SA国际传媒

, a 1-year-old seed-stage venture firm, it has closed on a $56 million fund.

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and founded New York-based Equal Ventures last year with the goal of investing in 鈥渇ounders who are bringing technology innovations to existing markets that will transform society and industry.鈥�

In other words, they鈥檙e looking to back entrepreneurs looking to shake up existing industries that impact 鈥渢he way we work and live.鈥� Those industries include: insurance, logistics/supply chain, retail infrastructure and the care economy.

鈥淲e鈥檙e not focused on technology development, such as internet infrastructure, but more on the deployment of technology,鈥� Zullo told me in a phone call. 鈥淥ur core focus is to bring the knowledge and networks necessary to help founders solving problems in these complex and nuanced industries in their push to attract capital and bring products to market.鈥�

Also, Equal has the ambitious goal of bridging the digital divide 鈥渂etween the combative worlds of incumbents and innovators.鈥�

鈥淥ne of our core beliefs is that by bridging that divide between the technology haves and have nots, benefits are more evenly distributed across all parts of society and industries,鈥� Zullo said. 鈥淎t the same time, we look to generate some great returns.鈥�

Old-hand investors

Kerby and Zullo are no strangers to investing. They鈥檝e previously backed and worked with a number of companies that have seen successful exits such as (acquired by ) and hiring platform (bought out by ). And they did this while working at VC firms such as , , and . Kerby also founded , a community for African Americans in tech.

The pair鈥檚 approach to sourcing deals for Equal Ventures is what they describe as data-driven. They spend the majority of their time researching and analyzing the dynamics of the markets in which they鈥檙e looking to invest. Their goal is to identify potential solutions to the market before it鈥檚 obvious.

Notably, they have an interesting mix of LPs, including founder and CEO . Other LPs include the founders of new Austin-based unicorn , traditional institutional LPs, university endowments, general partners of other VC firms and some Fortune 500 executives 鈥渨ho know how to move needles in these industries鈥�

鈥淥ur LPs are a combination of industry operators, providers of investment capital and top-tier founders, which we believe is exciting alchemy for future success,鈥� Zullo told SA国际传媒 News.

Staying connected

Equal Ventures had its first close last April and has since invested in six portfolio companies.

Those portfolio companies include: retail platform , home renovation marketplace , employee benefits-focused and , which aims to improve 鈥渢he access, accountability, and affordability in the senior living market via a managed marketplace to help place seniors in the best facilities.鈥�

Equal Ventures鈥� goal with the fund is to invest in 20 companies total with an average initial check of about $1.5 million, according to Zullo. It does not have a multistage strategy, he adds. Instead, the firm wants to get in at the early stage with a significant ownership stake.

鈥淲e鈥檙e a little bit more concentrated and focused on getting ownership early,鈥� Zullo said. 鈥淲e want significant skin in the game and at the same time, we don鈥檛 want to invest in too many companies so that we can make sure we have the time and resources necessary to be hands-on for those companies.鈥�

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