Chapter One
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Jeff Morris Jr. is legitimately one of the most product-obsessed VCs in the game, and Chapter One reflects that DNA. They write smaller checks ($500K-$2M) to avoid concentrated control in decentralized networks and dedicating significant resources to a formal "Founder Experience" organization that treats post-investment support as a product. This isn't your typical check-writing shop - they're operationally hands-on in a way that actually matters. The Tinder pedigree gives Jeff real credibility with product founders, and they obsess over "product velocity" as their core investment metric. That said, the fund is still relatively young (founded 2017) and while the unicorn hit rate looks impressive, most of their big wins were seed investments Jeff made as a scout before launching Chapter One. The real test is how Fund II and beyond perform as they scale beyond Jeff's personal network.
- —Best for: Product-obsessed founders building AI/crypto/fintech who want hands-on support from actual operators
- —Watch out for: Still proving they can replicate early success beyond Jeff's personal brand and Tinder network
- —Known for: Treating post-investment support like a product and writing smaller checks to maintain founder control
Chapter One is a product-first venture fund founded by ex-Tinder VP Jeff Morris Jr., backed by top-tier firms like Sequoia and a16z. Chapter One provides pre-seed and seed funding for product-driven companies building the future of web3 and AI.
The fund focuses on making crypto usable for normal people through better design and user experience, writing smaller checks ($500K-$2M) to avoid concentrated control in decentralized networks. The firm backs category-defining companies across AI, fintech, developer tools, consumer, and crypto - investing early in companies including Mercury, Supabase, Together AI, Helius, Ondo Finance, and Turing.
Jeff was an early team member at Tinder, where he served as VP of Product, Revenue. Since then, he has backed 11 unicorns at the seed stage, including Mercury, Supabase, Turing, Compound Finance, and Ondo Finance. Largely considered "the" product person to have on the cap table.
Doug Dyer maintains lead roles across finance/operations, fund/portfolio modeling, follow-on investing, and LP relations. Doug joined in October 2021 after serving as Chapter One's "outsourced CFO" since January 2021. More than a decade of managing & investing >$1 billion and working with >100 companies.
Jamesin joined Chapter One's investing team in January 2022. At Chapter One, an early-stage venture capital fund, Jamesin invests in emerging startups focused on artificialintelligence, machinelearning, data, and infrastructure.
Ty Wilkins (Scale AI & Robinhood) is joining Chapter One as a Venture Partner. Ty has had the opportunity to design the branding for many great startups including Auth0, Loom, Scale, Vercel, and GitLab. My work with Ty goes back to 2013 and he has been my "first phone call" in the design industry whenever I need inspiration for a project. I have had the pleasure of collaborating with Ty for over a decade on many projects.
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