Foundry Group operates as both a direct investor in startups and an LP in other venture funds, creating a curated network of like-minded partners rather than just providing capital, while maintaining an unusual flat partnership structure with no associates or analysts where equal partners do all the work themselves. The Boulder-based firm organizes investments around long-lived horizontal themes like "glue" and "protocol" rather than traditional sectors, and has built their brand on radical transparency by publishing playbooks, openly discussing fund decisions, and "open sourcing" their approach through books, blogs, and podcasts.