Big Red Ventures
Big Red Ventures is a Cornell University-affiliated venture capital fund founded in 2000 and operated by graduate business students at the Johnson School of Management, investing early-stage capital primarily within the Cornell ecosystem.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2000
- HeadquartersIthaca, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Big Red Ventures does
Big Red Ventures is a venture capital fund affiliated with Cornell University, established in 2000 and operated by graduate business students at the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management. The fund is headquartered in Ithaca, New York, and is staffed by a small team of 11-50 personnel, consistent with a student-managed investment vehicle rather than a traditional institutional venture firm. Its core activity is the sourcing, evaluation, and execution of early-stage equity investments, typically with a thematic or relational connection to the Cornell ecosystem of founders, alumni, and research output.
The fund's investment decisions and portfolio management are conducted by Johnson MBA students under faculty oversight, providing hands-on training while deploying capital into startup equity positions. As a university-anchored vehicle, its limited-partner base and deal-flow sourcing are concentrated within the Cornell community, leveraging the university's brand, alumni network, and startup pipeline rather than competing on institutional scale. The business model therefore centers on returning investment proceeds to its LPs rather than generating product or service revenue; its operating economics are governed by fund size, management fees, and realized carried interest.
The publicly accessible website (brventurefund.com) returned only a verification/waiting page during data collection, and no product, technology, pricing, headcount-detail, customer, partnership, M&A, or revenue information was available in the source materials. As a result, descriptions of portfolio composition, AUM, fund vintage, and recent investment activity cannot be substantiated from the provided data.
Big Red Ventures firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Big Red Ventures
- Website
- https://brventurefund.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2000
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Big Red Ventures is a Cornell University-affiliated venture capital fund founded in 2000 and operated by graduate business students at the Johnson School of Management, investing early-stage capital primarily within the Cornell ecosystem.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Big Red Ventures industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Venture Capital
- NAICS
- Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles (525)
- SIC
- Investment Advice (6282)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Early-Stage Venture Capital (Series A/B) (FSANAAAB)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Sector-Focused Venture Capital (Vertical Specialists) (FSANAAAD)
Keywords
Where Big Red Ventures is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Ithaca
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Big Red Ventures business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations
Big Red Ventures product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Big Red Ventures is Cornell University's venture capital fund, operated by graduate business students at the Johnson School of Management. The fund invests in early-stage companies, providing equity capital sourced and diligenced by student managers. It functions simultaneously as a venture investor and a hands-on educational platform for Cornell MBA students.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Big Red Ventures Fund
Companies that use Big Red Ventures
Customer profileIdeal customer profiles1 record
Big Red Ventures technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Big Red Ventures competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Dorm Room Fund: Student-run venture fund originally backed by First Round Capital that invests in founders connected to top university ecosystems. Directly comparable to Big Red Ventures in student-operated model, early-stage focus, and university-affiliated deal sourcing.
- Contrary Capital: Student-led venture firm that partners with student investors across top universities to back early-stage founders. Closely comparable to Big Red Ventures in relying on rotating student talent for sourcing and diligence.
- Rough Draft Ventures: General Catalyst-affiliated, student-run fund that invests in founders from top US universities. Comparable in operating model and university-centric thesis, with the added backing of a major professional firm.
- Alumni Ventures Group: Venture capital firm that builds university-specific alumni-tied investment funds across dozens of schools. Comparable to Big Red Ventures in leveraging university community and alumni networks as a structural source of capital and deal flow.
Emerging players
- Hyde Park Venture Partners: Early-stage venture firm closely tied to the University of Chicago and Chicago's entrepreneurship community. Comparable as a university-anchored VC building brand and deal flow around a single institution, though it is professionally managed.
Broad incumbents
- Lerer Hippeau: Established New York-based seed and early-stage venture firm that invests across consumer, enterprise, and media. Comparable in addressing seed-stage founders but as a much larger, professionalized incumbent versus a student-managed fund.
- New Enterprise Associates: Large, multi-stage venture firm that frequently co-invests in early-stage rounds. Comparable only as a counterparty in syndicates Big Red Ventures might join, illustrating the scale and professionalism the student fund must compete against.
Regional players
- Empire State Development Venture Capital: New York State's development arm that operates venture and growth capital programs targeting in-state companies. Comparable as a regional, ecosystem-anchored capital provider operating within the same New York/Ithaca geography.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks4 records
Key highlights4 records
Customer concentration
Big Red Ventures social profiles
Digital presenceBig Red Ventures financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Big Red Ventures leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Big Red Ventures funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Big Red Ventures M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments33 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Big Red Ventures
What does Big Red Ventures do?
Big Red Ventures is Cornell University's venture capital fund, operated by graduate business students at the Johnson School of Management. The fund invests in early-stage companies, providing equity capital sourced and diligenced by student managers. It functions simultaneously as a venture investor and a hands-on educational platform for Cornell MBA students.
When was Big Red Ventures founded?
Big Red Ventures was founded in 2000. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Big Red Ventures based?
Big Red Ventures is headquartered in Ithaca, United States, in the North America region.
Who are Big Red Ventures's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Dorm Room Fund, Contrary Capital, Rough Draft Ventures and Alumni Ventures Group. Hyde Park Venture Partners is listed as an emerging player. Broad incumbents are Lerer Hippeau and New Enterprise Associates. Empire State Development Venture Capital is listed as a regional player.
Does Big Red Ventures have an API?
No public API is recorded for Big Red Ventures.
What industry is Big Red Ventures in?
Big Red Ventures's product category is Venture Capital. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSANAAAB, Early-Stage Venture Capital (Series A/B), with a secondary code of FSANAAAD, Sector-Focused Venture Capital (Vertical Specialists). Its NAICS code is 523940 and its SIC code is 6282.