From left to right: Adam Burrows, Haya Aboukier and Chris Erickson of Range Ventures. (Courtesy Range Ventures)
A startup venture capital firm funded by startup founders is on the hunt for more startups.
Denver-based Range Ventures, which was started in 2020, has closed its second fund, aptly named Fund II, for tech-focused startups in Colorado.
Co-founders Adam Burrows and Chris Erickson, alongside Range principal Hayfa Aboukier, raised $39 million for the fund through 150 investors. Backers include Bryan Leach, Ibotta founder and CEO; Evolve co-founder and CEO Brian Egan, and Rachel Romer and Bijal Shah of Guild.
“We want to be the best fund,” Burrows said. “And we want to have a part in building the best companies here in Colorado.”
So far, Range has invested in eight businesses out of Fund II, including BoltWise, which aims to help companies easily turn quotes into bids, HappyDoc, a scribe for veterinarians, and Magic School, an AI teacher’s assistant. Seven are Colorado-based, and the other is headquartered in Washington, D.C. Burrows said he expects to invest in around 25 total pre-seed and seed startups this round.
Range’s Fund I, which raised $23 million in 2022, had 90 backers and invested in 23 companies. Burrow said they target a swath of startups in the tech sector, though most of their investments have been in AI-focused companies.
“The number one thing we’re looking at is the founder,” Burrows said. “These relationships will last longer than the average marriage. It’s a very long-term bet.”
Erickson and Burrows met while working for the Chicago-based Boston Consulting Group, and the pair branched off into real estate after, with Erickson founding Apartment List and Burrows helping scale HomeAdvisor to a billion-dollar-revenue company when it went public.
In 2019, the two professionally reconnected in Denver to help fund and coach young tech entrepreneurs.
The pair met Aboukier at an event tailored to women in business and brought her on as a consultant shortly after. Burrows said she did such a great job in that role that she joined Range full-time so she could be available to all their investees.
“I always wanted to start my own thing in VC, and especially do that in Colorado,” Burrows said. “Whether it’s business or recreation, people just have more energy.”
Just because a company is doing something cool does not make them an automatic investment, he said. The trio must be able to add something based on their own professional experiences. That hands-on work is the most fun part of the job, Burrows said.
Range mostly learns of startups through word-of-mouth because of their experience in the Colorado tech industry as well as Fund I. Erickson and Burrows also host a podcast called “My Biggest Lesson,” where they talk to Colorado tech execs about what they’ve learned from their business experiences.
Because of the exposure, Burrows said they get thousands of meeting requests. Range invests in only about 1 percent of those companies, he said.
“What’s really important to us is making investments where we have a unique asset insight and competitive advantage,” Burrows said.
Range hopes to raise similar size funds every five or so years and keep expanding their portfolio. But as far as staffing goes, they plan to keep his firm around the same size so he, Erickson and Aboukier can remain involved.
“We love doing the work ourselves,” Burrows said. “We want to keep it small and boutique.”
From left to right: Adam Burrows, Haya Aboukier and Chris Erickson of Range Ventures. (Courtesy Range Ventures)
A startup venture capital firm funded by startup founders is on the hunt for more startups.
Denver-based Range Ventures, which was started in 2020, has closed its second fund, aptly named Fund II, for tech-focused startups in Colorado.
Co-founders Adam Burrows and Chris Erickson, alongside Range principal Hayfa Aboukier, raised $39 million for the fund through 150 investors. Backers include Bryan Leach, Ibotta founder and CEO; Evolve co-founder and CEO Brian Egan, and Rachel Romer and Bijal Shah of Guild.
“We want to be the best fund,” Burrows said. “And we want to have a part in building the best companies here in Colorado.”
So far, Range has invested in eight businesses out of Fund II, including BoltWise, which aims to help companies easily turn quotes into bids, HappyDoc, a scribe for veterinarians, and Magic School, an AI teacher’s assistant. Seven are Colorado-based, and the other is headquartered in Washington, D.C. Burrows said he expects to invest in around 25 total pre-seed and seed startups this round.
Range’s Fund I, which raised $23 million in 2022, had 90 backers and invested in 23 companies. Burrow said they target a swath of startups in the tech sector, though most of their investments have been in AI-focused companies.
“The number one thing we’re looking at is the founder,” Burrows said. “These relationships will last longer than the average marriage. It’s a very long-term bet.”
Erickson and Burrows met while working for the Chicago-based Boston Consulting Group, and the pair branched off into real estate after, with Erickson founding Apartment List and Burrows helping scale HomeAdvisor to a billion-dollar-revenue company when it went public.
In 2019, the two professionally reconnected in Denver to help fund and coach young tech entrepreneurs.
The pair met Aboukier at an event tailored to women in business and brought her on as a consultant shortly after. Burrows said she did such a great job in that role that she joined Range full-time so she could be available to all their investees.
“I always wanted to start my own thing in VC, and especially do that in Colorado,” Burrows said. “Whether it’s business or recreation, people just have more energy.”
Just because a company is doing something cool does not make them an automatic investment, he said. The trio must be able to add something based on their own professional experiences. That hands-on work is the most fun part of the job, Burrows said.
Range mostly learns of startups through word-of-mouth because of their experience in the Colorado tech industry as well as Fund I. Erickson and Burrows also host a podcast called “My Biggest Lesson,” where they talk to Colorado tech execs about what they’ve learned from their business experiences.
Because of the exposure, Burrows said they get thousands of meeting requests. Range invests in only about 1 percent of those companies, he said.
“What’s really important to us is making investments where we have a unique asset insight and competitive advantage,” Burrows said.
Range hopes to raise similar size funds every five or so years and keep expanding their portfolio. But as far as staffing goes, they plan to keep his firm around the same size so he, Erickson and Aboukier can remain involved.
“We love doing the work ourselves,” Burrows said. “We want to keep it small and boutique.”
