Purple Arch Ventures

Smart, Simple Venture Investing for Northwestern Alums

What Is Purple Arch Ventures?

 

The smartest, simplest way for Northwestern alums to add venture capital to their portfolio. We are also…

  • A full-time alumni investment team
  • An Investment Committee with over 250 years of investing experience
  • 10K+ alumni followers
  • The only fund of its kind for Northwestern alumni
  • Private, for-profit, and not officially sanctioned by the university

 

Follow the Fund



“I’ve been very impressed by my experience investing with Purple Arch Ventures. The management team is constructing a compelling portfolio with a high level of intelligence, due diligence, and professionalism. In addition, the investment committee is experienced and diverse, drawing from a wide range of perspectives including industry, geography, age, and gender. And as an investor, making the investment in PAV was clear and well-organized, using state-of-the-art digital communications and platforms. I highly recommend investing with Purple Arch Ventures as a professional way to diversify your investment portfolio with venture funded companies.”

Kristin McDonnellManaging Partner of Menlo Group

“I have been involved investing in entrepreneurial endeavors for 16 years, and have been very impressed with the effectiveness of the processes at Purple Arch. Every deal they brought to the IC has been more than appropriate, and in fact we have invested in all but 1. They have also been very conscientious about diversifying the portfolio, to increase the likelihood of success. Plus, they’re just good people to deal with, both personally and professionally.”

Mary Jo PotterFounder and CEO Healthcare Angels

“Purple Arch provides opportunities to invest in rounds that would be difficult to access and offers a seamless diligence and investment process.”

Andrea JacksonPrincipal of Technology

Why Invest in Venture Capital?

VC Outperforms the S&P

Key Takeaways

VC has consistently outperformed the S&P

VC can do well, even when other asset classes don’t

Sophisticated investors put 5-15% of their portfolios in VC

Investment Strategy

Smart, Simple Venture Investing

Diversified Venture Portfolio

15 – 30 investments per fund, diversified by stage, sector, and geography

Co-Invest with Strong Lead Investors

We only invest when a strong, established investor (often a fellow alum) is leading the financing

Deal Access via Alumni Connections

Entrepreneurial teams desire our investment because we are a meaningful check, low friction, and have a large rolodex

Co-Invest Alongside Top Venture Firms

Invest In Deals Most Individuals Never Know About or Get Access To

  • 3M New Ventures
  • 500 Startups
  • Accel Partners
  • Accomplice
  • Alsop Louie Partners
  • Andreessen Horowitz
  • Arena Ventures
  • Aspect Venture Partners
  • Atlas Ventures
  • Benchmark
  • Bessemer Venture Partners
  • Bezos Expeditions
  • BlackRock
  • Blockchain Capital
  • Borealis Ventures
  • Comcast Ventures
  • CrunchFund
  • Drive Capital Jurvetson (DFJ Capital)
  • Draper Fisher
  • Flybridge Capital
  • Elephant Partners
  • Founder Collective
  • Foundry Group
  • F-Prime Capital (Fidelity)
  • General Catalyst Partners
  • Golden Seeds
  • Goldman Sachs Ventures
  • Google Ventures
  • Greylock Partners
  • Highland Capital
  • Javelin Partners
  • Khosla Ventures
  • Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers
  • Lightspeed Venture Partners
  • Link Ventures
  • Maveron
  • Menlo Ventures
  • ML Capital
  • New Enterprise Associates (NEA)
  • Nokia Growth Partners
  • Norwest Venture Partners
  • NXT Ventures
  • Obvious Ventures
  • OrbiMed
  • Pelion Venture Partners
  • Relay Ventures
  • Resolute Ventures
  • Sequoia Capital
  • Summit Partners
  • Space Angels
  • SV Angel
  • Thiel Capital
  • Venrock
  • Winklevoss Capital
  • Y Combinator

How does Purple Arch Ventures assemble a great portfolio for me?

  • Full-time investment team wakes up every morning dedicated to delivering a diverse portfolio to investors
  • An Investment Committee with over 250 years of investing experience
  • We use our Northwestern and broader Alumni Ventures Group network to access deals that simply are not available to most individuals
  • We only invest in deals with a strong lead investor with sector expertise, combining their due diligence with our own

 

See Purple Arch Portfolio

“Having been on the investing side for nearly two decades, I’ve learned the returns created for investors are directly correlated to sourcing quality deal flow, a process that is highly inefficient as it is based largely on the relationships a few partners have at a VC/PE firm. Purple Arch Ventures has institutionalized this process by wisely recognizing the power of utilizing the networks of tens of thousands of alumni rather than depending on a small handful of people. This powerful network allows Purple Arch to see many more opportunities and be more selective in finding their next investment.”

Vamsi YadlapatiManaging Director Focus Financial Partners

“As an Investor and Investment Committee member, I have been extremely impressed with the quality and quantity of viable investment opportunities presented. The review process has been seamless and extremely professional. A high level of diligence is performed upfront and information is provided in a very thorough and timely manner. The overall communication has been outstanding and I feel highly confident with PAV’s investment strategy and execution.”

David MusonManaging Partner Kirenaga Partners

“Purple Arch Ventures provides an amazing avenue for Northwestern alums to support Northwestern entrepreneurs while strengthening the alumni network and bond. The level of commitment, sophistication of due diligence, and strategy to tap a diverse set of alumni experiences to evaluate opportunities enable an extremely smart & systematic evaluation process. As an IC member, deals are presented to the committee in an extremely well-thought out manner including initial analysis of the deal, market/domain context, and an opportunity to engage directly with the CEO. The overall experience has exceeded my expectations and look forward to future Purple Arch Fund opportunities.”

Grant GochnauerCo-founder and CTO @ Vodori