In 2011, a group of early Facebook employees pooled together some capital, $1.25 million to be exact, and created a venture firm based on the idea that developing ideas and forming successful companies takes time. Slow Ventures, they called it, went on to back some of the buzziest unicorns at the seed-stage, including Slack, Casper, Postmates and Airtable.
Today, Slow is announcing its fourth big fundraise: $220 million for two funds. Specifically, the firm has attracted $165 million for its fourth flagship seed fund and an additional $55 million for its first follow-on fund.
“With our first Opportunity Fund, we’re excited to be able to invest additional capital in existing Slow portfolio companies as they scale, while also now being able to invest for the first time in more mature growth-stage companies that we missed earlier on,” the partners wrote in the fund announcement.
Slow co-founder Dave Morin, who helped build the Facebook Platform and Facebook Connect during his tenure at the social media giant, and Scott Marlette, who joined Slow in 2016 after co-founding GoodRx, will be taking a step back from the fund.
“Both will remain active supporting the existing portfolio companies but have decided to step back from making new investments,” Slow co-founder Kevin Colleran told TechCrunch via email. “Dave is actively exploring some entrepreneurial projects while also focused on Sunrise (a non-profit he started that focuses on doing, funding, and communicating the best brain science). Scott is taking some time off from venture capital and may eventually start another company of his own like he did previously with GoodRx .”
With Morin and Marlette taking a step back, Slow’s partnership now includes Colleran, Slow co-founder and former Facebook vice president of product management Sam Lessin and Will Quist, who joined as a partner in 2015 after eight years at Industry Ventures.
Slow Ventures is no longer the “Facebook Alumni Fund,” as it was once known.
“We were backed exclusively by five friends from Facebook’s early days who were eager to support the next generation of tech entrepreneurs,” Slow’s partners wrote. “Over time, that group of friends grew beyond the Facebook network to include other founders, professional investors, and executives from notable tech companies both within and beyond Silicon Valley.”
Slow considers itself a generalist fund, investing across geographies and industries, from digital health and wellness to enterprise to space. The firm closed its third fund in 2016 on $145 million.
