Full Circle Moment: From RevUp Founders to RevUp Investors
I have all the feels for this one. Get your tissues ready.
A few weeks ago we had the first close on our newest Fund. Means we’ve been investing without interruption since 2016. A nice milestone…but not why I found myself weeping.
I was packing my kid off to college–the same kid who sat with me in his Phineas and Ferb PJs while I wrote investor updates for RevUp Fund 1. Somehow he went from spilling Cheerios on my laptop to moving into a dorm room. WTF?
In this moment of transition I felt the pang of uncertainty that many working parents feel. What did I miss while building a business? What did he miss while I was talking founders off ledges, scanning decks, or “slipping out” to take that ‘urgent’ call?
No math will ever solve that equation, and the answer seems to change with the season. I’m not saying what happened next resolved my uncertainty. But, it helped.
A few days before he moved out, my kid said it was “cool” that some former RevUp founders had become investors in our fund. “I guess they don’t hate you,” he said, embellishing the deadpan delivery with his gorgeous grin…a mix of adoration and snark that is his “make mommy cry” powerplay.
The goodness of it hit me like a coconut. It was the highest compliment, a clarion affirmation that our work had meaning. When the moment came, these founders chose our fund. A way to both express gratitude and pay it forward to the next founder. And even my kid could see the significance in it.
Made me blubber like a baby.
Yes, some of these founders came into a lot of money after a successful exit. And they have invested into many things, not just RevUp. Others had just reached a point where they could comfortably carve out a little money to place a bet in the private market. In both scenarios the significance is the same: They don’t hate me. 😂
Now, they are supporting us the way we supported them. And, for the same reason: because they believe that entrepreneurship is mission critical.
Sometimes we get lost in the mechanics of early stage investing. Lost in the jargon about valuations, dilution, exit multiples. For those of us at the bottom of the investing pyramid, taking risks on fledgling companies and their bravely delusional founders, the mechanics are but a diversion.
The feels will get you every time.
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More About RevUp Capital
RevUp Capital invests in B2B and B2C companies that are revenue-driven and ready to double down on growth. We deploy cash and capacity to help companies grow from $1-3M to $10-30M, quickly and efficiently, using a revenue-based model. Companies enter our portfolio with $500K-$3M in revenue, a strong growth rate, and a team that’s ready to scale. Our typical investment range is $300K-$500K.
To learn more about RevUp and our most recent fund, visit https://www.revupfund.com/blog/athena-growth-fund-2025
And if the idea of expanding the toolkit for early stage investing sounds good to you, check out a recent recording that Melissa produced on the economic upsides of investing beyond unicorns.
Learn More at www.revupfund.com
More About the Author
RevUp Capital Managing Partner Melissa Withers is a bullish advocate for innovating the ways in which new companies are funded and supported. Beyond building new economic models for early stage investing, Melissa is also committed to directing more entrepreneurial funding to those underserved and overlooked by traditional VC.