Notation Capital

Notation Capital Research Investment Thesis Notation Capital is the first dedicated pre-seed venture fund in New York, focused on backing product-obsessed founders on day zero—when the idea is just taking shape. The firm's mission is explicit: to increase the odds of success for founding teams that are building fundamentally new experiences for customers, often in fringe or overlooked markets that can become mainstream. Rather than being thesis-driven in the traditional sense, Notation looks for companies that represent early-stage experiments with compelling teams, clear founder-market fit, and innovative products or business models. They specialize in working with founders before market validation is obvious, often investing as early as an idea with a go-to-market strategy. Stage and Check Size Focus Notation is a pure pre-seed investor: Primary stage: Pre-Seed ($250K - $750K), typically leading or co-leading the first institutional round Average check size: $800K (according to their operating manual) Secondary stage: Occasionally "institutional seed" companies (Series A funding for teams with product-market fit), representing ~1-2 investments per year Check size range: $250K - $750K minimum threshold The firm has explicitly avoided the trap of "simply raising as much money as possible," preferring disciplined founders who raise capital thoughtfully and appreciate resource constraints. Fund History and Size Notation has closed three funds: Notation I (2015): $7.9M proof-of-concept fund, invested in 28 pre-seed companies Notation II + Notation II-A (LP community fund): $27.8M combined Notation III + Notation III-A (LP community fund): $46M total (includes community LP fund component) Fund III began deployment in 2021 and has made 20+ investments as of mid-2024. Notable recent deployments include a $5-10M+ check into Photon Health (August 2024), described as "their largest check in a decade," signaling continued active deployment. Team Core team (3 full-time): Alex Lines - Partner Focus: Infrastructure, hard tech, and product Background: Software engineer with 10+ years building in New York, experienced in distributed systems and scalability Nicholas Chirls - Partner Focus: Product, growth, and capital raising Background: Previously Head of Seed Investing at Betaworks, led product for multiple Betaworks projects and startups Mackenzie Regent - Head of Operations Focus: Firm operations, community platform, and investment support Background: Director of Business Operations & Chief of Staff at Able.co, Strategy & Operations at WeWork The firm operates as a community model with 200+ advisors including founders (Naval Ravikant, Alex Chung), institutional investors (Sapphire Ventures, Lightspeed), and operators from leading companies. Investment Process Decision timeline: 1 month from initial introduction to investment decision Diligence approach: Avoid over-diligence; understand that founders are often extremely early-stage Documentation: NVCA model preferred equity docs or YC SAFEs Execution timeline: Final investment execution within weeks after term sheet Investment Decision Framework Team: High-integrity leaders with clear communication, complementary skills, builders by nature (technical DNA, product-focused), unique insight and passion for specific problem Markets: Initially fringe but mainstream-bound, large markets that feel old/broken, science-fiction-like visions, well-timed with external inflection points Product: Innovative in business model or process, defensible via counter-positioning, scale economies, network effects, or switching costs Portfolio Overview Notation's 80+ company portfolio spans 13+ categories: Developer Tools & Infrastructure: Radicle, QA Wolf, Timber/Vector, BastionZero, Axo, Clay Labs, NuCypher Enterprise Software/SaaS: Clay CRM, Braid, Circle, Formsort, Podia, Spruce, Spyglass Fintech/Payments/Better Money: Alice (benefits), Talos, Merkle Healthcare Digital: SimpleHealth (birth control), Photon Health (modern Rx network), Halcyon (substance use recovery), Stellar Health Infrastructure/Decentralized: Solana, Arweave, Filecoin, Livepeer, Tally (governance) Advanced Manufacturing/Science: nTopology, Redesign, Wayfinder Biosciences, Nemedio Climate/Clean Energy: ChargeLab, Amperon, Runwise Consumer/Media/Entertainment: Density One, Meld, Bumpers, Seasons, Indify, Chill Pill Notable exits: Bison Trails→Coinbase, Parsec→Unity, Timber/Vector→Datadog, Carmera→Toyota, StreetCred→Snap, Uru→Adobe Value-Add Model Milestone Setting: Help founders define key metrics for next fundraise Team Building: Emphasis on keeping early teams lean (5-10 people) Product & Technical Review: Code reviews, product roadmap support Customer Development: Early customer acquisition using network Capital Raising: Story crafting, investor targeting, efficient fundraising Long-term Partnership: "Call before the board" role post Series A/B Geographic Focus Primary: New York (Brooklyn-based) Secondary: Boston, Toronto, Los Angeles International: Selective in Europe (London, Berlin) and Asia (gaming/crypto) Community Programs Notation Moonlight: 8-week free program for future founders (no equity taken) Origins Podcast: LP-focused podcast about VC firm building Regular events: Quarterly workshops, monthly dinners, annual community events Recent Activity Fund III: 20+ investments as of mid-2024 Latest notable: Photon Health (August 2024) - largest check in decade Recent investment: DEXARI ($2.3M Seed, May 2025) Deployment pace: ~8 new companies per year Lead tendency: Leads or co-leads first institutional rounds Key Differentiators True pre-seed focus: Day-zero investments (idea stage) Community-first model: 200+ advisor/LP network in decision-making Radical transparency: Public operating manual, fundraising decks, LP lists NYC-anchor with selective national: Thoughtful expansion beyond New York Product-obsessed thesis: Fundamentally new products/experiences No board seats: Maintains founder alignment Network effects: Cross-company hiring, customer introductions Long-term relationships: Relevant even after founder raises Series A/B