Did you know that we invest $150k-$250k in formation stage B2B startups? At Sterling Road, we combine capital with founder coaching to support your journey from idea to IPO. Check out the impact we’ve had on some of the startups we’ve invested in 👇
Sterling Road
Venture Capital and Private Equity Principals
San Francisco, California 1,541 followers
Pre-seed Investing through Founder Coaching
About us
Sterling Road is a venture capital firm that invests in idea stage and pre-seed B2B startups, based in the USA, Canada and UK. We invest up to $150k in idea stage companies and $250k at the pre-seed stage. All founders have access to regular coaching, to help you build from idea to IPO.
- Website
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https://www.sterlingroad.com/
External link for Sterling Road
- Industry
- Venture Capital and Private Equity Principals
- Company size
- 2-10 employees
- Headquarters
- San Francisco, California
- Type
- Partnership
- Founded
- 2017
Locations
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San Francisco, California, US
Employees at Sterling Road
Updates
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VCs are either looking for a huge win or a quick fail. The messy middle is where the pressure shows. Watch the full video breakdown here ⬇️
The 2 Things VCs Really Want When you take a multi-million dollar check from a VC, they're really only looking for 1 of 2 outcomes. This can cause some very strange behavior in the future. Let me explain: 1. You're 1,000x winner. Obviously, the ideal is your company grows exponentially from the moment they invest and in several years you IPO, giving them a 1000x return and making their career. Everyone is happy. 2. Fast failure. Perhaps less obvious, if you're not on the path to a massive 1000x return in short order, then your VC will most likely prefer you fail quickly. This isn't mean, it's rational - they understandably don't want to spend years of their life on something that won't be influential. Which brings us to: 3. Strange Pressure. If you're in the messy middle, not an abject failure nor a massive success, you may find your VC begins to pressure you to sell the company or raise another round, even if it doesn't make financial sense for the company. They need you to be a big win or stop absorbing time, it's that simple. #fundraising #venturecapital
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Sterling Road reposted this
The Christmas Parties this year were a scene! Thank you for all the invites and a special shout out to DCM Ventures for bringing us all together for a good cause.
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Wrapping up 2024 with some incredible milestones and memories! 🚀 - Our first public company on the NASDAQ: Serve Robotics - 32 startups supported with investment 💰 - 25 grants funded for standout software projects 👩🏫 - 2 new grant programs launched at University of Cambridge and Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) - Dozens of founders mentored - Hosted events at leading universities like University of Oxford, The University of Manchester, The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), and Imperial College London College - And let’s not forget all the fun outings and community moments we shared! A big thank you to our founders, grant winners, and LPs for making this year our best yet. Here’s to even bigger things in 2025! 🎉
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It can be difficult to stand out in a crowded space. Here’s how to make your mark: ⬇️
Standing out in a crowded market—especially in AI—is tough when everyone’s claiming 'better algorithms.' With numerous open-source and commercial models available, it’s hard to get noticed. Listen to the full episode of The Startup Help Desk Podcast for straightforward advice on growth, finding your customers, and standing out in a crowded market: https://lnkd.in/ggnZttnx
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Congrats to Nova Credit on being named Fintech of the Year 🏆 by This Week in Fintech! From cash flow underwriting to cross-border credit data, they’re tackling big gaps in the legacy credit system. Excited to see what’s next!
After a hard fought last few years broadening our product offering, Nova Credit has been recognized as Fintech of the Year 🏆 by This Week in Fintech and Nik Milanović. From cash flow underwriting, to income verification, to cross-border credit data and more, Nova now has the connectivity to plug the growing gaps in the legacy credit bureau system. Feeling grateful to our incredible team for all that you do to innovate in an industry desperately in need of change. Onwards & upwards
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Founder Tip: Use December to wrap up any last goals, set clear plans for 2025, and take time to recharge. Balancing progress, preparation, and rest will set you up for a strong start in the new year. #FounderTips #StartupAdvice
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Sterling Road reposted this
Tech Giants Adapting to Survive This week Google announced it's made a major breakthrough in quantum computing. We're still years away from this tech being used in everyday life but Google now has a huge advantage in hardware. This is a massive change for a company whose revenue is almost all based on software. But this adaptation is absolutely necessary, and not because of antitrust, as Google is suddenly losing the battle around search to OpenAI and the LLM companies. Meta is also undergoing the same process, as youth and governments push back against social media, they have turned to open source software and sunglasses as their lifeline. After a large and incorrect bet on Virtual Reality, Zuckerberg needed to invest ideas very different from their past successes. Amazon, of course, has already successfully diversified, perhaps out of necessity due to the razor thin margins in e-commerce. Amazon Web Services generated $90B of revenue in 2023 and is a double digit percentage of their total revenue. The monopolies of the past failed to adapt and the next generation of companies took their mantle. In the 21st Century, we may see more monopolistic companies thrive, but on a different path.
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Sterling Road reposted this
Congrats to Philip Johnston and the Lumen Orbit (YC S24) team on announcing their massive round out of YC. This was our first investment in the space sector, so we are very glad to be along for the ride. https://lnkd.in/gpYcbe8b