Investor Profile: Slauson & Co - Thesis, Cheque Size & How to Apply

Slauson & Co is a Los Angeles early stage venture firm built on a simple belief: talent is evenly distributed, but opportunity is not. If you are wondering how to get funding from Slauson & Co, start with that belief, because it is the lens through which the firm judges every pitch. It backs founders whose lived experience is their competitive advantage, and it looks for technology companies that serve customers and communities that have historically been overlooked.

The firm was founded in Los Angeles and is led by co-founders and managing partners Austin Clements and Ajay Relan. Clements previously worked at TenOneTen Ventures and helped build Grid110 and PledgeLA, while Relan was a founding partner at Queensbridge Venture Partners and co-created the community movement #HashtagLunchbag.

Thesis: lived experience as an edge

Slauson & Co exists to back founders of innovative technology companies who use their lived experience as their competitive advantage from the earliest stage. That thesis is deliberately broad on sector and deliberately specific on founder insight. A pitch therefore needs to show not just a large market, but why this team, with this background, is the one to win it.

The firm invests at pre-seed and seed stage in US based companies. Its published focus spans technology that empowers small business owners, tools for the next generation of small businesses, and culturally relevant consumer products and services.

Fund size and cheque size

Slauson & Co closed a $75 million first fund and later closed a $100 million Fund II, a step up that the firm presented as evidence that appetite for inclusive investing persists even in a difficult fundraising market. The firm typically leads the deals it does, investing between $1 million and $3 million in a company, and works closely alongside founders after the cheque. Later fund details beyond Fund II are not publicly disclosed.

Notable portfolio companies

The portfolio illustrates the thesis in action. Sienna Naturals, the dermatologist tested clean hair care brand co-founded by Issa Rae and Hannah Diop, expanded into Sephora stores. Pressed Roots is a blowout bar for women with textured hair. The Folklore Group is an ecommerce platform for luxury and emerging brands from Africa and the diaspora. The firm has said that 95 percent of its first fund portfolio companies were led by founders of colour, with more than half of founding teams led or co-led by a woman,

Programmes and support

Beyond the main fund, Slauson & Co runs the Friends & Family programme, an accelerator for emerging category defining businesses. The programme began with smaller non-dilutive grants and has grown substantially: its 2025 cohort offered a $300,000 investment, selected from more than 800 applicants

How to apply for funding

Founders can approach Slauson & Co through the contact routes on its official website at slauson.co, and should watch for the annual Friends & Family application window, which is announced on the firm's site and newsletter. A strong application leads with the lived experience insight, the customer problem, and evidence of early traction,