Calm Company Fund

What Calm Company Fund does

Calm Company Fund is a US-based, remote-first venture capital firm that invests early ($100k-$500k per company, leading rounds of $500k-$2M) in profitable, capital-efficient B2B software companies described as 'calm companies' — businesses prioritizing sustainability over hyper-growth. Founded in 2018 by Tyler Tringas as Earnest Capital and rebranded in June 2021, the firm differentiates itself through the proprietary Shared Earnings Agreement (SEAL), a profit-sharing financing instrument that explicitly avoids equity dilution, board seats, and control provisions. SEAL investors receive a percentage of Founder Earnings above an agreed threshold, capped at a 2-5x multiple, with a residual equity basis that converts only on a priced round or sale.

The firm's go-to-market is community-led and content-driven: a 200+ member private Slack community, 150+ mentor-investors, an async application portal (Trailhead), a scout referral program, and an annual Founder Summit conference. Distribution leverages writing, Twitter, and cold outreach rather than warm introductions. The firm has deployed capital into roughly 80 portfolio companies across four funds (Fund 1–4) plus a Founder Liquidity Fund and a Calm Company Catalyst direct-investment platform, with exclusive portfolio perks from AWS, Webflow, and Notion.

The business model relies on traditional VC-style management fees (~10–15% of fund capital) across four small funds plus carried interest on exits, supplemented by ancillary revenue (memberships, events, no-code consulting, sponsorships). A $1.7M equity seed round from 800+ crowdfunding investors in July 2020 funded management-company operations. As of June 12, 2024, the firm has paused new investing and fundraising and reduced headcount, while continuing to manage existing portfolio and funds.

Name

Calm Company Fund

Legal name

Calm Company Fund

Website

https://calmfund.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Calm Company Fund is a US-based venture firm founded by Tyler Tringas that invests $100k–$500k in profitable, capital-efficient B2B software startups using its proprietary Shared Earnings Agreement (SEAL), backed by a 150+ mentor network and a community of 80+ portfolio founders.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Early-Stage Venture Capital / Alternative Startup Financing

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Sustainable Private Markets (Impact PE/VC, Private Credit, Infrastructure) (FSAAALAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

SDG / Thematic Sustainable Investment Funds (FSANAJAN)

Keywords

• Early-stage venture capital
• Alternative funding structures
• Founder financing
• Shared earnings agreements
• Bootstrapped startup funding

Headquarters

HQ city

Florida

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Fund Management Fees: Traditional VC-style management fees (~10-15% of fund capital) used to operate the fund, pay team, and cover tools and processes. Management fees from four small funds raised since 2019.
2. Carried Interest (Carry): Performance fees from fund investments. Investors in Reg CF crowdfunding round entitled to share of carried interest on all current and future funds.
3. Ancillary Revenue Streams: Revenue generated from online memberships, events, no-code consulting, and sponsorships. These supplementary streams were insufficient to support required team size.
4. Equity Crowdfunding: In July 2020, raised $1.7m equity round from 800+ investors in the management company, which went directly to operating budget for team expansion.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Calm Company Fund is a remote-first early-stage investment firm that deploys $100k–$500k per company into profitable, capital-efficient software businesses using its proprietary Shared Earnings Agreement (SEAL), a profit-sharing instrument that avoids traditional equity, board seats, and control provisions. Capital deployment is wrapped in a packaged offering of mentorship matching with 150+ founder-mentors, a private Slack community of 200+ members, an async investment application portal, exclusive brand partnerships (AWS, Webflow, Notion), and the annual Founder Summit conference.

Product overview

Calm Company Fund is an investment firm (not a traditional software product company) that operates a suite of financing and support services for early-stage software founders. The core product is the Shared Earnings Agreement (SEAL), a proprietary financing structure that aligns investor and founder interests without requiring equity, board seats, or control provisions. Alongside capital deployment ($75k-$500k per investment), the firm provides a packaged offering including an async investment application portal, a private community of 200+ founders and mentors, structured mentorship matching, access to exclusive brand partnerships (AWS, Webflow, Notion), and annual Founder Summit events. The fund has launched multiple vehicles including Fund 1-4, the Founder Liquidity Fund for secondary transactions, Calm Company Catalyst for direct investments, and the Calm Company Scouts program for deal sourcing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Founder Summit: Annual conference for founders of calm companies, co-hosted with SureSwift Capital.
• Calm Company Scouts
• Calm Company Catalyst
• Founder Liquidity Fund

