RareBreed Ventures

High-Level Overview

RareBreed Ventures is a pre-seed venture capital firm focused on investing in exceptional founders, particularly those outside major tech hubs like Silicon Valley, New York, and Boston. The firm prioritizes underrepresented founders and markets often overlooked by traditional venture capital, with investments spanning sectors such as financial services, fintech, healthcare, fashion/beauty, marketing, and water technology innovation. RareBreed’s mission centers on bridging the early-stage funding gap by providing founder-friendly capital and active strategic support, helping startups scale solutions that address critical challenges, including water treatment and climate resilience. Their investment philosophy emphasizes long-term partnerships, founder control, and leveraging regional ecosystem advantages to accelerate growth[1][2][3][4][5].

Origin Story

Founded in 2020 by McKeever “Mac” Conwell II, a former seed-stage fund manager at Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO) and two-time founder, RareBreed Ventures emerged from his vision to back underrepresented founders earlier than other investors. Mac built the fund’s LP network from scratch, publicly marketing RareBreed on Twitter, and closed a $10M Fund I in early 2022 with support from notable investors like Alpaca VC and Insight Partners. The fund’s focus evolved to concentrate on pre-seed investments in founders outside large tech ecosystems, emphasizing diversity and inclusion. Despite a challenging fundraising journey involving over 1,000 meetings, RareBreed has established a strong track record and plans to launch a larger $75M+ second fund[3][4].

Core Differentiators

• Unique Investment Model: Concentrated pre-seed investments ($50K to $500K) with founder-friendly convertible notes and SAFE agreements to preserve founder control and facilitate future fundraising.
• Network Strength: Strong partnerships with research institutions, utilities, and industry players, especially in water technology, to help portfolio companies overcome commercialization barriers.
• Track Record: Fund I invested in 28 companies, achieving a 1.64x MOIC and 1.57 TVPI by end of 2021, with 64% underrepresented founders and 75% outside major tech hubs.
• Operating Support: Hands-on involvement in validating technology, refining business models, navigating regulatory landscapes, and forging strategic partnerships.
• Focus on Underrepresented Founders: Emphasis on diversity with significant representation of POC and female executives in portfolio companies[2][4][5].

Role in the Broader Tech Landscape

RareBreed Ventures rides the growing trend of decentralizing venture capital away from traditional tech hubs, addressing the funding gap for underrepresented founders and overlooked markets. Their focus on water technology innovation aligns with increasing global urgency around water scarcity, climate resilience, and environmental sustainability. By investing early in pre-seed startups developing solutions in water treatment, infrastructure monitoring, and resource recovery, RareBreed is positioned to influence the emerging ecosystem of climate tech and impact investing. Their timing is critical as regulatory pressures and market demand for sustainable water solutions intensify, creating favorable conditions for their portfolio companies to scale and generate impact alongside financial returns[2][4].

Quick Take & Future Outlook

Looking ahead, RareBreed Ventures aims to expand its impact by launching a larger second fund ($75M+), continuing to back diverse founders and pioneering technologies in water and other sectors. Trends such as climate change adaptation, emerging contaminants, and circular economy principles will shape their investment focus. Their influence is likely to grow as they build a robust innovation ecosystem that bridges early-stage capital gaps and fosters scalable solutions to pressing global challenges. RareBreed’s founder-centric, network-driven approach positions them as a key player in democratizing venture capital and accelerating impact-driven innovation outside traditional tech corridors[2][4].