Tandem Capital

Tandem has always been focused on backing a limited number of talented founder teams and working with them very closely to discover product-market fit. We try to spend the time, money and other resources necessary to accomplish this, and the funds and people available to the Tandem portfolio have grown considerably over time. Meanwhile, hundreds of new accelerators had emerged since Tandem started in 2007, and they have mostly followed the clear-cut path blazed by the likes of YCombinator and TechStars. They tend to share the following characteristics that differ considerably from Tandem: Company/Investor Ratio. Most accelerators have small teams yet invite 10, 20 or even 50+ companies to participate in their programs at any given time. This model can offer founders a community of entrepreneurs, a longer list of startup opportunities for investors and mentors, and greater portfolio diversification for the accelerator itself. Tandem, however, has focused on having a deep bench of full-time resources focused on its companies. We were founded on the belief that deep involvement with entrepreneurs in the early stages can significantly impact a company's direction. We have more full-time Tandem personnel than the number of companies active in the Tandem program at any given time. Tandem also has a helpful network of mentors who support our portfolio companies, as other funds do, but we believe that deep involvement has the biggest impact, and remains one of our key beliefs.