Stout Street Capital

What Stout Street Capital does

Stout Street Capital is a Denver, Colorado-based venture capital firm founded in 2017 by John Francis and Clay Gordon. The firm invests pre-seed and seed-stage capital ($200-500k typical check size, $1M+ rounds) into post-product, post-revenue technology startups generating at least $20-30k in monthly revenue, with a preference for B2B SaaS business models. Geographically, the firm targets US and Canada founders while explicitly excluding San Francisco, New York, and Boston, positioning itself as a capital-access hub for Middle America and under-served regions including Colorado, Arizona, Utah, and Ohio.

The firm's product surface spans multiple sub-brands. Fund III is its primary investment vehicle. The UNMET Conference is a flagship deal-sourcing and showcase platform that has helped presenting startups raise over $350M and made 2,500+ investor connections since 2019. The QUIP Fellowship is an experiential online certification program training candidates for VC industry careers. The Unmet Frontier Fund, launched in October 2025, extends the thesis into quantum tech, aerospace, clean tech, energy, advanced materials, robotics, and biotechnology, with the LEVCAP program embedding portfolio teams within R&D environments such as CU Boulder's Colorado Quantum Incubator. A preferred partner ecosystem (Brex, Chargebee, Deel, TriNet, TaxTaker, Cake Equity) provides portcos with discounted operational tooling.

Stout Street's business model follows a standard venture capital structure: management fees on committed fund capital plus carried interest on exits. The firm operates with a lean team of three partners (John Francis, Clay Gordon, Cindy Ho) plus advisor Drew Tulchin, and co-invests with a network of 200+ VCs nationwide. Portfolio diversification spans 65+ companies across HR tech, clean tech, edtech, insurtech, fintech, healthcare, real estate tech, AI, quantum, and aerospace, with check sizes that scale into Series A participation for follow-on rounds.

Name

Stout Street Capital

Legal name

Stout Street Capital

Website

https://stoutstreetcapital.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Stout Street Capital is a Denver-based venture capital firm founded in 2017 that invests pre-seed and seed capital into post-revenue tech startups across the US and Canada outside coastal hubs. It operates Fund III, the UNMET Conference platform, QUIP Fellowship, and the Unmet Frontier Fund for quantum, aerospace, and clean tech startups.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles (525), Other Financial Vehicles (52599)

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), Venture Capital Fundraising Placement (FSAEALAC)

Keywords

• Venture capital
• Seed stage investing
• Startup funding
• Pre-seed capital
• Early-stage investment

Headquarters

HQ city

Denver

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

Revenue model

1. Venture Capital Returns: Returns on equity investments in portfolio companies through exits, IPOs, or secondary sales. Fund III is their current active fund.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Stout Street Capital is a venture capital firm that invests $200-500k equity checks into pre-seed and seed-stage tech startups raising $1M+ rounds, focused on post-product, post-revenue companies with $20-30k+ monthly revenue in US and Canada outside coastal hubs. The firm leads, co-leads, or co-invests in deals through Fund III and the Unmet Frontier Fund, supported by the UNMET Conference platform that has facilitated $350M+ in startup fundraising since 2019.

Product overview

Stout Street Capital is a Denver-based venture capital firm offering a suite of investment and support programs for early-stage startups. The firm operates Fund III as its primary investment vehicle, complemented by the Unmet Frontier Fund for frontier technology investments. The UNMET Conference serves as the firm's flagship platform for connecting startups with institutional capital, while the QUIP Fellowship provides VC industry training. The LEVCAP program supports startup embedding within R&D environments. Together, these offerings form a comprehensive ecosystem supporting startups from early funding through growth stages, with a focus on companies outside traditional tech hubs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• UNMET Conference: Early-stage venture conference platform for founders to connect with institutional investors, focusing on underrepresented regions.
• QUIP Institute Fellowship
• Unmet Frontier Fund

