What Ulu Ventures does

Ulu Ventures is a Palo Alto-based seed-stage venture capital firm founded in 2010 by Miriam Rivera and Clint Korver. The firm invests in US-based, Delaware-incorporated companies at pre-seed through post-seed stages, with a stated emphasis on diverse founding teams — over 80% of portfolio companies include a member of a Historically Underrepresented Group on the founding team, and 27% of Fund II companies had a woman CEO. Across three institutional funds (growing from $3.5M to $66M to $138M), Ulu has funded 200+ companies, led 85+ deals, and produced 10 unicorns, 3 public companies, and 9 exits. Geographic and sector focus is US-only (cannabis and gambling excluded), spanning enterprise software, future of work, fintech, edtech, blockchain, digital health, and sustainability, with the firm operating from its Palo Alto headquarters (115 Everett Avenue) and a Menlo Park office.

The firm's core differentiator is its investment process: a five-step evaluation (screening → two meetings → Market Mapping → RUBS due-diligence call) built on a proprietary decision analysis methodology adapted from Stanford research, including a 3-hour 'Market Mapping' exercise that maps drivers of risk and return and a Probability Weighted Multiple (PWM) target of 10x or greater per deal. This framework is designed to mitigate cognitive biases in venture decision-making and produce a consistent cross-stage, cross-sector view of expected returns. Sourcing is primarily referral-driven (colleagues, co-investors, portfolio founders) supplemented by a public intake form with a sub-five-day screening SLA; the firm leads roughly one-third of its seed rounds and co-invests alongside other institutional investors.

Commercially, Ulu Ventures earns revenue through conventional VC fund mechanics — management fees on committed capital and carried interest on exits — rather than charging portfolio companies. Beyond capital, the firm operates an 'Ulupreneur' platform of founder support including office hours, in-person and virtual events, a 'Ready for A' fundraising program, a vetted vendor marketplace, and a portfolio jobs board, with follow-on participation in approximately one-third of initially invested firms. The team is described as small (11–50 people, with six named investment professionals including co-founders Rivera and Korver) and approximately 60% female/minority at the partner level — a composition that is unusual in venture capital and that the firm positions as central to its differentiated sourcing and evaluation capability.

Name

Ulu Ventures

Legal name

Ulu Ventures Management Company, LLC

Website

https://uluventures.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Ulu Ventures is a Palo Alto-based seed-stage venture capital firm founded in 2010 by Miriam Rivera and Clint Korver that invests in US-based, Delaware-incorporated startups, with an emphasis on diverse founding teams, using a proprietary Stanford-derived decision analysis framework called Market Mapping.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Seed-Stage Venture Capital

NAICS

Other Financial Investment Activities (5239), All Other Financial Investment Activities (52399), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Early-Stage Venture Capital (Pre-Seed/Seed) (FSANAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Early-Stage Venture Capital (Series A/B) (FSANAAAB), Institutional Capital Introduction (LP/Family Office/Endowment Matching) (FSAEALAI)

Keywords

• Seed-stage venture capital
• Early-stage startup investing
• Decision analysis framework
• Diverse founder funding
• Startup seed funding

Headquarters

HQ city

Palo Alto

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Portfolio Equity Returns: Ulu Ventures generates returns through equity investments in seed-stage startups. Returns are realized through exits via IPOs, acquisitions, or secondary sales. The firm has produced 10 unicorns, 3 public companies, and 9 exits.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Ulu Ventures operates multiple seed-stage venture capital funds that invest equity capital in US-based, Delaware-incorporated early-stage startups, with typical initial checks of $2M. The firm applies a proprietary decision-analysis methodology called "Market Mapping" to evaluate investments, alongside portfolio support programs (founder events, "Ready for A" fundraising preparation, office hours) for its 200+ company portfolio.

Product overview

Ulu Ventures is a venture capital firm that operates as a single investment platform rather than a modular product architecture. Through multiple seed-stage funds, the firm provides capital to early-stage startup companies, applying a decision-analysis framework to evaluate investments. The firm focuses on US-incorporated companies (required to be in Delaware) across enterprise software, future of work, fintech, edtech, blockchain, digital health, and sustainability sectors. The firm also offers portfolio support including market mapping, fundraising assistance, founder events, and a marketplace of vetted software and service providers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Ulu Ventures Seed-Stage Investment Funds Multiple seed-stage venture capital funds that deploy equity capital into US-based, Delaware-incorporated early-stage startups, with typical initial checks of $2M. Funds apply a decision-analysis framework (Market Mapping + PWM) and focus on diverse founding teams across enterprise software, future of work, fintech, edtech, blockchain, digital health, and sustainability sectors. Target investors are institutional limited partners (LPs).
• Market Mapping Investment Evaluation Service A structured 3-hour collaborative evaluation engagement with prospective portfolio companies that builds bottom-up Total Addressable Market (TAM) analysis, identifies key drivers of risk and return, and applies Probability Weighted Multiple (PWM) cash-on-cash return modeling (target 10x+ PWM). Delivered as part of Ulu's due diligence process to seed-stage startup founders.
• Portfolio Founder Support Program (Ulupreneur Community) Post-investment support services for Ulu's 200+ portfolio company founders, including fundraising preparation for Series A ("Ready for A"), office hours, community events, in-person and virtual meals, and access to the Ulupreneur founder network.
• Portfolio Jobs Board An online job board (jobs.uluventures.com) that allows Ulu's portfolio companies to post open positions and attract talent, supporting hiring for the firm's 200+ funded startups.

Quantifiable outcome

• 10 unicorns produced from portfolio
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Harlem Capital Partners: Early-stage venture fund with explicit thesis of investing in diverse founding teams, typically at seed and Series A stages. Comparable in stage and diversity focus.
• Cross Culture Ventures: Early-stage venture fund investing in cross-cultural, cross-border, and diverse founding teams, primarily at seed stage. Comparable in stage and demographic thesis.
• Backstage Capital: Seed-stage fund dedicated to investing in startups led by underrepresented founders including women, people of color, and LGBTQ+ founders. Direct peer on thesis and seed-stage focus.
• BBG Ventures: Seed-stage venture fund (originally backed by AOL and now independent) investing in consumer and enterprise startups with a focus on female founders. Direct peer on seed stage and gender thesis.
• Female Founders Fund: Seed-stage venture fund investing in technology companies founded by women. Direct peer on seed stage and gender-focused thesis, US-based.
• Kapor Capital: Early-stage venture fund investing in seed and Series A rounds with a stated mission to close opportunity gaps for underrepresented founders. Comparable stage, geography (US), and diversity thesis.
• Lerer Hippeau: Seed-stage venture firm based in New York investing across consumer and enterprise software. Comparable on stage and US focus, though thesis is generalist rather than diversity-focused.
• True Ventures: Long-standing seed and early-stage venture firm investing in US-based technology founders. Comparable on stage focus, US-only mandate, and seed-round leadership patterns.
• Precursor Ventures: Seed-stage venture firm that invests in overlooked founders, often at the pre-seed and seed stages. Direct peer in both stage focus and emphasis on diverse founding teams.

Regional players

• Wamda Capital: MENA-focused venture fund investing in early-stage technology companies across the region, with emphasis on diverse founders. Comparable on seed-stage focus and diversity lens, but primarily MENA geographic focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/uluventures
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ulu-ventures

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments345 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ulu Ventures