Zane Venture Fund Research
Investment Thesis and Mission
Zane Venture Fund was founded in 2018 by Shila Nieves Burney with a mission rooted in addressing health equity and creating generational wealth for overlooked founders. The fund's founding story is deeply personal—Shila created Zane following her daughter's shooting in 2018, which inspired her to invest in building a healthier, more equitable future.
The fund operates on a conviction that the best investment opportunities often exist in markets everyone else ignores. Rather than focusing on traditional healthcare systems, Zane invests in the "Future of Health"—companies building tech-enabled solutions that address the social determinants of health and preventable drivers of chronic disease.
Zane's dual approach combines:
- Zane Access: A groundbreaking platform revolutionizing deal flow and founder development in the Southeast, providing education and capital access to early-stage founders
- Zane Venture Fund: Direct investment fund focused on high-potential startups
Current Fund and Strategy
Fund II - "The Healthy Human Economy"
Zane's Fund II is focused on tackling what the firm calls a critical economic and human challenge: chronic illness. Key statistics that drive their thesis:
- U.S. population life expectancy is 5 years shorter than peer nations
- 70% of the population has at least one chronic illness
- 40% of U.S. youth are overweight or obese
- 77% of military recruits are rejected as unfit to serve
- Chronic illness costs the U.S. $1.1T annually in lost productivity and $4.05T in healthcare spending
Rather than investing in traditional healthcare (the "sickcare" system), Zane targets the "Addressable Drivers of Health" (ADH):
- Preventative Health: Access to tools and preventions to promote health
- Food: Access to healthy, affordable whole foods
- Market Focus: Companies addressing $1B+ total addressable markets with clear paths to category leadership
Investment Criteria and Check Sizes
Investment Requirements:
- Market Size: $1B+ Total Addressable Market
- Growth Rate: 100%+ Year-over-Year
- Technology: Scalable tech-enabled solutions
- Primary Geographic Focus: Southeast United States (with opportunistic investments nationwide)
Check Sizes:
- Initial investment: $250K-$1M (typical pre-seed range)
- Check size range: $1M-$2.5M (per Business Insider reporting)
- Average Seed round participation: $3.25M (based on market data)
- Fund I demonstrated reserve capacity for follow-on funding
Stage and Geographic Focus
Investment Stages:
- Primary: Pre-Seed and Seed (early-stage focus)
- Secondary: Series A (selective)
- Portfolio demonstrates multi-stage follow-on investment capacity
Geographic Focus:
- Primary: Southeast United States (Atlanta-based, regional ecosystem expertise)
- Secondary: Opportunistic nationwide investments in companies aligned with health equity thesis
- International: Limited based on available data
Recent Activity and Portfolio
Fund I Performance (2020-2025):
- Achieved $180M in economic impact for Atlanta/Southeast ecosystem
- Supported 100+ early-stage founders
- Portfolio companies raised combined $58M ($18M Access platform, $40M follow-on venture funding)
- Average portfolio company growth: 3x revenue growth
- Created dozens of new jobs in region
Fund II Deployment:
- Currently actively deploying Fund II capital
- Documented 19 total investments across both funds
- Fund status: Actively investing as of 2025-2026
Notable Portfolio Companies:
- SkillCycle - Health/wellness tech (recognized by Financial Times as fastest-growing in Americas)
- OME Kitchen - Food security and nutrition
- Freeing Returns - Enterprise B2B SaaS (merchandise returns platform)
- MDisrupt - Medical device/health tech
- ConConnect - Healthcare infrastructure
- Beach Box - Social impact/community tech
- SellerOS - Seller operations/SaaS
- SimpliWorks - Enterprise SaaS (3x growth with Zane support)
Team and Decision-Making
Leadership:
- Shila Nieves Burney, Founder and Managing Partner: 20+ years in investing, program development, and ecosystem building. Former Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Harvard Ventures, mentor at Pipeline Angels. Board member at CED and advisor at Endeavor. Recognized by Business Insider as a Top VC in 2024.
Venture Partners and Advisors:
- Sig Mosley, Venture Partner: Known as "The Godfather of Angel Investing" in the Southeast. 30+ years in venture, record for largest Southeast venture deal ($5.7B TradeX), funded 145+ startups with 100+ exits. Former President of Imlay Investments.
- Rachel Wilson, Strategic Advisor: Former Managing Partner of The BFM Fund, managed $120M AUM, achieved 10x returns across portfolio. Specializes in fundraising, LP relations, portfolio construction. Board member of Black Women in Venture Capital.
Decision Process:
- Partnership model with active engagement from multiple principals
- Shila leads investment thesis and founder selection
- Sig brings extensive deal flow and exit expertise
- Rachel provides operational infrastructure and performance optimization
- MBA Scholar-in-Residence program brings fresh perspectives to investment evaluation
Founder Philosophy and Value Add
Founder Profile Preferences: Zane actively seeks "inspirational founders"—individuals who have experienced something broken and have the courage to fix it. The firm looks for:
- Grit over polish
- Fearlessness combined with humility
- Demonstrated ability to endure and persist through challenges
- Deep personal connection to their problem space
- Track record of bringing innovative products to market
Value-Added Services:
- Growth Acceleration: Accelerated learning, GTM strategy development, market messaging
- Operational Support: Leadership development, operating disciplines & routines, scalable infrastructure
- Network Access: Strategic partner introductions, customer connections, follow-on capital access
- Mentorship: Direct partnership with portfolio companies on strategic decisions
- Ecosystem: Access to Zane's network across Southeast and national partners
Decision Timeline and Process
While specific decision timelines aren't publicly detailed, portfolio company case studies suggest a responsive, founder-centric process with 2-4 weeks from pitch to initial decision.