1517 Fund

1517 Fund, co-founded in 2015 by Michael Gibson and Danielle Strachman, is a venture capital firm with a distinctive focus on backing young founders, dropouts, and renegade scientists. The firm is inspired by the spirit of Martin Luther's 1517 Reformation, challenging the conventional education system and supporting innovators working outside traditional academic tracks. 1517 Fund invests in early-stage startups, including those at the R&D/idea phase up to the Seed stage. They are particularly interested in software, hardware with a data play, deep tech/science fiction tech, and biotech. Their initial investments range from $50,000 to $1,000,000, with an average check size of around $400,000 for pre-seed investments. Notable companies in 1517 Fund's portfolio include Luminar, Lambda, Deepgram, and Figma. They have a community-oriented approach, providing grants, investments, and support to a network of hackers, makers, and scientists globally. This community includes events, workshops, and office hours aimed at fostering innovation and advancing the edges of knowledge and science. The fund's co-founders, Michael Gibson and Danielle Strachman, previously worked with Peter Thiel on the Thiel Fellowship, which provided $100k grants to young entrepreneurs, leading to successful ventures like Ethereum and OYO Rooms. This background underscores their commitment to nurturing unconventional talent and groundbreaking ideas.