is a network-driven, generalist early-stage fund based in Minnesota, founded by founders for founders. It backs repeat founders and strong first-time founders, and it also forms founder teams through its own venture studio. Its network density is greatest in Minnesota and the Upper Midwest, and it deliberately looks where broader venture capital is thinnest.

Investment thesis

Great North Ventures invests around three themes: solving labour problems, digital transformation through artificial intelligence, and community-driven applications. It describes itself as prioritising exceptional execution, and it says its innovator network of founders, investors and experienced Fortune 500 operators drives much of its value to startups. It also invests in Latin America, where it has described the venture market as similarly underserved.

Sectors and stages

The firm invests from seed to Series A, with occasional later-stage follow-ons, and it is a generalist within its three themes, spanning business-to-business software, fintech, agtech, health technology and labour marketplaces. Its Fund II portfolio has included labour-focused companies such as FactoryFix and Skillit, artificial intelligence names such as Ensodata and Soiltech, and community-driven companies such as Dispatch, Yardstik, Branch and Omnia Fishing.

Fund size and cheque size

Great North Ventures closed Fund II in 2022 at $40 million, a figure its own announcement describes as a 70 percent increase on Fund I. A later progress update referred to the fund as $41 million, a small difference the firm has not separately explained, so the closed figure used here is the announced $40 million. It typically writes initial cheques of $250,000 to $1 million into seed-stage companies, with scope to follow on in later early-stage rounds.

Notable portfolio and partners

Beyond the names above, its portfolio has included Branch, Micruity, Clinician Nexus and Dispatch, and its venture studio, Great North Venture Labs, co-creates around one startup a year from idea through launch and beyond. Its General Partners are Rob Weber, founder and Managing Partner, Ryan Weber and Pradip Madan. It does not publish a startup credits or perks programme; its stated support is its network, its studio and its operator experience.

How to apply for funding

Great North Ventures is unusually direct: its own Fund II announcement says interested founders can apply for funding consideration immediately and points them to its website to view its criteria and apply. Founders should go to greatnorthventures.com, check their fit against the three themes above, and use the application route published there rather than assuming a warm introduction is required.