In an age where hundreds of new venture funds have emerged, only to face a slender market where exits proven to be slippery, Elizabeth Weil's graffiti venture stands out as a case study of the importance of deep networks.
Deniing the contraction that has been on the sidelines for many newcomers, Weil has secured $80 million for Scribble's third fund. Milestone highlights the market's trust in Weil, a Stanford alumni, including his resume, a partner role at Andreessen Horowitz, corporate development on Twitter (now X), and a stint at Silicon Valley Stalwarts IVP and Menlo Ventures.
“Everyone told me it would be the hardest thing to grow,” Weil said on Monday after completing a 5:30am run and swimming that embarrassed the editor's coffee routine. Ultimately, she said the company has surpassed the $75 million hard cap after extending the funding period for three weeks.
Scribble's success comes from considering that many have yet to establish meaningful diversified returns for investors (DPIs) for the venture industry, particularly for new managers that emerged during the 2020-2021 fundraising boom.
“Being a harvester is also part of venture capital,” Weil observed. “There are so many emerging managers who didn't have to go through that part.”
What sets Scribble apart is what Weil calls the “Scribble Network.” This is a carefully cultivated ecosystem of operators and executives who not only provide the help of transaction flow and due diligence, but also invest in the company. The network includes figures like Maggie Hott, the market leader in Openai. Jim Ebelingham, vice president of engineering at Meta. Sheila Vassi, CMO for Fimma.
Weil's husband, Kevin Weil, adds another powerful dimension to the company's network. As Openai's Chief Product Officer and Cisco Board Member, his technical and product expertise complements Elizabeth's career in investment and corporate development.
“We told the founder, 'Who do you want to meet in the expansion network?'” Weil explained. “When they look at that market list and menu, they say, 'Can I just text this person?” can't believe it. “
This approach helped Scribble make early bets successful for companies like Whatnot, a live auction platform that reached a valuation of nearly $5 billion in January. ATMO was founded by former Googlers and focuses on AI-driven, ultra-fast weather forecasting. Poolside.ai is a Paris-based generator AI company founded in October by a former CTO of Github, valued at $3 billion by investors.
Other Scribble portfolio companies currently with $216 million in managed assets include SpaceX and Figma.
Scribble usually writes checks between $750,000 and $1.5 million.
“I don't think the 'we have to be 14% or walk' approach is not a way to start a relationship,” Weil said.
The company's first fund, collected in 2020, already performs strong in a 4x multiple thanks to an early distribution to investors from Mysten and Apto's Crypto position.
With AI currently focusing on changing the landscape of startups, Weil sees the clearest opportunity to apply Scribble's collaborative approach.
“I think this is the best time to become a startup, but it's the most difficult time because there's so much noise,” she said. “Everyone knows how to hack channels, and it's more difficult than ever to fit the product market and adopt it in the market.”
Photo above, left to right, the Scribble Ventures team containing Christen O'Brien (the operating partner). John Smothers (partner); Elizabeth Weil; Kevin Weil (resident operator).