Outside VC focuses exclusively on outsider founders in fintech—immigrants, under-networked, and non-traditional-background entrepreneurs—with the thesis that outsiders build outlier companies and a more equitable financial system. The fund positions itself as a friendvestor rather than a normal VC, writing $100-250K first checks at very early stages before companies become obvious to others, while targeting fintech that can lift 100 million people to the middle class over the next decade.
Investors AT THE FUND
Notable Investments
What Makes them Unique
Video Interview
On why fund brand matters less than founders think (and what to look for instead)
"Absent [a tier-one fund], it's almost everyone else. Every other firm offers the same halo... Does Outside VC or does any other firm that's not Sequoia or a16z add a halo? And the answer is no. So it becomes: how much do I like this person? What are they going to be? Because you're going to work with them for the next 10 years."
Ethan Austin | Outside VC
On what VCs are actually scanning for in your deck
"Most investors are momentum investors. They're not good at actually telling what a company does and the fundamentals of the company. What they're looking for is: is this company going to win and what is their edge and why do they win? So if you can highlight those things, you're speaking the language of VCs."
Ethan Austin | Outside VC
On the real reason rounds stall out
"Rounds sometimes stall out when there's this believability gap. Everything looks amazing in the deck, your pitch sounds amazing. And so in order to close this believability gap, you should have your data room prepared early... You close that gap with third-party verifications. Distraction, my kid's birthday, all these other things are what kill deals."
Ethan Austin | Outside VC
On momentum being the entire game
"Fundraising is 100% about momentum. It's about getting investors to have FOMO. It's about scarcity. Instead of taking onesie Tuesday meetings for a month at a time, stack all of your meetings, 20 meetings, all to start within like three or four days, because then you can start to leverage momentum."
Ethan Austin | Outside VC
On why founders who survive end up winning
"Things are gonna get hard and the people that make it through are usually the ones that stayed. They're the cockroaches. The people that stayed there long enough to catch a lucky break. Something shifted in the macro, something shifted in technology, and all of a sudden you're sitting there at the right place, at the right time, because you're still alive."
Ethan Austin | Outside VC
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