1517 Fund
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Look, 1517 is the real deal when it comes to contrarian investing - they literally wrote the book on backing college dropouts before it was cool. With Luminar IPOing and returning 4X to Fund I investors, and Loom selling for nearly $1B returning another 1X, they've got the track record to back up their thesis. What's refreshing is they genuinely play the role of "first believer" and "trusted confidant," acting more like camp counselors than executive coaches. The catch? Their thesis is so specific that if you have a degree and went the traditional route, you're swimming upstream here. They're hunting for the next Vitalik or Dylan Field, not polished MBA types. Also, Danielle's recent blog post calling out VC fundraising shenanigans while pledging to keep management fees low shows they're playing a different game than typical Sand Hill Road funds.
- —Best for: College dropouts, young hackers, and deep tech scientists with sci-fi ideas
- —Watch out for: If you have traditional credentials, you're not their target demographic
- —Known for: Being the first institutional check and genuine founder support over executive coaching
1517 Fund's specific thesis focuses on backing founders without degrees, supporting those who wouldn't get a second look from traditional investors due to their credential status. They back dropouts working on hard problems and sci-fi scientists at the earliest stages of their companies.
They're most often the first check into a company, sometimes when it's just an idea with $100K for R&D, and sometimes with a $500K-$1M check when there's a prototype, targeting 7-10% ownership. They explicitly state they like software, hardware with a data play, deep tech/sci-fi tech, and biotech, with focuses on quantum computing, advanced materials, space tech, biotech, and developer tools.
Danielle is a cofounder and general partner who has worked with young entrepreneurs for about a decade, joining the founding of the Thiel Fellowship in 2010 to lead design and operations, working with prestigious founders like Vitalik Buterin and Ritesh Agarwal. Previous to her work with Peter Thiel, she founded and directed Innovations Academy in San Diego, a K-8 charter school serving 400 students focused on student-led project based learning.
Michael was vice president for grants at the Thiel Foundation and a principal at Thiel Capital, working for Peter Thiel for nearly five years contributing research to Peter's global macro hedge fund and helping run the Thiel Fellowship. He's described as being dedicated to lighting the paper belt on fire, referring to the paper-based industries from Washington DC to Boston.
Partner at 1517 Fund, working alongside the founding team to identify and support unconventional founders and deep tech scientists.
Nick is a Partner who previously founded WayPaver Foundation, a nonprofit think tank for lunar settlement, and worked with Danielle and Michael at the Thiel Fellowship leading community development, notably having never stepped foot on a university campus as a student.
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