calm company
fund 4

Open For Investors

hey, Investor

We invest at reasonable valuations in post-revenue, early-stage businesses with a clear path to profitability, faster time to investor liquidity, lower failure rates, and that aren't dependent on follow-on funding. We invest early and help founders maximize optionality, retaining uncapped upside for investors.

We call these opportunities Calm Companies.

What are calm companies?

Profitable

Strong margins and unit economics

SUSTAINABLE

Optimizing for sustainable pace of growth

DISCIPLINED

Capital efficient. Not reliant on outside capital.

LONG TERM

Building a team + company that avoids burnout/founder drop off

FOCUSED

Focused on "unsexy" and overlooked markets

LESS RISKY

Building with proven technologies in known markets = much higher success rate

EARLIER INVESTING IN A PROVEN ASSET

Lifecycle phases of a steadily growing profitable software company

A chart of the lifecycle phases of a steadily growing profitable software company

Phase 1
investors

Eg. Bootstrapping, Friends & Family and Calm Company Fund

Phase 2
investors

Eg. Pipe, Capchase, Clearbanc, Founderpath, Lighter Capital, Reformation, Blueprint.

Phase 3
investors

Eg. Summit Partners, General Atlantic, Five Elms, Arthur Ventures, Growth Street.

Phase 4
investors

Eg. Vista Equity, Constellation, Turn/River, Thoma Bravo, Diversis, and many more!

We are the only early stage institutional partner for Calm Companies

A CALM APPROACH TO EARLY-STAGE INVESTING

Calm Company Fund is a new approach to investing in technology companies with a completely different risk profile from traditional venture capital. We back the profitable ventures that would normally bootstrap.

We call it Early Stage Growth Equity.

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LONG TERM

Building a team + company that avoids burnout/founderdrop off

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FASTER LIQUIDITY

Profit-sharing in 1-3 years, exits in 5-7 years

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LOWER FAILURE RATE

Focus on profitability = 1 write-off in 3 years across 69 investments

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NOT RELIANT ON FOLLOW-ONS

Businesses where “first check, last check” is a viable strategy

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RETAIN UNCAPPED UPSIDE

Calm Companies can still raise VC/growth capital and achieve IPO-sized outcomes, but our returns aren't dependent on outlier successes

The most uncorrelated startup investors you’ll meet

DIFFERENTIATED DEALFLOW

Our unique thesis, which allows us to avoid “hot” markets, and our founder friendly approach (we literally invented a new agreement so founders could succeed on their own) have resulted in the "calm company" philosophy gaining momentum—and the fans are formidable.

Founders choose us, often only us.

33%
of portfolio that applied exclusively to Calm Fund.

We love the simplicity of "first check, last check."

88%
of our investments where we led or were sole investors.

Our active global community sends a wealth of deals our way.

100%
of investments that are inbound (via our application).

"I don't need to raise capital, but...I really like the Calm Company Fund investment thesis. The structure offers a win-win for both the investor and company."

anon applicant

"Calm Fund is one of the most consistent, tactical, and helpful investors we have. They lean in with brainstorms, sounding board calls, intros to customers and other investors, whatever we need."

YAC

"Being part of Calm Company Fund makes an enormous difference in our company. We’ve grown more than ever purely because we’re part of this community. Amazing."

Memberspace

"Calm Fund lit the opportunity fuse for our company at a critical time, allowing us to become the #1 company in the world in food safety for small and mid sized businesses."

Food Ready

"I've not sought out any other type of VC, but the Calm Fund approach seems different to others."

anon applicant

"Our company is profitable. I was happy to run it as it is without external funds. But when I discovered the philosophy of Calm Company Fund, I thought that I can change my mind."

anon applicant

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right arrow

"Calm Fund is one of the most consistent, tactical, and helpful investors we have. They lean in with brainstorms, sounding board calls, intros to customers and other investors, whatever we need."

YAC

"I've not sought out any other type of VC, but the Calm Fund approach seems different to others."

anon applicant

"Calm Fund lit the opportunity fuse for our company at a critical time, allowing us to become the #1 company in the world in food safety for small and mid sized businesses."

