Letter From Our Founders

When we published our first Founder Letter in 2022, Collide Capital was an idea we were fighting to prove. Four years later, that belief has been established as an institutionally recognized firm. We were writing $25K checks, hustling at every conference we could afford, and manually stitching together the support our founders needed.

Today, Collide is a full-stack team of investors, operators, and community-builders driven by one mission: to guide founders on their institutional capital journey with the resources, capital and support they need to win. Our portfolio spans more than 75 companies, with five successful exits, 20+ markups, and Fund Zero delivering top‑quartile returns — alongside Fund I, which is tracking strong early performance.

This work is bigger than us. From the outset, we’ve never wanted Collide to succeed alone; we want an ecosystem of firms to rise alongside us, each backing founders from communities that have long been underrepresented in venture. The last four years have made clear that the future of this industry – and of the innovation economy more broadly – depends on a broader, more representative set of people directing how capital moves through tech.

Today, we’re proud to announce our oversubscribed $95 million Fund II. Our capacity to realize our mission has grown, but we remain committed to investing in pre-seed through Series A companies across fintech, supply chain and the future of work, writing meaningful (lead and co-lead) checks, helping founders navigate relationships with Fortune 500 customers, and connecting startups to critical resources that can change the trajectory of their business.

With Fund II, we’re sharpening our focus. We believe the next generation of category-defining companies will be forged through collision – of culture and code, of policy and product, and of perspectives too often overlooked by capital. And we believe in founders who are relentlessly tactical, deeply connected to the problem they’re solving and unafraid to build in the face of doubt.

We’re also doubling down on building on-ramps for the next generation of investors and operators, because the strength of any ecosystem lies in its ability to compound opportunity across generations. Through our Collide Campus programs, we’re working with students at leading academic institutions to open pathways into venture and entrepreneurship. In just a few years, participants have sourced real deals, completed real diligence, and stepped directly into roles at venture firms and high-growth startups, including Collide Capital itself.

As Collide Capital enters its next chapter, here’s our commitment: 

To our founders: Thank you for letting us walk beside you. It’s an honor to play a supportive role in bringing your goals to fruition. 

To our investors: We’re grateful to partner with institutions that reflect both the scale of our ambition and values of our communities, and in addition to providing capital, show up as customers, distribution partners and long-term allies to the entrepreneurs we serve. 

To our supporters and any aspiring collaborators: Thank you for believing in us. We’ll continue to work tirelessly to ensure that what started as a grassroots experiment expands into a generational platform, and if you see yourself in any part of our story, we hope you’ll reach out.

‍Let’s get to work,
Aaron Samuels and Brian Hollins