Getting back to basics with my new firm—Ritual Capital

Today, I am excited to announce the launch of my new firm - Ritual Capital.

Ritual Capital is a $38M early-stage venture firm that invests in infrastructure and developer tools, SaaS companies, and select consumer ideas. I write collaborative ~$300k checks to exceptional founding teams, and then provide as much support as I can to help them build enduring, iconic companies.

After 10 years of running Fuel Capital and investing in more than a dozen unicorns (including Figma, Flexport, Lattice, and Convoy) across three consecutive top-quartile funds, I'm launching something new. Or, more accurately, I’m launching something old. Let me explain.

Being one of the first to believe in a founder, helping them imagine what success looks like - that's why I picked the seed stage. I love the focus - small checks, small teams - and working collaboratively with other early investors. Most of all, I love being all in from the start, and doing everything to help companies get from 0 to 1.

With Ritual, I’m getting back to those roots.

I’ve seen what uncommon success looks like, up close and from the start, having invested in some of the most iconic tech companies over the past decade. What I’ve learned from those founders is that being exceptional takes more than passion and dedication. It takes a system of rituals. That’s what inspired the name of the firm, and it’s also core to our ethos.

Building the next chapter of my life around this concept is exciting to me - both professionally and personally. There are three rituals in particular that have served me well in my investing career, and I’ve structured this new firm around them:

1. Believe fully in founders, first.

2. Be an exceptional collaborator.

3. Help founders tell their stories.

On this last point, I’ve seen time and again that founders who prioritize marketing and recruiting early have a higher chance of success. Uncovering that unique story - one that deeply resonates with both customers and employees - is like magic for an early-stage company. Over my 15 years of investing (and my time working in marketing and advertising agencies), I’ve seen that story can be the difference between dominance and death for young companies.

That's why I brought on two incredible Operating Partners to collaborate with our founders on shaping the stories that will elevate their brands and scale their teams.

Jamie Viggiano, Fuel’s CMO for the past four years and the marketing athlete who made Taskrabbit a household name, is one of the leading minds in early-stage brand strategy. Jamie has helped hundreds of companies find their voice. It’s something she is insanely great at and I’m excited to partner with her to help Ritual founders build a foundation for their brand, positioning, PR, and all things go-to-market.

Talent makes or breaks a company, and the first ten employees set the tone for how (or if) a startup grows. That’s why I’m also thrilled to welcome Deva Santiago, one of the most talented recruiters in Silicon Valley, who will help Ritual founders build best practices in sourcing, interviewing, and putting the systems in place to build a world-class team. A long-term collaborator of mine (and a Fuel investor since Fund I), Deva has built and scaled recruiting programs for some of the most iconic technology companies of our time - including Dropbox, Weebly, Nurx, Rippling, and now Tailscale.

Ritual Capital’s operating mandate is to help founders identify the methods, actions, and behaviors - the rituals - that will drive excellence over time. We'll cull the best practices and build a community of extraordinary people from all disciplines to help our founders identify the practices that lead to excellence.

This is an exciting new step and I can’t wait to dig in further. I’ve been lucky to work with so many incredible entrepreneurs over my 15-year career. Going forward, I’m excited to continue to actively support Fuel founders and manage those funds alongside my partner, Leah Solivan. To the founders I’ve had the privilege to work with thus far, I want to say you’ve inspired this next chapter and I’m honored to have you in the Ritual network and many of you as investors. I also want to thank our LPs - many of you have been on this journey with me for more than a decade, and I welcome the ones who are joining me now to build this new firm. Your belief means so much.

If you’re a founder and this resonates with you, please reach out. I’d love to hear from you at chris@ritualcapital.com.