Summary

Symphonic Capital is a Pre-Seed and Seed stage fund that backs companies at their earliest stages and guides them to product-market fit. Symphonic invests in founders building technology that makes life better for the 99% - a thesis GP, Sydney Thomas, has been cultivating throughout her career.

Background

Symphonic is an early stage venture capital fund with a mission focused on backing category-defining startups that are applicable to the masses versus the ultra-wealthy. Symphonic’s differentiation lies in Sydney’s VC expertise, hands-on approach, and diverse group of Limited Partners and Venture Partners working with the fund. Sydney is focused on elevating strong and impactful founders past the early stages by doubling down on pre-seed investments at the seed stage and providing consultative advisory for her portfolio companies. Sydney’s impressive background in the growth of pre-seed fund, Precursor Ventures, for 6 years gives her a competitive edge in knowledge base, deal flow, and networks. Beyond her exceptional experience, Sydney is passionate about driving change towards a more diverse startup and venture ecosystem.

Why Cashmere Fund Invested:

Fund Manager Market Fit:

Sydney has six years of experience in VC post-MBA, having worked at Precursor Ventures, a leading pre-seed venture capital firm. During her time there, she led 16 investments and played a crucial role in growing the firm from $5 million to $200 million in AUM. Sydney has also built an impressive network of over 400 seasoned VCs and founders who will provide valuable insights, resources, and introductions to potential investments. She has a BA from Duke and an MBA from Berkeley Haas School of Business.

Hands on Approach to Investing:

Symphonic’s goal is to back founders at the pre-seed stage and double down on those investments at the Seed stage. Contrary to popular belief, this is not the norm. Most of the largest, multi-stage VC funds have Scout programs which allow Venture Scouts to deploy capital on behalf of the fund, with Partner interaction, at the Pre-seed stage. However, only a small number of these Scout deals translate to seed stage investments for those funds. This gap is particularly meaningful for diverse founders as they are left with a more challenging task in raising their Seed and Series A rounds. Further, founders receiving investment from big funds at the earliest stage rarely get the hands-on advice and partnership they need at that time. Sydney’s goal is to fill this gap by taking an active approach in advising all of her portfolio companies from Pre-seed through Series A – providing support and guidance on everything from strategy to recruiting to fundraising.

Strategic Value Driver:

Symphonic is a fantastic addition to Sweater’s FoF investment portfolio as Sydney has real, tangible expertise in building a successful early stage fund. Her thesis is grounded in creating attractive opportunities for minority founders, and she has built a diverse team internally with Venture Partners, Shruti Shah and Jennifer Kim, coming from impressive founder backgrounds as well. Beyond a strong thesis and team, Symphonic has attracted high profile LPs including Illumen Capital and Bank of America.