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Investors
Invest in the Future of Startups with The Design Fund
The Design Fund is an accelerator program with a pre-seed and early stage venture fund, investing in a diverse, global pool of design and home goods centered entrepreneurs and high growth companies. We leverage the collective expertise of brands and experts from the home goods and design build community to help equip and fund, innovative concepts and companies focused on solving design industry problems.
The Design Fund Investment Platform
The Design Fund is not a traditional fund at all. Instead, we are an accelerator program, with commitments from brands and industry experts/investors, who pledge an annual amount to deploy, should an opportunity present itself.
The Design Fund asks brands and experts to commit to an annual dollar amount, then collects 20% of that amount upfront to fund the accelerator programs that we host throughout the year. We use the accelerator programs to equip founders and entrepreneurs with the tools and knowledge it takes to validate their concepts and present their opportunities to investors. We then facilitate pitch events and one-on-one meetings with our investor pool, to give you first dibs on investment opportunities.
It is up to you to decide if you would like to commit your funds to any, or none of the opportunities presented to you.
Not an Accredited Investor?
The Design Fund will help you seek accreditation, and can present alternative paths for you or your brand to benefit from early stage involvement with startups and founders. We can help align board seats, advisor positions and co-founder roles. In many cases, the concepts brought forward by our cohorts could lead to other collaborations, such as: product licensing, business acquisitions and other partnerships.
By getting involved with The Design Fund, you and your brand benefit from early stage involvement.
Why 20% up front?
The Design Fund process realizes that the first step is education. By hosting accelerator programs throughout the year, we accomplish several goals:
1. We vet our startups for market validity
2. We align our startups with mentors and collaborators
3. We can cultivate concepts, before they hit the market
4. We can ensure that founders have the fundamentals in place for launching
5. We can align our cohort founders with resources throughout the industry
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Your 20% covers the cost of these programs, and allows us to create events and opportunities to collaborate in hosting both founder events and investor network events, throughout the year.
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The types of events The Design Fund hosts, include:
- Accelerator cohorts
- Investor trainings and education
- Public and private pitch events
- Founder workshops and classes
- Annual and quarterly investor meetings
Cultivating Growth:
A Global Philosophy
Beyond the financial gains and benefits of an accelerator and pre-seed fund, The Design Fund and our network of investors, help to ensure the longevity and legacy of the home goods and built environment industry. But actively cultivating concepts at an early stage, we create the ability to put our finger on the pulse of innovations that will impact the industry going forward.
Let's face it, brands like Houzz, Wayfair, Dot + Bow, Amazon, and Porch all made their way through the hallways of Las Vegas Market, Atlanta, High Point, Chicago, Dallas, The PDC, etc. These brands changed the way we do business to this day. But they didn't come asking for mentorship, funding or advise. Instead, they came barreling through the halls, with a "New Way" of doing things. They wanted your products and discounts. And while they went on to raise billions of dollars, and controlling the markets as a result. What did we end up with?
When the industry stands by and watches it happen, we get stuck with volatile sales, wasted time on failed startups, and we are stuck paying the bill on corporate policies, increase fees and cannibalized returns.
But with The Design Fund, we can change all of that. By cultivating growth, we can have an immediate and direct impact on tech, products and sustainability within our space, by getting involved early, and having a lasting impact.
The Design Fund gives the industry a seat at the tables of Silicone Valley.
Additional Perks
We are not your typical accelerator + fund. And you have a core business to run. So, how do we hedge your bet?
The Design Fund has some unique ways to leverage our unique relationship to get designers and industry pros into your showrooms and locations!
Being committed to The Design Fund has it's perks!
Additional Investor Level Perks:
Tier 3: $50,000-150,000 - Branding and signage at upcoming events
Tier 2: $150,001-500,000 - Partnership for hosting events
Tier 1: $500,001 or more - Partnership for hosting major events, investor meetings and awards
Take the Next Step
Contact The Design Fund to learn more about investment opportunities:
This form is designed for individuals or organizations to submit their interest in investment opportunities via The Design Fund. If you are interested in direct investment opportunities for The Design Fund companies, please visit the Investor Reveal section of our website for more information. If you are an entrepreneur seeking funding, please visit the The Design Fund Accelerators section of our website for more information.
By clicking "Apply Now", you are agreeing to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. If you have questions please reach out to designtalklive@gmail.com
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