Top Tier Capital Partners is a San Francisco-based venture capital specialist that invests in venture funds, secondaries and direct investments. Founded in 1999, with roots in predecessor firm Paul Capital, it sits one level above most founders: it backs venture funds, buys fund and company stakes on the secondary market, and co-invests in selected companies. Understanding how to get funding from Top Tier Capital Partners therefore starts with understanding which of its three doors fits you.
Thesis
Top Tier describes its strategies as complementary, blending investment expertise, long-standing relationships and proprietary data. On the primary side it looks for what it calls special people with special networks who have demonstrated the ability to manage institutional capital, backing funds across all stages and sectors of the venture ecosystem. Its secondary and direct work draws on that same fund-level view.
Sectors and stages
Top Tier is sector-agnostic across venture, with direct investments concentrated in mid-stage and growth-stage venture-backed technology companies. Its Venture Velocity strategy targets shorter-duration deals: secondaries, restructurings, continuation funds and tender offers.
Fund size and cheque size
Top Tier reports around $7.3 billion in regulatory assets under management, across 42 private funds, according to regulatory-data summaries of its filings. In 2022 it raised $925 million for its Venture Velocity strategy. Fund filings show $10 million limited-partner minimums, not founder cheques. Direct investment cheque sizes are not publicly disclosed, and the firm says its primary commitments to new managers typically run from $5 million to $10 million, rising higher for established managers.
Notable portfolio
Top Tier does not publish a founder-facing portfolio list, because most of its exposure sits inside other funds. Companies named in coverage of its direct and Velocity activity include Anaplan, DraftKings and Smartsheet, alongside Carbon Black, CircleCI, LaunchDarkly, Remitly and Talkdesk. It says it tracks around 450 active underlying funds across about 100 managers.
Partners and team
Garth Timoll is chief executive and general partner, and has led the firm's public statements on its Velocity raises. The team splits between primary specialists and secondary and direct specialists. The firm has offices in San Francisco, Boston and London, reflecting a deliberately local presence in the markets that matter to it.
Programs, credits and perks
Top Tier runs no accelerator, credits programme or founder perks scheme. Its value to a founder arrives indirectly: through the venture fund it backs, which may bring Top Tier in as a co-investor, or through a secondary transaction that gives early employees, founders or existing shareholders liquidity, including tender offers and employee liquidity programmes run alongside preferred equity investments.
How to apply for funding
There is no public application portal for founders, and no published founder-facing application route was found in the sources reviewed. In practice, a founder reaches Top Tier through a venture fund already in its portfolio, which can propose the company for a co-investment, or through a secondary process if the company is seeking employee or shareholder liquidity. Teams considering a secondary transaction should be prepared for pricing based on net asset value, with venture secondary discounts reported in 2025 in the region of 25 to 35 percent for LP stakes.
Why it matters for founders
Top Tier will rarely be your first investor, but it can be a valuable later one. If your venture fund already counts it as a limited partner, ask that fund about a co-investment, and if early shareholders need liquidity, a secondary conversation may unlock value without a new priced round.