Vamos Ventures — Investment Thesis & Preferences

Vamos Ventures Research Document

Investment Thesis and Mission

Vamos Ventures is a Los Angeles-based early-stage venture capital fund with a mission to create alpha and impact by funding visionary founders—particularly from Latinx and other diverse backgrounds—who are building disruptive tech solutions. Founded in 2018, Vamos Ventures is the first Latino-owned and managed venture capital fund, positioned to capitalize on demographic trends showing that Latinx and diverse populations represent the fastest-growing entrepreneurial segments in the United States.

The firm's core thesis rests on the observation that Latinx and diverse founders remain systematically underestimated and under-resourced in venture capital, despite strong indicators of entrepreneurial capability and market opportunity. The fund believes that this represents a significant market inefficiency—a "greenfield" opportunity to find exceptional founders at attractive valuations before they become competitive at higher valuations.

Demographics and Market Opportunity

Vamos Ventures is betting on structural demographic shifts in the United States. By 2060, the Latinx population is expected to comprise 60% of U.S. population growth, while the white population is projected to see negative growth. The Latinx population currently exhibits higher entrepreneurial participation rates than white entrepreneurs, with approximately 3,000+ deals in 2024 involving diverse founders. Startup costs have declined dramatically, lowering barriers to entry and enabling broader participation in tech entrepreneurship.

Investment Focus Areas

Vamos Ventures invests across four key sectors with explicit focus on solving problems relevant to Latinx and underserved communities:

1. Health & Wellness

Focus: Equitable healthcare access for underserved populations
Key issues: Mental health underdiagnosis in Latinx communities (40% more severe), chronic disease prevalence (1 in 2 Latinx have diabetes), affordability and access challenges
Example portfolio: Handspring (youth mental health platform, raised $12M)

2. FinTech

Focus: Financial empowerment and wealth generation for communities with limited access
Key issues: Latinx businesses have lowest rate of loan use (12% vs 17% for white businesses), limited access to financial literacy, capital access barriers
Example portfolio: Kira (embedded AI financial products, raised $6.7M seed in August 2025), Settle (B2B payments, $3.5M seed in 2025)

3. Future of Work

Focus: Skills development and economic enablement
Key issues: Latinx represent 18% of workforce but face second-highest displacement rates, gig work becoming dominant with need for worker tools
Example portfolio: WorkPatterns and other tools targeting workforce transitions

4. Sustainability & Climate

Focus: Environmental solutions addressing communities disproportionately affected
Key issues: ~30% of Latinx population live within 3 miles of EPA-designated Superfund sites, renewable energy and agricultural tech innovation
Example portfolio: Aalo Atomics (microreactor and data center, raised $100M), ForMEnergy

Stage Focus and Check Size

Vamos Ventures is explicitly an early-stage investor:

Primary focus: Seed and Series A investments
Pre-Seed allocation: $500K (approximately 8-24% of portfolio)
Seed allocation: $1.5M average (45% of portfolio)
Series A allocation: $2.5M average (30% of portfolio)
Total initial check size range: $500K - $2.5M
Follow-on reserve strategy: 40% of fund reserved for follow-on investments in existing portfolio companies

Fund II ($100M target, $150M hard cap) maintains the same early-stage allocation with 80% early-stage focus and 20% reserved for strategic later-stage investments.

Lead Tendency

Vamos Ventures demonstrates a lead tendency in their investment approach. The fund structures its investments to maintain meaningful ownership (targeting 15-20% ownership at each stage) and takes an active operational role with portfolio companies through their operating platform and systems. The firm engages portfolio managers for full-time support and value-add engagement, indicating a strong lead investor posture.

Fund Performance and Activity

Fund I Performance (2018-2024):

$50M fund (now fully deployed)
27-33 portfolio companies
17% gross IRR
81% increase in company enterprise value for companies that raised subsequent capital
100% of portfolio led by diverse teams
88% of teams with Latinx co-founder(s)
48% female co-founder participation
925 total roles created across portfolio

Fund II Status (2024-present):

Target: $100M (hard cap: $150M)
Timeline: First close $31M (2Q 2024), second close $20M (3Q 2024), third close $21M (1Q 2025), planned final closes 3Q-4Q 2025
Portfolio construction: 35-40 companies planned across four sectors
Target returns: 30%+ IRR or 3-4X invested capital (MOIC)
Current deployment stage: Actively investing from Fund II in 2025

Recent Investments (2025):

