Unveiling the Secrets Behind Scribble Ventures’ Unstoppable Rise in a Turbulent Market

Amid an increasingly saturated landscape of venture capital firms confronting challenging market conditions and elusive exits, Elizabeth Weil’s Scribble Ventures has distinguished itself, underscoring the enduring importance of robust, meaningful networks.

Weil recently announced that Scribble Ventures has successfully raised $80 million for its third fund, surpassing its initial hard cap target of $75 million. This accomplishment highlights investors’ continued trust in Weil, whose extensive industry background includes tenure as a partner at Andreessen Horowitz, leadership in corporate development at Twitter (now known as X), and strategic roles at iconic Silicon Valley firms such as IVP and Menlo Ventures.

Reflecting on the fundraise, Weil acknowledged predictions that securing commitments would be more difficult this time around, given the evolving market dynamics. Indeed, she deliberately extended the fundraising period by an additional three weeks to comfortably exceed the original goal.

Scribble’s resilience contrasts sharply with the broader difficulties faced by new or emerging funds, especially those that launched in the bullish peak period between 2020 and 2021. Many such funds have been hindered by a shrinking marketplace and limited demonstrated returns for their investors.

According to Weil, part of succeeding through the industry’s tougher phases involves understanding the importance of exit strategies and return liquidity—skills she claims many newer managers have yet to fully experience. “Part of venture capital is also being a harvester,” Weil emphasized, highlighting a crucial yet often overlooked element of the business cycle.

Central to Scribble Ventures’ effectiveness is its strong, dynamic community of influential network participants, affectionately dubbed the “Scribble Network.” This deep roster of collaborators and advisors includes prominent industry figures like Maggie Hott, who oversees go-to-market at OpenAI; Meta’s Vice President of Engineering, Jim Everingham; and Sheila Vashee, Chief Marketing Officer at Figma. These connections not only assist in sourcing high-quality investment opportunities and validating business concepts but also actively co-invest alongside the firm.

Additionally, Weil’s husband Kevin, Chief Product Officer at OpenAI and a board member at Cisco, further fortifies the firm’s strategic approach through expert insight and technical acumen, complementing Elizabeth’s investment experience.

Weil and her team leverage these relationships actively, allowing portfolio companies direct access to leading industry professionals. She described the striking impact this access has on founders, noting, “When they look at that list, that network menu, and realize ‘I can actually text this person,’ it’s transformative.”

This distinct network-driven thesis has resulted in early and lucrative investments. Scribble’s successful bets include Whatnot, a live e-commerce platform valued at nearly $5 billion as of January; Atmo, the AI-infused weather startup co-founded by former Google talent; and the Parisian generative-AI enterprise Poolside.ai, founded by GitHub’s former CTO and valued at $3 billion last October. Its broader portfolio extends to prominent names such as SpaceX and Figma, reflecting the fund’s total assets under management, now at $216 million.

In terms of investment strategy, Scribble Ventures usually writes checks ranging from $750,000 to $1.5 million per deal, approaching partnerships with flexibility rather than adhering to rigid ownership mandates. Weil rejects inflexible investment postures, arguing that the best deals stem from partnership rather than numerically-driven directives.

The fund’s original 2020 vehicle has already achieved a promising 4X return multiple, buoyed by early distributions from cryptocurrency investments including Mysten and Aptos, which have gratified their initial limited partners.

With artificial intelligence reshaping the entrepreneurial landscape and intensifying competition, Weil believes there’s a heightened need for Scribble’s collaborative and community-oriented style. “This is probably one of the best times ever to launch a startup,” Weil remarked, “but also one of the toughest, given the extraordinary amount of noise and complexity in achieving both product-market fit and go-to-market traction.”

Alongside Elizabeth Weil, Scribble’s leadership includes partner John Smothers, operating partner Christen O’Brien, and operator-in-residence Kevin Weil.

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