Renegade Partners Launches $100 Million Debut Fund

Renegade Partners Launches $100 Million Debut Fund

Renegade Partners, a venture firm situated in the Bay Area and established by experienced VCs Renata Quintini and Roseanne Wincek, has officially announced the closing of its inaugural $100 million venture fund. The fund has garnered significant attention within the business community since its initial conceptualization in late 2019.

The Founders’ Backgrounds

The firm’s emergence is particularly noteworthy given the impressive credentials of both Quintini and Wincek, each having departed from prominent venture capital firms to collaborate. Quintini, possessing a legal background, previously managed investments for Stanford University’s endowment before joining Felicis Ventures, and was later recruited by Lux Capital.

Throughout her tenure at these firms, she actively engaged with numerous rapidly growing startups, including Cruise, an autonomous driving technology company; Planet, a satellite imaging firm; and Bonobos, a clothing retailer.

Wincek initially considered pursuing a Ph.D. at UC Berkeley but ultimately earned a master’s degree in biophysics before transitioning to Stanford for her MBA. Subsequently, she held a principal position at Canaan and later joined IVP, where she advanced to the role of partner, investing in both enterprise and consumer-focused companies like Glossier, Compass, MasterClass, and TransferWise.

A Growing Trend

The trend of successful female VCs establishing their own firms is gaining momentum. Examples include Mary Meeker of Bond, Dayna Grayson of Construct Capital, and Beth Seidenberg of Westlake Village BioPartners. However, Renegade distinguishes itself by adopting a flexible approach to venture investing.

The firm isn’t restricting itself to a specific sector or solely focusing on early-stage ventures. Instead, it seeks companies exhibiting a particular combination of demonstrated traction, a strong team, and a promising market – characteristics commonly found in businesses ranging from Series A to Series C funding stages.

The Renegade Team

To identify promising investment opportunities, Renegade employs an in-house data scientist. The team also includes a chief people officer with a distinguished career history (having held positions at Uber and eBay), principal Chloe Breider, a former IVP investor who collaborated closely with Wincek, and Annie Duke, a former professional poker player and acclaimed author, serving as the firm’s “decision scientist.”

Earlier today, Quintini and Wincek shared insights into their firm’s structure and strategy, and how Renegade intends to establish itself within the highly competitive venture capital landscape. Edited excerpts from that conversation are presented below.

Navigating the Venture Landscape

TC: Securing a position at either of your previous firms was highly competitive. What motivated your decision to leave, and how did the partnership between you two come about?

RW: Roseanne and I initially connected when I was at Canaan and Renata was with Felicis. At the time, there were relatively few women in venture capital, so we naturally sought each other out. Over the years, we frequently discussed potential investment opportunities, and after my move to IVP, I consistently sought Renata’s perspective on her portfolio companies.

A few years ago, during a large industry dinner, we found ourselves completing each other’s sentences while discussing how we would approach venture capital if we were to launch our own firm. I subsequently approached Renata and suggested we explore this idea further, perhaps with a bit less wine. That conversation took place on Memorial Day in 2019.

Addressing Potential Challenges

Institutional investors often express concerns about the compatibility of emerging manager teams, particularly when they come from diverse backgrounds. How did you address these concerns?

RQ: We were already good friends and I believed Roseanne was an exceptional investor. However, we recognized that being good co-founders was a different matter entirely – that was the primary risk. We proactively sought to mitigate this risk by engaging a coach, which we jokingly referred to as “marriage counseling.”

We dedicated significant time to understanding how we each handle stress, defining our shared vision of success, and clarifying our core values. We also spent considerable time together in various settings, and I can attest that Roseanne is decidedly a morning person, while I am not.

Fundraising During a Pandemic

You were in the process of raising capital when the pandemic began. How did this impact your fundraising efforts?