Kira ($6.7M seed, August 2025) - embedded AI for fintech products
Aalo Atomics (major co-investor, $100M+ round) - microreactor technology
Handspring ($12M Series A) - youth mental health platform
Settle ($3.5M seed) - B2B payments platform
Multiple sustainability and fintech deals throughout 2025

Team Composition and Expertise

Vamos Ventures has assembled a professional team combining venture capital experience with lived diversity and immigrant backgrounds:

Leadership:

Marcos Gonzalez, Managing Partner - Son of Mexican immigrants, first-generation college student, Brown BA, HBS MBA. Prior experience as PE investor, BCG consultant, and angel investor with deep understanding of underrepresented founder networks
Andres Morin, COO & Partner - Son of Mexican immigrants, first-gen student, MIT BS. Tech entrepreneur and fund manager with operational infrastructure expertise
Ashley Ryder, Partner - Daughter of immigrant, first-gen student, Puerto Rican + Turkish heritage, Brown BA, MIT MBA. Prior investor at BFV and Founders Factory
Xavier Del Rosario, Venture Partner - Son of Dominican parents, Harvard BA, MS. Prior investor at New Enterprise Associates with early-stage tech expertise
Valeria Martinez, Principal - Daughter of Mexican immigrants, first-gen student, USC BS, Stanford MBA. Prior roles at Deloitte consulting and PayPal Ventures
Maya Trujillo, Associate - Daughter of New Mexican parents, Wharton BS and Research Scholar. Prior VV intern and Citigroup experience

Decision Process and Timeline

Investment Process:

Initial Vetting - Present to team, assess mandate/alignment fit, evaluate problem/solution/team/upside/impact
Initial Diligence - Documentation, analysis, product testing, competitor assessment
Deep Diligence - Validate key concerns (product, traction, competitive landscape, revenue model) or verify attractions
Investment Committee - Formal vote and execution
Onboarding - Establish engagement cadence, value-add strategy, relationship building

Deal Generation: 88% of 2024 pipeline came from professional/personal networks, ecosystem sources (partner VCs, tech companies, corporates, accelerators), and "earned" deal flow (events, marketing, PR, podcasts)

Decision Timeline: Estimated 4-8 weeks from initial meeting to investment decision, based on Fund II process documentation

Warm Introductions: Not explicitly required, but strong network-based deal generation suggests warm introductions are preferred pathway

Notable Portfolio and Exits

Fund I Notable Companies:

Bright Seed Bio
The Every Company
Zocalo Health
Form Energy (energy storage, multiple rounds of support)
All Up (Latinx-founded professional networking)
Finix (payments infrastructure)
Suma Wealth (financial services)
Paladin (workplace tech)
Fundamental Research Labs (AI/enterprise)
Trustible.ai
Kira Finance

Fund II Recent Companies:

Aalo Atomics (renewable energy microreactors)
Handspring (youth mental health)
Settle (B2B payments)
Kira (embedded AI fintech)
WorkPatterns (future of work)
Rain (fintech)

Founder and Portfolio Characteristics

Founder Profile: Vamos Ventures shows strong preference for:

Diverse founding teams (100% requirement - at least one co-founder from underrepresented group)
Latinx founders (88% of Fund I portfolio)
First-generation and immigrant founders (36% immigrant co-founders in Fund I)
Female co-founders (48% female representation in Fund I)
Founders with lived experience relevant to problem they're solving
Technical founders with domain expertise

Portfolio Impact:

63% of portfolio have 50%+ diverse employee base
30% of portfolio have 50%+ Latinx employee base
85% of portfolio have 50%+ diverse employee base
Average diverse employee rate: 63% (5X higher than industry average for early-stage startups)

Headquarters, Location, and AUM

Headquarters: Los Angeles, California Website: https://vamosventures.com Domain: vamosventures.com

AUM Summary:

Fund I: $50M (fully deployed)
Fund II: $100M target ($150M hard cap) with $72M raised as of January 2025
Total AUM: $150M+ (Fund I + Fund II committed/raised capital)

Strategic Positioning

Vamos Ventures operates at the intersection of financial returns and social impact. Their positioning includes:

Early-mover advantage in underestimated founder segment
Unique access through diverse networks and lived experience
Operational support through dedicated portfolio manager and engagement platform
Impact mandate with measurable diversity and community benefit metrics
Co-investor relationships with foundations (Ford, Kellogg, Surdna, Cal Wellness), corporates (Apple, Bank of America, MassMutual, TPG, Delta), and public pension funds