Motivate Venture Capital
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2019
- HeadquartersChicago, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
Motivate Venture Capital firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Motivate Venture Capital
- Legal name
- Motivate Venture Capital
- Website
- https://motivate.vc
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2019
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Motivate Venture Capital industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Early-Stage Venture Capital
- NAICS
- Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394)
- SIC
- Investment Advice (6282)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Early-Stage Venture Capital (Pre-Seed/Seed) (FSANAAAA)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Venture Studios / Company Builders (FSANAAAH)
Keywords
Where Motivate Venture Capital is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Chicago
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Motivate Venture Capital business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Management Fees: VC firms typically charge management fees on committed capital (typically 2% annually) to cover operational expenses and team compensation.
- Carried Interest (Carry): VCs earn carried interest (typically 20%) on profits from successful portfolio company exits after returning capital to LPs.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels5 records
Motivate Venture Capital product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Motivate Venture Capital is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests $250k–$1m at the pre-seed stage and $1.5–3m at the seed stage into North American technology companies. Beyond capital, the firm provides founders with experience, connections, and operational support, and has created FUSE, a novel call-option funding instrument that gives investors the right to invest in a startup at predefined terms on or before a future date.
Product overview
Motivate Venture Capital is an early-stage venture capital firm that operates multiple seed funds (Fund I, Fund II, Fund III) investing $250k-$3M in pre-seed and seed stage North American technology companies. The firm offers founder support services including a Funding Inquiry portal and Job Board for portfolio companies. Additionally, Motivate has developed FUSE (Future Security Option), a novel startup funding instrument that provides investors optionality to invest at predefined terms. The firm's portfolio includes companies focused on: document AI (Lazarus AI), manufacturing automation (Valiot, Fulcrum), financial services (Mesh, Attain, Sarna, Nmbr), social impact (ReloShare/Safe Stays), cybersecurity (Inca Digital, Lazarus Enterprises), B2B data (The Swarm), blue-collar staffing (VeroSkills), and business succession (Rowan).
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Motivate Seed Fund II: Second venture fund of Motivate Venture Capital, an $81M vehicle for pre-seed and seed stage investments.
- Motivate Fund III
Quantifiable outcome
- Fund II raised $81M
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Motivate Venture Capital
Customer profileNamed customers21 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Motivate Venture Capital technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
AI capability8 records
Feature1 record
Motivate Venture Capital partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators4 records
Recent moves9 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Motivate Venture Capital competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Techstars: Global accelerator and early-stage investor running multiple funds and programs. While much larger and accelerator-led, it directly competes for the same pool of pre-seed founders in North America.
- Antler: Global early-stage VC and founder accelerator co-creating ventures from inception. Comparable to Motivate's venture co-creation approach and pre-seed focus, though with much larger global scale.
- 500 Global (500 Startups): Large-scale early-stage venture firm and accelerator operating worldwide. Competes at the pre-seed and seed stages in technology with comparable check sizes and founder support services.
Direct peers
- Pioneer Fund: Pre-seed and seed VC fund investing in technology companies at the earliest stages. Comparable small check sizes and stage specialization make it a relevant peer for Motivate's pre-seed pipeline.
- Behind Genius Ventures: Pre-seed-focused fund investing at the earliest stages of company building with a founder-first thesis. Direct peer in stage and approach, particularly relevant to Motivate's pre-seed strategy.
- Susa Ventures: Early-stage seed VC investing in technology companies with a founder-led, hands-on approach. Comparable stage focus, check size, and operator-style value-add for portfolio founders.
- Lerer Hippeau: New York–based seed-stage VC investing in pre-seed and seed technology companies across the US. Direct competitor for early-stage founder deals with similar check sizes and a founder-led investment philosophy.
- Hustle Fund: Pre-seed and seed VC firm investing in software and technology startups with small checks. Highly comparable stage focus, geographic overlap in North America, and similar founder-first support model.
- Crosscut Ventures: LA-based seed-stage VC investing in technology companies. Comparable pre-seed/seed strategy with founder partnership model and similar fund-size profile to Motivate's Seed Fund II.
- Embedded Ventures: Early-stage VC investing at pre-seed and seed in technology, with a focus on deep tech and B2B software. Comparable stage focus and North American geographic footprint.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Motivate Venture Capital social profiles
Digital presenceMotivate Venture Capital financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Motivate Venture Capital leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Motivate Venture Capital funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Motivate Venture Capital M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments100 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Motivate Venture Capital
What does Motivate Venture Capital do?
Motivate Venture Capital is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests $250k–$1m at the pre-seed stage and $1.5–3m at the seed stage into North American technology companies. Beyond capital, the firm provides founders with experience, connections, and operational support, and has created FUSE, a novel call-option funding instrument that gives investors the right to invest in a startup at predefined terms on or before a future date.
Is Motivate Venture Capital a public or private company?
Motivate Venture Capital is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Motivate Venture Capital founded?
Motivate Venture Capital was founded in 2019. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Motivate Venture Capital based?
Motivate Venture Capital is headquartered in Chicago, United States, in the North America region.
How does Motivate Venture Capital make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Management Fees are the primary driver. The others are carried Interest (Carry).
Who are Motivate Venture Capital's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Techstars, Antler and 500 Global (500 Startups). Direct peers are Pioneer Fund, Behind Genius Ventures, Susa Ventures, Lerer Hippeau, Hustle Fund, Crosscut Ventures and Embedded Ventures.
Does Motivate Venture Capital have an API?
No public API is recorded for Motivate Venture Capital.
What industry is Motivate Venture Capital in?
Motivate Venture Capital's product category is Early-Stage Venture Capital. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSANAAAA, Early-Stage Venture Capital (Pre-Seed/Seed), with a secondary code of FSANAAAH, Venture Studios / Company Builders. Its NAICS code is 52394 and its SIC code is 6282.