Food Ready

"Our company is profitable. I was happy to run it as it is without external funds. But when I discovered the philosophy of Calm Company Fund, I thought that I can change my mind."

anon applicant

"Being part of Calm Company Fund makes an enormous difference in our company. We’ve grown more than ever purely because we’re part of this community. Amazing."

Memberspace

"I don't need to raise capital, but...I really like the Calm Company Fund investment thesis. The structure offers a win-win for both the investor and company."

anon applicant

right arrow
right arrow

"I've not sought out any other type of VC, but the Calm Fund approach seems different to others."

anon applicant

"Our company is profitable. I was happy to run it as it is without external funds. But when I discovered the philosophy of Calm Company Fund, I thought that I can change my mind."

anon applicant

"I don't need to raise capital, but...I really like the Calm Company Fund investment thesis. The structure offers a win-win for both the investor and company."

anon applicant

"Calm Fund is one of the most consistent, tactical, and helpful investors we have. They lean in with brainstorms, sounding board calls, intros to customers and other investors, whatever we need."

YAC

"Being part of Calm Company Fund makes an enormous difference in our company. We’ve grown more than ever purely because we’re part of this community. Amazing."

Memberspace

"Calm Fund lit the opportunity fuse for our company at a critical time, allowing us to become the #1 company in the world in food safety for small and mid sized businesses."

Food Ready

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FOUNDING GP: TYLER TRINGAS

Founder of Storemapper, a SaaS product, taking it from side project to exit in 5 yrs

Coined the term "Micro-SaaS" and literally wrote the book on it

Formerly led Bloomberg's project economics modeling for all globally renewable energy technologies

Creator of the Shared Earnings Agreement [SEAL] investment structure, an improvement to traditional revenue-based financing structures

Named "Rising Star VC" by Business Insider + featured on Bloomberg, New York Times, and Crunchbase

25,000+ followers on Twitter

Tyler Tringas - GP of Calm Company Fund

Community Leverage

When we say "community"— we don't just mean followers or readers. We mean builders committed to (and for many, invested in) making Calm Company Fund a long-term success.

We have 1,000+ true fans; 1,000+ operators amplifying our impact.

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Leaders & innovators are showing up to
support us

Tech ladies logoShutter shock logoInstacart logoApple LogoUber's logoAmazon LogoKickstarter logoStripe LogoSpotify LogoGoogle LogoCode Academy logoUbisoft logoStandford university logoM&C Saatchi logoCisco logoTech Stars logoAtlassian logoCustom Inc logoRei co-op logoOKTA logoVMware logoCoda LogoWeFunder logoOn Deck logoLockheed Martin LogoBlizzard logo
Tech ladies logoShutter shock logoInstacart logoApple LogoUber's logoAmazon LogoKickstarter logoStripe LogoSpotify LogoGoogle LogoCode Academy logoUbisoft logoStandford university logoM&C Saatchi logoCisco logoTech Stars logoAtlassian logoCustom Inc logoRei co-op logoOKTA logoVMware logoCoda LogoWeFunder logoOn Deck logoLockheed Martin LogoBlizzard logo
Sahil Lavingia

Sahil Lavingia

Gumroad
Natalie Nagele

Natalie Nagele

Postmark
Jason Hodges

Jason Hodges

Shipstation
Richard Felix

Richard Felix

Stunning
Michele Hansen

Michele Hansen

Geocodio
Andrew Connor

Andrew Connor

Levels Health
Andrew Gazdecki

Andrew Gazdecki

MicroAcquire
Adii Pienaar

Adii Pienaar

WooCommerce
Neal O’Mara

Neal O’Mara

Hellosign
Adam Wiggins

Adam Wiggins

Heroku + MuseApp
Patrick McKenzie

Patrick McKenzie

Kalzumeus Software

Backed by Builders

Our investors know Calm Companies.

Of our 200+ LPs across all funds, the vast majority are successful software entrepreneurs.

Bonus: Nearly all of them allocate time to mentor our portfolio.

Our investors know Calm Companies.
Of our 200+ LPs across all funds, the vast majority are successful software entrepreneurs.

Bonus: Nearly all of them allocate time to mentor our portfolio.

We look beyond tech hubs

Calm Fund is Global

We're a remote-first (pre- COVID), global team, investing in the best the world has to offer.

Map of Calm Fund portfolio companies and team members

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