The Designer Fund is a community that invests in designer founders through mentorship and angel funding. It connects aspiring startup designers with successful designer founders and angels from companies like YouTube, Facebook, Google, IDEO and startups like Path and Flipboard. The Designer Fund aims to be the premier community for entrepreneurial designers by creating a feedback loop where aspiring designers can learn from startup successes and become founders themselves. It works by sourcing promising designer founders, connecting them with angels and mentors, and aims to partner with sponsoring organizations to make the fund sustainable long-term.

1. “We’re a community of designers
who invest in designer founders
through mentorship, angel
funding & access to our network”
designerfund.com
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2. “We’re like AngelList
for designers”
designerfund.com
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3. Who’s Behind The
Designer Fund?
Our 40+ angels and mentors range from early stage designers at YouTube,
Facebook, Google, and Twitter to designers at IDEO, Cooper, Jump Associates,
and Method to current designers at startups like Path and Flipboard.
Angels & Mentors
Angels include Christina Brodbeck (founding designer at YouTube), Ben
Blumenfeld (Design lead at Facebook), Dave Morin (founder of Path, co-
inventor of Facebook Platform & Connect), Scott Belsky (Founder of Behance),
Michal Kopec (Design lead at Cisco), Michael Dearing (Harrison Metal)
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4. Who’s Behind The
Designer Fund?
Our 40+ angels and mentors range from early stage designers at YouTube,
Facebook, Google, and Twitter to designers at IDEO, Cooper, Jump Associates,
and Method to current designers at startups like Path and Flipboard.
Angels & Mentors
Angels include Christina Brodbeck (founding designer at YouTube), Ben
Blumenfeld (Design lead at Facebook), Dave Morin (founder of Path, co-
inventor of Facebook Platform & Connect), Scott Belsky (Founder of Behance),
Michal Kopec (Design lead at Cisco), Michael Dearing (Harrison Metal)
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5. Assertion #1
Differentiated brand & experience design
is critical to achieving meaningful impact
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6. Assertion #1
“Design, not just visual, is an essential
part of great startups” Vinod Khosla, KV
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7. But, The Problem Is...
San Francisco Historical Photograph Collection
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8. Sourcing Designers &
Connecting Is Hard
“Great” Startup
Designers Ecosystem

9. The Solution:
Community First
We’re focused on creating the BEST
community of designer
founders, angels & mentors
Designer Founders
Awesomeness of
# of Entrepreneurial Designers
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10. With A Magnetic
Feedback Loop
2. 1.
Aspiring Startup
Startup Designer
Designers Success
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11. But, What Is The
Designer Fund?
“The aggregation point of the best entrepreneurial
designers in the world,” Chi-Hua Chien, KPCB
The
Designer
Fund

12. Really, What Is The
Designer Fund?
NOT another incubator, instead, we’re a
complementary extension to existing funds
The
Designer
Fund

13. How Does It Work?

14. How Does It Work?
Source
Non-Profit

15. How Does It Work?
Source Fund
Angels
Non-Profit
& Mentors

16. How Does It Work?
Source Fund Refer
Angels Sponsoring
Non-Profit
& Mentors Partners

17. Who’s Sponsoring
Our Construction?
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18. Contact:
enrique@500startups.com
Awesome Can You Startup
Designers Help Sponsor? Ecosystem

19. Thank you!
Enrique Allen is committed to making The Designer Fund a sustainable community-driven
investment vehicle to help designers create businesses with meaningful impact. Previously he
was the founding designer at 500 Startups an early stage seed fund & accelerator in Silicon
Valley. To date, he’s been a designer in residence with over 40 startups (6 acquired) including
previous portfolios with Facebook’s fbFund & Venrock. Enrique is a Bay Area Native who
continues to teach at the Stanford d.school & contribute research with Stanford Persuasive
Technology Lab. As a secret agent for world peace, Enrique meditates, makes public art &
plays soccer.
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