MAGIC Fund, a global collective of founders, today announced that it has raised a $30 Million Fund II to continue backing early-stage startups.
MAGIC Fund is a global collective of founders that backs other founders solving daunting challenges. Since debuting in 2017, we have been creating our path as strategic partners and invested in 70 companies through Fund I. Some of the companies we’ve backed since their pre-seed and seed-stage include: Novobank, which just raised a $40.7 Million Series A, Payfazz raised a $53 Million Series B last July, Frubana raised $65 Million in Series B funding in June, Mono which raised $2.6 Million in Seed funding in May and Retool was valued at nearly a billion dollars.
We have continually executed our thesis that “smaller funds run by diverse founders perform the best at early-stage investing”. With a proven track record and an expanded vision, we are launching our $30 Million Fund II to back even more early-stage companies.
For Fund II, one-third of the entire fund was contributed by our founder GPs. Our LPs also share this unique vision and approach to supporting early-stage companies. Mirroring MAGIC’s DNA of equity and inclusion, more than half of our LPs are Black, and over one-third are Women. Some of which include: Y Combinator’s Michael Seibel, Tim Draper, Ace & Company, Rappi’s Andres Bilbao, Octopus Ventures’ Kirsten Connell, Paystack’s Shola Akinlade, Flutterwave’s Gbenga Agboola, and Katie Lewis, among others.
Founders Backing Founders
Experienced founders-turned-investors are redefining early-stage venture capital as we know it. This is because “Founders want to know that the people they are taking money from have first-hand experience” – Naval Ravikant, AngelList.
Founders experience the daily, nerve-racking, process of building a startup and we can’t think of anyone better to support them than those who have gone down the same path.
Similar to AngelList’s Spearhead, the founders-backing-founders model ensures that startups receive capital from helpful advisors, and it also compensates the investing founders for their advice.
The Soul of MAGIC
As founders, we often have the best access to early-stage deals but sometimes lack the personal capital to invest. That’s why it was imperative to build an infrastructure that enables us to invest in and support other founders.
We are a team of experienced founders hoping to sprinkle our magic in every corner of the world. All our partners have built and operated leading companies across the globe. Each partner is able to provide value by leveraging their unique experience and network.
Additionally, MAGIC’s partners are dispersed geographically and industrially. We believe that there are incredible entrepreneurs defining the future, across the world, and we want to back them. As such, we invest across all regions and sectors with specific partners focusing on emerging markets. Our Africa-focused investments will be overseen by Kauffman Fellow Temi Marcella Awogboro, while Helium Health’s Dimeji Sofowora and Alison Cheung oversee European investments. Southeast Asia investments will be led by Payfazz’s Hendra Kwik and Oxy2’s Elvis Zhang.
Support Beyond Capital
When MAGIC backs a startup, our commitment extends beyond our check. Our intentional approach sees companies paired with partners that have experience and expertise in that startups’ industry. Being backed by MAGIC means you’re backed by a team of founder partners and LPs, providing you with the guidance to grow your company.
“MAGIC is among our top 5 most helpful investors and was integral in accelerating our growth early on, through strategic intros and marketing expertise. I would highly recommend them to any startup”. One of our portfolio founders had this to say about our approach.
The reach of our collective network enhances the value we give our founders. We provide guidance in the rigorous discovery of product-market fit, facilitate introductions, and support with expansion into new regions, strategy, marketing, fundraising, and hiring. To ensure that we deliver maximal value to our portfolio companies we have a dedicated back office team; consisting of Francis Sani, Olufunmilola Soewu, Jesse Ovia, and led internally by the Operating Partner, Matt Greenleaf.
We’re Scaling Up The Vision
“The vision for MAGIC is going back to how early-stage venture capital began, which is, founders investing in other founders and supporting them through the journey. We’re going to keep scaling this up as much as we can, across dif erent geographies and industries, and we’re very happy for the headstart we already have.” – Adegoke Olubusi, Managing Partner and Helium Health’s CEO.
For Fund II, we brought some more stellar partners on board. They include Stitchroom’s Tom Chen, Medumo’s Adeel Yang, Juice’s Michael Lisovetsky & Troy Osinoff who will collectively manage North American investments. Joining the team, as well, are Jacob Cohen and Payfazz’s Hendra Kwik. We also created a cohort specifically to invest in companies founded by women across the globe, led by Alison Cheung and Tito Ovia.
MAGIC Fund II will be writing checks between $100K and $300K in early-stage companies across different sectors and geographies. We have a keen focus on startups that build infrastructure while delivering a quality customer experience, especially in emerging markets. We are already accepting pitches from founders through our website, and are very excited to bring some money and magic their way!
About MAGIC Fund
Founded in 2017, MAGIC Fund is an early-stage fund built on the thesis that smaller funds run by diverse founders perform the best at early-stage investing (pre-seed/seed). We’re a fund of micro-funds run by repeat founders who possess strong expertise in specific industries and geographies, with a keen focus on fintech, healthcare, and emerging markets (Africa, LATAM, SE Asia).
