MaC Venture Capital proves investment thesis and secures $203M in second fund, nearly doubling the $110M raised in its seed-stage fund
MaC Venture Capital, a seed-stage venture capital firm based in Los Angeles and Silicon Valley, has successfully raised a $203 million Fund II, building on the $110 million seed-stage fund secured in March 2021. MaC Venture Capital, a majority Black-owned firm, will use Fund II capital to double down on their cultural investment framework, which has successfully supported technology startups who are shaping culture, increasing access and resources to underserved communities, and meeting consumer and industry needs.
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The four founding general partners include seasoned operator and venture capitalist Marlon Nichols; former Washington, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty; former William Morris Agency talent agent and operator, advisor, and investor Michael Palank; and MACRO founder and CEO Charles D. King, former agent/partner at William Morris Endeavor (WME). Partner Danny Brown, who has supported strategic investment in companies shifting and shaping the culture, has also been instrumental in the firm’s success since inception. MaC Venture Capital is the result of a 2019 merger between Cross Culture Ventures, co-founded by Nichols, and M Ventures, co-founded by Fenty, King and Palank.
Since their seed-stage fund, the firm has since expanded to include new partners Haley Farnsworth and Zhenni Liu, whose collective consulting experiences across retail, healthcare, and media industries support the firm’s vision to identify and invest in companies who look to serve the 99% by increasing access to opportunities and resources.
As of the launch of the seed-stage fund, MaC Venture Capital has invested in 50 companies, with top performers including Pipe, Edge Delta, Stoke, Zigazoo, Epsilon3 and Spartan Radar. Prior to forming MaC Venture Capital, the four founders have also collectively invested in over 135 companies, including those with notable exits, such as Gimlet Media and Truebill.
“Nearly doubling our seed-stage funding is incredibly validating and showcases how investors believe in our vision, and see the hard work our team and portfolio companies are putting in every day,” said managing general partner, Adrian Fenty. “We’re supporting the next generation of companies, like Spora Health and Avala, who are bridging gaps in access and opportunities, and our investors are trusting in our cultural investment framework which guides our investment strategies.”
As a result of strong portfolio company performance, Fund II investors include repeat and new institutional investors such as Fairview Capital, George Kaiser Family Foundation, Goldman Sachs, ICG Advisors, Illumen Capital, the MacArthur Foundation, Stepstone, the Teachers’ Retirement System of the State of Illinois, and the University of Michigan, among others.
“While new investors are integral to helping our firm achieve our vision of increasing access to resources and opportunities, it’s promising to see investors from our first fund return,” said general partner Charles D. King. “These investors believed in our vision from the start, and to have their support once more reflects not only their belief in us, but also in our portfolio companies as well.”
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MaC Venture Capital has seen strong growth and success across its portfolio companies, with 30% of its Fund I portfolio companies raising successful series A next round of funding, with $412 million in assets under management, and over $99 million invested across their portfolio since the launch of their first two funds.
“The success of our sophomore fund is integral to our goal of building a world class multigenerational venture capital firm,” said managing general partner Marlon Nichols. “Doubling the size of our first fund will allow us to double the initial investment amount that we deploy to seed stage companies and allow us to reserve ~$100 million to continue to financially support our strongest portfolio companies. We are also in a position to identify and support more extraordinary founders building novel solutions to overlooked challenges in massive markets. We strive to be the investment innovators our later stage investment peers trust and follow into investment opportunities – this $203M Fund II makes that possible.”
Diversity is a core part of MaC Venture Capital investment strategy and leadership. 36% of portfolio companies are led by women founders, and 69% have BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of color) founders. The firm’s investment team embodies the same emphasis on diversity with over half of the team being Black and a quarter are women.
“MaC Venture Capital understands establishing diversity in leadership is not only the right thing to do, it’s the most strategic investment strategy, too,” said partner Michael Palank. “We’ve seen study after study show that diverse organizations perform better than less diverse competitors, but we also know supporting diverse leaders results in companies whose solutions are culturally competent and truly meet the needs of underserved communities–because they too are part of those communities.”
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