Benchtop Ventures
Coastal capital partnering with non-hub R1 institutions to transform groundbreaking research into market-leading companies.
University spinouts struggle to survive
Startups struggle to raise money, hire the best talent, access strategic collaborations, and find their first customers. Especially those not in top cities.
Funding
Startups in hubs raise money twice as fast and at bigger valuations
Hiring
Cities like San Francisco and Boston have 3-4x more tech workers than non-hub cities.
Exits
Companies who are in hub cities or who have hub investors are 2-3x more likely to exit
Presenting a coastal Deep Tech fund that fosters innovation
Benchtop Ventures partners with universities to put their money to work, through a geographic alliance.By being on the Coast, Benchtop has access to a stronger workforce, a wider investor network, and better term deals. This channels back to universities whose spinouts want to stay local, but need coastal advantages.Benchtop mandates 40% of a universities allocation back to that university. The rest goes into a shared pool to find the biggest winners, ensuring that returns will continue to keep funding every university's spinouts, allowing the companies to thrive in their home ecosystem.This keeps the companies and the money at home, while attracting a skilled workforce. Then ecosystems can be built across the country.
A Team With Lived Experience
Our team has sat on all sides of the table: Founder, Investor, Researcher and University Leader. We believe great technology should be given the chance to succeed and are dedicated to being part of the journey.
Ragan Hart, Phd
Managing Director
Over 10 years in Venture Capital and Venture Creation, most recently at a Strategic Healthcare Firm.
Alec Santiago, PhD
Repeat Founder, Accelerator Executive, and most recently in University Venture Development.
Advisor Board
Over 10 experienced deep tech venture capitalists, spread across the country, and across sector.
Investment Focus
Industries: Life Sciences, Artificial Intelligence, Healthcare, Medical Devices, and Software.Investment Stages: Pre-seed and Seed.Portfolio Strategy: Targeting 15-25 high-impact startups originating from partner universities.
Become A Partner
We are actively looking for partners to build out Fund 1 and are dedicated to working with the ecosystems to help technology become commercially-oriented, from benchtop to Benchtop.