Illuminate Ventures is different – we don’t rely on “pattern recognition” or following the herd. We seek new and innovative business ideas led by committed and talented teams – frequently bringing diverse perspective that allows them to marry “creative destruction” with new technologies to solve old problems in new ways. We recognize that great investment opportunities come in a variety of packages – sometimes looking a bit different from the norm.

Illuminate’s focus is finding, funding and accelerating great teams in the B2B cloud computing space.  We are particularly focused on SaaS applications, solutions that leverage Big Data and/or mobility for improved business results and consumer technologies that are being applied to the enterprise. Illuminate is typically a startup’s first institutional investor at early stages, but can also be a fit at the point where an established bootstrapped or debt financed company is seeking its first equity financing. As a micro VC, our sweet spot is $1-3M financings – filling the gap between angel capital and the large funding rounds typical of traditional VC firms. When the timing is right we work with some of the best large-scale VC firms for the next round of financing (e.g., Battery, Intel Capital, Lightspeed, etc.), but we love lean start-ups that want to preserve ownership and exit flexibility in their early years.

Our team is made up of experienced investors with significant operating and investment track records in our targeted investment sectors, complemented by a world-class Business Advisory Council. We work closely with talented founders to support them in building truly great companies and teams. We’ve been there ourselves and know that teams made up of individuals with differentiated backgrounds and skills deliver innovative thinking with outstanding results.