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The potential value a celebrity investor can bring to a consumer company, beyond just writing a check, is obvious: marketing and promotion. But that value is less clear when it comes to backing B2B startups. Alex Pall and Drew Taggart, also known as the Chainsmokers, think their VC fund Mantis VC can bring a value add traditional VCs can’t.
Exploring B2B Investment Opportunities
At TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 alongside one of their founders, Dan Lorenc, the co-founder and CEO of cybersecurity startup Chainguard, Pall said that the group initially got into B2B investing because they got tired of feeling like the QVC of startups working with consumer companies that just wanted to work with them for promotion. The duo became increasingly interested in B2B due to the strong market opportunities in that space despite not having much experience with those types of businesses.
A Unique Approach to Value Addition
“It felt like a market opportunity to kind of stand out and maybe provide, you know, a different perspective or different type of value back to those types of companies,” Pall said. “Our strategy and the way we model our fund is to kind of be this like Robin to everyone’s Batman, and kind of provide a different level of support and perspective and connectivity that maybe the traditional fund isn’t so focused on.” Taggart added that they aren’t looking to be the next Sequoia either because that firm already exists and comes with a certain level of value.
Building a Strong Network for Mutual Benefit
One area where they think they can help companies is through their network. Pall said that the Chainsmokers have played private shows for pretty much every Fortune 500 company. And while they didn’t think of it as building a network for investing at the time, they have since been able to connect their portfolio founders to these companies.
“It worked out really well for us because these are, you know, some really powerful decision-makers or leaders in their respective spaces,” Pall added. Lorenc backed up these statements, too. He added that they’ve not only been helpful in making introductions for him to potential customers but they’ve also been helpful on the hiring front, too.
The Chainsmokers hope that these early B2B investments that they’ve made help them get taken more seriously in the space so they can continue to build out that portfolio.
