We've Been on Both Sides of the Startup Desk

Our Story

Dundee VC was formally launched in 2010, but the root of the idea came much earlier, when Mark Hasebrook, Dundee VC’s founding and managing partner, raised money for his two e-commerce companies, giftcertificates.com and Hayneedle, in the late 1990s and early 2000s, respectively.

Despite building two fast-growing tech startups in Omaha, every dollar of capital to grow them came from the Bay Area and New York, at Series A and beyond. Those experiences left Mark frustrated and wondering why it was so difficult for technology entrepreneurs to raise seed-stage capital between the coasts.

Since the idea took root and the firm’s launch in 2010, Mark has built out a distributed team spread throughout the region to solve that problem and invest in early-stage tech founders throughout the Mighty Middle. Now, with more than 50 investments made and $75M raised across three funds, the focus remains the same – partnering early with talented tech entrepreneurs in the Mighty Middle and working closely with them to build a better future. 

We look to lead seed rounds, putting a stake in the ground as a true believer and being a trusted partner with our entrepreneurs.

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We look to lead or co-lead rounds, working directly with founding teams on an ongoing basis

How We Invest

  • We lead $1M-$3M rounds, typically as the first institutional capital partner.
  • Typical investments are $500K-$1M, and we invest across the seed spectrum: pre-seed, seed, and post-seed rounds.
  • Occasionally we will invest alongside an existing lead. We always want to be one of the most active investment partners, and biggest investors, in a round.
  • We invest in the Mighty Middle, which covers 26 states in the US and Ontario in Canada.
  • Our portfolio is a mix of (mostly) enterprise software, consumer brands, and marketplaces. We shy away from hardware or businesses requiring regulatory approval – everything else is fair game.

How We Work

  • Entrepreneurs have more choices than ever when raising capital – we work daily to be worthy of the choice entrepreneurs make to partner with us.
  • We often serve on the board or have board observer roles as part of our lead investment. We want to be your first call when you need help, someone to listen, or have a big win to celebrate.
  • We want to demystify what raising venture funding means. Throughout our investment decision process, diligence, and partnership with a company, we strive to be as transparent and straightforward as possible with what we see and how we are thinking. If we aren’t doing that, please call us out.