The new .Cocoon Ventures invests in founders interested in self-development
Updated: Apr 5, 2021
.Cocoon Ventures invests only in founders who are interested in self-hacking and looking at entrepreneurship as a way for self-development. The new investment group was founded by Aleksander Tõnnisson, Rein Lemberpuu and Rain Kivisik.
.Cocoon Ventures is the next step in the evolution of .Contriber Ventures, one of the most active angel investors in the Baltics with over 30 investments in the past 5 years to startups like Xolo, Click and Grow and Interactio. The change in the investment strategy came from the growth and self-development we have seen the founders go through in .Cocoon mentoring program.
The investment decision is made on normal investment criteria, but one of .Cocoon entry level experience is required - .Cocoon Assessments, .Cocoon Event or Mentoring Group.
One of the entry-level experiences is .Cocoon Assessments that combine the personal, psychological, and business aspects of the leadership team and the company to provide an in-depth overview of what's not working in fundraising, team, sales, and more. The process includes interviews, tests, group discussions and mentoring sessions to get clarity to make informed decisions for growth and changes.
The founders can also join one .Cocoon Event that takes place 3-4 times a year. The participants and mentors get together for 2-4 days for action games, pressure and mentoring.
Third option for entry level experience are Mentoring Groups that take place online with 5 participants and 2 mentors. The mentors start from the founder's startup’s business challenge and find the link between the challenge and the founder. Mentoring groups last for 3 months and take place every 3rd week for 3 hours.
After the entry level experience if the startup gets an investment, its founder(s) is/are accepted to the 1-year .Cocoon Program, as this is a must from our side.
“.Cocoon Ventures invests exclusively in startup teams participating in the .Cocoon Program,” said one of the founding partners, Aleksander Tõnnisson. “We invest in the post-revenue teams working towards series-A, the stage where we see the most benefit from our full 12-month tailored or core team mentoring program.”
The ticket size is 25k - 100k depending on the startup’s stage and the best suitable mentoring program plan. Part of the investment comes in the form of cash, and the other part covers the program costs. “Such an investment strategy allows the teams to participate in the full program tailored to their needs without shortening their runway. As an added bonus, we feel it creates a stronger alignment of interest between us and the startup founders” said Aleksander Tõnnisson.
Startup founders who are looking for investment opportunities and are interested in self-development can apply on the .Cocoon website.