RQ: We achieved our initial close on Friday, March 13th, the very weekend that COVID-19 began to disrupt everything. The Grand Princess Cruise ship was arriving in the Bay Area, and we were on calls with potential investors, uncertain whether they would follow through. Fortunately, our established track records enabled us to succeed. We were fortunate to have backing from institutional LPs – including Ivy League schools, endowments, foundations, and family offices – but we hadn’t anticipated the impact of COVID-19.

Defining the “Supercritical Stage”

Renegade’s website references the “supercritical stage.” Could you elaborate on what this entails?

RW: The term is intentionally broad, as we believe traditional stage definitions are often limiting. I began my career as a chemist, and a supercritical fluid exists in a state that is neither liquid nor gas, but both simultaneously. We see parallels in companies – they have a product in the market, some initial data, early customer enthusiasm, and a growing team, but they aren’t yet positioned for rapid growth.

They aren’t quite ready to secure a large growth round and accelerate their expansion. This is where we focus our efforts. Our ideal targets typically generate between $250,000 and $1 million in annual revenue, employ between 20 and 100 people, and are seeking funding rounds ranging from $10 million to $50 million. Our first investment was a Series C deal, but we also have Series A and Series B companies in our portfolio.

Focus on Execution

RQ: In today’s market, capital is readily available, but effective execution is paramount. Our primary focus is on preparing startups to scale into large, successful companies. We address critical questions such as organizational structure, team composition, option pool management, founder role design, and board leverage. Many founders are experiencing unprecedented success, but are simultaneously grappling with challenges they haven’t previously encountered.

Investment Criteria

If you aren’t focused on a specific sector or stage, how do you prioritize potential investments?

RQ: A significant advantage is that the companies we consider have already received funding from other investors, providing a degree of validation from a data science perspective.

Beyond that, we leverage the collective experience of Roseanne, myself, Chloe, and Susan, drawing on over a decade of investing and working with exceptional companies. It’s not solely about numbers; it’s about the quality of revenue, the combination of other indicators, customer feedback, and the company’s ability to establish itself as a system of record, as well as the velocity of adoption. Technology alone is insufficient.

Responding to Funding Offers

With so much capital available, what advice do you offer your portfolio companies when they receive unsolicited funding offers after closing a round?

RQ: There are numerous factors to consider. First, you must assess your company’s needs and ensure you can effectively deploy and generate a return on the capital. Raising more money doesn’t come without consequences; higher valuations necessitate clearing higher hurdles in subsequent rounds.

It’s also crucial to evaluate your investment needs and hiring plans. Some founders have opted not to raise additional capital, believing they can’t accelerate growth or deploy funds more effectively. They prefer to focus on execution and secure more favorable terms in the future when their accomplishments warrant a higher valuation.

Furthermore, it’s essential to consider the competitive landscape. If competitors are raising capital and driving market momentum, it may be prudent to consider raising more than initially planned to maintain your competitive edge. However, it’s important to remember that there’s no free money, and raising capital without careful consideration can create unforeseen problems.

Diversity and Representation

Some observers focus on the fact that Renegade is a women-led venture team and wonder how that will influence your investment decisions, particularly regarding women-led startups.

RQ: We are simply excellent investors who happen to be women. Our primary focus is on diversity of experience and perspective. Gender is just one aspect of that, and diversity is a core value of our organization because we believe it leads to better returns.

RW: What’s been truly rewarding and inspiring is the outpouring of support from individuals who are excited about Renegade because representation matters. Ultimately, this is how change happens – by chipping away at existing biases until these questions no longer need to be asked. That’s our goal.

The Role of Diversity for LPs

Do you believe that diversity is a significant factor for Limited Partners (LPs)? Do you anticipate that diversity will become a more formalized criterion in LP investment decisions?

RQ: Some LPs prioritize it explicitly, while others focus on past performance. They look at lagging indicators. Today, founders are increasingly choosing investors who align with their values and who they are proud to be associated with – individuals who share their energy and are willing to champion their success. These are the returns of the future, regardless of what traditional investment analysis may suggest. Forward-thinking LPs recognize this.