Products and services

• UNMET Conference A venture conference platform that connects early-stage companies with institutional investors, enabling one-on-one meetings and facilitating access to Seed and Series A capital for startups in underrepresented regions. UNMET has helped presenting startups raise $350M+ in funding and facilitated 2,500+ investor connections since inception, averaging $50M raised per conference.
• QUIP Fellowship An experiential online/virtual certification program that prepares candidates to enter the VC industry by practicing essential skills and providing foundational knowledge for careers in venture capital, starting their own fund, or launching venture-backed startups.
• Unmet Frontier Fund A specialized venture capital fund focused on bridging the funding gap for startups in underserved geographies and historically overlooked sectors including quantum computing, climate tech, advanced materials, robotics, and biotechnology. Invests at pre-seed and seed-stage with follow-on investments in later rounds, requiring TRL 3 or above traction.
• Fund III

Quantifiable outcome

• $350M+ raised for UNMET startups since inception
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 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

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Colorado Quantum Incubator (COQI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with CU Boulder's Colorado Quantum Incubator to invest in and incubate startups working on next-generation quantum technologies. Leverages Stout Street's LEVCAP program. Builds on Colorado's 2023 federal Tech Hub designation and $22 million state tax credit investment.
• BioMed RealtyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in developing the nation's first open-access commercially available third-party validation testbed for quantum timing technologies at Flatiron Park in Boulder, Colorado.
• BrexminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPreferred Partner providing corporate credit card services for startups with special offerings for UNMET alumni companies.
• ChargebeeminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPreferred Partner providing subscription management services with deals for UNMET community members.
• DeelminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPreferred Partner for international payroll and compliance software with special offers for Stout Street portcos.
• TriNetminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPreferred Partner for full-service HR solutions offering up to 60% off service fees for Stout Street portcos.
• TaxTakerminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPreferred Partner for employee retention credits providing up to $5K per employee in 2020, and $7K per quarter for 2021.
• Cake EquityminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPreferred Partner for global equity management offering 20% off first 12 months for Stout Street community members.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Cultivation Capital: St. Louis-based early-stage VC firm listed as a UNMET Partner Fund. Comparable in deploying seed capital across multiple sectors to founders in the central US.
• Innosphere Ventures: Fort Collins, CO-based early-stage VC fund focused on deep tech and life sciences. Co-led RedDrop Dx's $5M seed round alongside Stout Street Capital and operates in the same Colorado ecosystem with overlapping portfolio geographies and check sizes.
• Matchstick Ventures: Denver-based early-stage VC investing in founders outside the coastal hubs. A UNMET partner fund with directly comparable thesis around Middle America pre-seed and seed investments in tech-enabled startups.
• Rev1 Ventures: Columbus, OH-based seed-stage investor and startup accelerator with a comparable regional thesis around underserved geographies. Operates a similar model combining direct investment with platform services for portfolio companies.
• gener8tor: Milwaukee-based accelerator and early-stage investment platform running multiple accelerator programs across the Midwest. Comparable in deploying seed capital to founders in non-coastal geographies with a portfolio approach.
• Rise of the Rest: Steve Case's seed fund investing in startups outside of Silicon Valley, NYC, and Boston. Operates with the same geographic thesis as Stout Street and a tour-based platform similar to UNMET Conference.
• Capital Innovators: St. Louis-based accelerator and seed fund, listed as a UNMET Partner Fund. Directly comparable early-stage investor with accelerator-style support for founders in Middle America markets.
• Bonfire Ventures: Los Angeles-based early-stage B2B SaaS investor listed as a UNMET Partner Fund. Comparable in leading seed rounds in B2B SaaS and partnering with SSC on co-investment opportunities.

Broad incumbents

• Techstars: Global early-stage accelerator and investor operating one of the largest accelerator networks in the world. Operates a comparable accelerator/investor model but at far greater scale and broader geographic reach than Stout Street Capital.
• Antler: Global early-stage VC operating across multiple geographies including emerging ecosystems. Comparable in investing at pre-seed/seed stage with a founder-building thesis, though at significantly larger scale than Stout Street.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/StoutStreetVC
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/stout-street-capital

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments99 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Stout Street Capital