8VC is a firm built by founders for founders. Entrepreneurial DNA is one of our core values. Our partners have built companies from the ground up, and we understand what it takes to succeed across industries and verticals. The 8VC Build Program leverages our background as entrepreneurs, vantage point as investors, and powerful talent network to launch companies to address conceptual gaps in the market.
Through the investment process, we often identify whitespaces and internal theses where there are opportunities to remedy an important part of the world. We gain exposure through our work to determine the optimal approach to add value, often in tackling messy, legacy technical systems in industries paralyzed by their scale. The Build program creates a powerful channel for 8VC to act on these ideas, partnering with ambitious entrepreneurs and engineers, and creating positive feedback loops as we build sustainable businesses. 8VC Build companies are either initially driven by these internal theses or our Entrepreneurs-in-Residence, who join 8VC with a problem, technology, or vertical in mind.
8VC Founder and serial entrepreneur, Joe Lonsdale, is personally involved with each of the 8VC Build companies, helping to craft their theses and guide strategy. Partners across the firm work directly with our founders in the “Zero to One” process to give our companies unfair advantages.
Case Studies
We seek ideas that tackle the world’s greatest challenges and think on a grand scale. We ask what is possible now that was not possible 5 years ago given breakthroughs in technology. We seek to identify the biggest gaps from this ideal state to reality. Of these gaps, we assess which will meaningfully improve how the industry works and target those where we are confident there’s an entrepreneurial path to success. 8VC is willing and motivated to tackle problem spaces with higher barriers to entry, like govtech or healthcare, to yield results as these are often bigger and more important gaps to fix.
We are rigorous in challenging assumptions, always seeking to look at a problem from first principles. That said, there is a tension between the visionary, intuition-driven and evidence-based approach. As Steve Jobs famously said, “People don’t really know what they want until you show it to them.” Great entrepreneurs embrace the best aspects of both, and we are willing to take leaps of faith when our common sense and intuition suggests something is right before the data has made it obvious.
We search for uniquely equipped individuals (“artists”) at the top of their discipline, trading for the magnitude of their talent spikes against a breadth of generalist capabilities. With eyes wide open, these artists can be matched with teams of complementary skill sets, creating colonies of strength. This approach generates a dialectic organization, naturally cultivating highly diverse teams with a myriad of perspectives. By applying high rigor to the identification of these artists and composition of teams, 8VC Build ensures that the starting fabric of our companies is resilient, creative, and set up for success.
We identify individuals that marry rigorous thought, curiosity, and meticulous attention to the things that matter, with a strong moral compass. Great Builders are constantly learning, growing, and seeking self-improvement hand-in-hand with their businesses. Starting with a purpose greater than self ensures that our companies intrinsically focus on the outcomes and values that matter, with leadership that can weather obstacles and navigate challenges along the way.
Whether through the Build program or our broader portfolio and community, we seek to cultivate deep relationships with talented founders. Entrepreneurs-in-Residence (EIR) work directly with 8VC’s partners and within 8VC’s network to hone in on industry-upsetting Build company ideas.
