Investor Profile: VITALIZE Venture Capital — Thesis, Cheque Size & How to Apply

VITALIZE Venture Capital is a Chicago based venture firm founded in 2017 that invests in pre-seed and seed stage companies transforming how work gets done. It was founded by managing partner Gale Wilkinson, who previously founded IrishAngels, one of the largest angel groups in the world, and who has led more than $75 million in early stage deals across more than 125 startups. The firm focuses on business to business and business to business to consumer software in WorkTech. Its second fund, Fund II, was reported at $23.4 million. Its homepage now carries an important update for founders, set out plainly in the application section below.

Investment thesis

The thesis is people first, data driven ideas that transform work outcomes. VITALIZE backs software that changes how people are hired, managed, paid, trained, and supported at work, and it looks for founders who understand the workplace problem from the inside. The firm tracks roughly ten meaningful assists per company per year from its team and broader network, and it draws on a community of more than 150 limited partners and 50 future of work experts.

Sectors and stages

VITALIZE invests at pre-seed and seed stage in WorkTech, including human resources technology, future of work software, and business to business software that improves work outcomes. Its angel arm, VITALIZE Angels, invested $50,000 to $75,000 per company as a single line item on the cap table, with a process lasting 30 to 60 days. The angel community focused solely on business to business and business to business to consumer companies innovating in WorkTech, and companies reaching a $50,000 minimum of community interest moved to diligence and then to a close powered by Wefunder.

Notable portfolio / track record

Portfolio companies named by the firm include Virtual Sapiens, whose co-founder and chief executive Rachel Cossar described the angel community as champions who kept thinking about the company long after the cheque, Hound, the recruiting platform co-founded by Andrew Luna, OpenAxis, co-founded by Alex Damianou, and Lunch Payments, co-founded by Cullen Gallagher. Twill, the hiring platform connecting companies with vetted technology professionals through peer recommendations, later raised a $1.4 million pre-seed round led by Bloomberg Beta, with Vitalize VC among the additional investors.

How to apply for funding

Founders need the current position stated plainly, because it changes what to do next. The firm's homepage states: we have fully deployed Funds I and II and are not actively investing. There is therefore no live application route to VITALIZE Venture Capital at present, and no open pitch form or deadline should be assumed. Do not send a pitch expecting a new seed cheque from these funds. The useful route that remains is to sign up for the firm's quarterly newsletter through its website, which publishes the managing partner's thoughts on the market, updates on the fund and portfolio companies, and work insights from its expert network.