https://medium.com/@bryce/the-end-of-indie-6e1b92d90b09 Get started Open in app Bryce Roberts 20K Followers About Follow Sign in Get started Follow 20K Followers About Get started Open in app The End of Indie Bryce Roberts Bryce Roberts 4 hours ago*3 min read 6 years ago, a mysterious Tumblr site appeared on the internet. It had no branding, or slick design, or any indication of who was behind it. The site simply spelled out a hypothesis that founders needed a new kind of startup funding option for building independent, venture-scale companies. The site went on to propose an experiment that included a new investment structure and a community of like-minded founders. Image for post Image for post The reaction was immediate and the site spent the next few days nested at the top of Hacker News. Image for post Image for post That post generated hundreds of applications that turned into 8 companies that received investment. 6 years later, each of those initial 8 is still in business with many of them generating 7 and 8 figures in revenue. In addition to the investments, the post kicked off an extended conversation about how who, and what gets funded by traditional venture capital and the need for funding options that sit between bank loans and blitzscaling. Being part of that conversation has been incredibly rewarding. But it has come at a cost. We've not been shy in sharing the challenges of departing from the well-known narratives of startups and VCs. 4 years ago, it cost us 80% of our LP base. Unfortunately, as we've sought to lean more aggressively into scaling our investments and ideas behind an "Indie Economy" we've not found that same level of enthusiasm from the institutional LP market. Image for post Image for post Sample of (many) rejection emails from LPs This is not intended to be a pity party; rather, a public acknowledgment that the initial Indie experiment has come to an end. After funding nearly 40 Indie.vc companies, we will not be accepting or making any further Indie investments at this time. We're proud of the work we've done as investors, brand builders, and movement makers. We love Indie! The founders we've funded, the Scouts we've recruited, the products we've shipped, the impact we've had. All of it! I have no doubt that in 4-5 years we'll see our Indie companies posting comparable results as our previous funds that have generated 5x+ net multiples for our LPs. That said, without the institutional support to scale the Indie Economy we envision, it's time to take our learnings and refocus on other strategies within the portfolio to deploy our capital. To our friends, founders, Scouts, and supporters- thank you. It's been an honor to write this chapter of our careers alongside you. Maybe we'll get the band back together to take another run at the Indie opportunity down the road. But today, it's time to turn the page and begin writing the next chapter. Onward. Bryce Roberts VC, Dad Follow 1.1K 15 1.1K 1.1K 15 More from Bryce Roberts Follow VC, Dad More From Medium It's Not About The Tech Bryce Roberts [1] [1] NYTimes Peru N-Word, Part One: Introduction Donald G. McNeil Jr. [1] [1] NYTimes Peru N-Word, Part Two: What Happened January 28? Donald G. McNeil Jr. [1] [1] NYTimes Peru N-Word, Part Three: What Happened in the 2019 Investigation? Donald G. McNeil Jr. [1] [1] NYTimes Peru N-Word, Part Four: What Happened in Peru? Donald G. McNeil Jr. [1] [1] My Boyfriend Sleeps in the Same Bed as Another Woman Every Night Matilda Swinney in Real Talk About Sex [0] [0] 9 Painful Signs That Your Partner Is No Longer In Love With You Elizabeth Kasujja in Hello, Love [1] [1] Owning a Decrepit Shack in The Middle of Nowhere Is The New American Millennial Dream Jessica Wildfire in The Apeiron Blog [1] [1] About Help Legal Get the Medium app A button that says 'Download on the App Store', and if clicked it will lead you to the iOS App store A button that says 'Get it on, Google Play', and if clicked it will lead you to the Google Play store