Rick Zullo and Richard Kerby have announced the launch of their new venture firm, Equal Ventures, a firm dedicated to bridging the digital divide and investing in founders of the next generation. Equal Ventures’ thesis based foundation sets a goal of backing startups, who are in the business of transforming society, not just the technology stack.
Along with the launch of Equal Ventures, Zullo and Kerby have also created their first fund, Equal Ventures Fund I, which is a $56 million seed-stage venture fund.
2/ We raised $56M for our inaugural fund and are incredibly grateful to all of the supporters (family, friends, LPs, advisors, mentors) who helped us get to where we are today. They say “it takes a village” and we are truly humbled the village the came out to support us.
— Equal Ventures (@EqualVentures) February 11, 2020
Equal Ventures prides itself on being a new type of firm for a new age of founders and focuses on the deployment of technology instead of developing technologies. The firm also has its sights set on debunking the one-size-fits-all founder-market fit approach.
“It’s clear that the surface area of entrepreneurship is growing and evolving. Founders, businesses, geographies and playbooks that hadn’t fit in the prototypical definition of what a startup ‘should’ look like, are achieving great success,” the partners wrote in a Medium Op-Ed post.
Currently, the firm is centering its attention around bending the risk curve in insurance, enabling retail startups to thrive in the age of Amazon, improving the access and affordability for the care of loved ones, and digitizing the supply chain.
The firm — whose portfolio includes companies like Watchtower, Gerry, and Stealth Logistics — encourages founders and entrepreneurs from all walks of life, experiences, and backgrounds to contact them with hopes that they can help reinvent the world.
