I’m in the midst of applying to Class 27 of the Kauffman Fellows program.  KF is a two-year fellowship designed for venture capitalists, built around professional development and connecting with other investors.   The goal is to create an environment where participants can become the best versions of themselves.  

The first question in the application asked what my firm’s investment thesis is. 

My response was the following:

“DWP Capital invests in early and growth-stage software and tech-enabled service companies. We lead investment rounds with check sizes from $500k-$2.5M. The ideal company profile has raised less than $3M in funding, has a capital-efficient business model, and is headquartered in a non-core market. We are industry agnostic. We invest in companies that are solving real business problems for a specific market segment.”  

After re-reading the question and thinking about the high-quality nature of this program, it made me feel that my investment thesis was anticlimactic and shallow.

I did some research on how to form a good investment thesis.  The best resource I found was from Fred Wilson at Union Square Ventures.  In this post he explains what an investment thesis is, and compares it to thematic investing.

After reading this fantastic blog, I learned that my investment thesis wasn’t a thesis. Instead, it was an investment focus. So, according to Wilson, I needed to work on fleshing out more thoughts around where my focus will lead in 5-10 years as technology markets evolve.  

I’ve got some more work to do on the subject. After that, I will let everyone know where the thesis ends up!