Products and services

• Shared Earnings Agreement (SEAL) A proprietary financing structure created by Calm Company Fund as an alternative to equity, SAFE, or convertible debt. Investors provide upfront capital and receive a percentage of Founder Earnings above an agreed threshold; not debt, no fixed repayment schedule, no personal guarantee; includes a Shared Earnings Cap (typically 2–5x multiple) and an Equity Basis that converts if the company later raises a priced round or is sold. Designed for early-stage profitable, capital-efficient software companies.
• Calm Company Fund Investment Application Portal (Trailhead) Custom async investment application platform at apply.calmfund.com allowing founders to apply for funding at their own pace, replacing traditional pitch meetings with a written application and guided resources.
• Calm Company Community (Private Slack) Private Slack community of 200+ founders, mentors, and investors for ongoing support, networking, and peer collaboration among Calm Company Fund portfolio companies.
• Mentorship Program Structured mentorship matching with 150+ experienced software founder-mentors who are also investors in the fund; includes personal Calm Boards advisory panels centered around founder needs.
• Founder Liquidity Fund Fund launched to buy secondary interest from founders of mature $1m–$10m annual revenue software companies, providing liquidity to established calm companies.
• Calm Company Catalyst Platform to catalyze direct investments in Calm Companies, unlocking additional investment pathways beyond the main fund structure (introduced March 2023).
• Calm Company Scouts Scout program enabling individuals to recommend companies for investment, write investment memos, and earn success fees ($5k check) or carried interest in successfully referred deals (introduced November 2021).
• Calm Boards Advisory boards available to portfolio companies, composed of knowledgeable mentors centered around specific founder needs and definitions of success.
• Founder Summit Annual conference bringing together founders of calm companies, co-hosted with SureSwift Capital, featuring workshops, networking, and community building.
• Calm Company Express Secondary liquidity product enabling later-stage founders ($1m+ ARR) near or at profitability to take cash off the table (launched March 2021).

Quantifiable outcome

• Lower failure rates compared to traditional VC portfolio
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• SureSwift CapitalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2021Co-host of successful Founder Summit events. Collaborative partnership in organizing annual conference for calm company founders, mentors, and investors. Note: SureSwift Capital has persisted in litigation against Calm Company Fund, which has been a drain on resources.
• AWSminorGTM or Marketing PartnerExclusive partnership providing portfolio companies with access to AWS resources, credits, or support for cloud infrastructure.
• WebflowminorGTM or Marketing PartnerExclusive partnership offering portfolio companies access to Webflow tools and resources for building web presence.
• NotionminorGTM or Marketing PartnerExclusive partnership providing portfolio companies with Notion workspace tools and resources.
• FirstBaseminorOthersPortfolio company offering US company formation services. Recommended to founders seeking to launch US-based C-Corps or LLCs. Code 'earnest' provides $20 discount.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• TinySeed: TinySeed is a fund accelerator focused on bootstrapped SaaS founders writing small checks into profitable software businesses. Highly comparable to Calm Company Fund in thesis, check size, and target founder profile.
• Pioneer Fund: Pioneer is a rolling fund investing in bootstrapped software founders with anti-hypergrowth and profitable-business emphasis. Directly comparable thesis on capital-efficient SaaS investing for non-VC-track founders.
• Right Side Capital Management: Right Side explicitly targets profitable, low-cap, lifestyle-capable businesses that are not designed to produce traditional VC returns. Closest analogue in terms of calibrating fund economics to a non-unicorn portfolio.
• Contrary Capital: Contrary is a research-driven fund operating with a community/network of students and operators, investing in early-stage companies. Comparable in leveraging community as deal sourcing and value-add, with overlapping thematic emphasis.

Emerging players

• On Deck: On Deck provides founder community, programming, and capital programs targeting early-stage founders. Comparable in community-led GTM and founder-services model, though with a broader stack of programs beyond pure investment.
• MicroAcquire: MicroAcquire operates a marketplace and fund adjacent to bootstrapped SaaS buyers and sellers, targeting the $1m–$10m ARR segment overlapping with Calm's Founder Liquidity Fund. Comparable scope on later-stage bootstrapped SaaS liquidity.
• AngelList Rolling Funds: AngelList Rolling Funds enables fund managers to deploy capital continuously rather than via closed-end vintage funds. Compares to Calm Company Fund's rolling quarterly deployment and Wefunder-based crowdfunding distribution.

Broad incumbents

• Kima Ventures: Kima Ventures is one of the most active early-stage angel funds globally, writing small checks into many startups. Operates as a broader incumbent in the small-check, high-volume segment where Calm Company Fund also operates.
• Y Combinator: Y Combinator is the dominant early-stage accelerator globally, deploying standard small checks in exchange for equity and providing large-scale community and demo-day distribution. Broad incumbent alternative for early-stage software founders.
• Techstars: Techstars is a global accelerator with standardized programs and a broad-incumbent footprint. Provides mentorship and capital to early-stage founders at a larger scale, offering an alternative on-ramp comparable in spirit to Calm's mentorship-heavy model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/calmfund
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/calmcompanyfund

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

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

M&A

Investments81 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Calm Company Fund