Resolute leads pre-seed and seed rounds and is almost always a founder's first VC check. The firm backs people rather than ideas — founders 'with the grit, energy and conviction to bring their ideas to life' — and aspires to be a founder's 'first call' from outset to exit. Co-founder Mike Hirshland's stated MO is to back 'teams we fall in love with, with ideas that we fall in love with,' and the firm wraps that capital in a tight founder community rather than a board-driven governance relationship.
A founder on a genuine mission tied to a problem they care deeply about — an idea Resolute can 'fall in love with,' not a generic startup search. They explicitly back people and missions over polished ideas.
“We're backing founders who really have a mission, who have a vision for changing the world.” — About Resolute Ventures
“We back people rather than ideas.” — Resolute Ventures
“Our mo, what we really like to do is to be backing teams we fall in love with, with ideas that we fall in love with and just that.” — Mike Hirshland
Evidence the founder can actually build the thing — ideally technical depth. Resolute is comfortable with an unfinished product but wants to see the founder build, and values technical proximity to the truth over a 'perfect' polished launch.
“I've always been both a tech entrepreneur who is passionate about building businesses and working on product, and a business guy who thinks the more technical you are, the closer you are to the truth.” — Thanks Automattic, Hello Resolute Ventures
“I love working with founders and helping early stage companies navigate and make sense of the amazing opportunities and the chaos.” — Raanan Bar-Cohen
A fundamentally large market opportunity. Resolute is willing to take team and product risk but not market risk — it must believe the market is big, and it will pass when the market is structurally too small.
“For our model, we're looking for companies that are early and where the valuation is in a band that will allow us to get our 10%.” — 20VC: The Acceptable vs Unacceptable Risks To Take When Seed Investing (Mike Hirshland)
Very little. Resolute often invests when there is a founder, an idea and not much more, and is still betting on teams while the rest of seed chases early traction. It is indifferent to whether a product exists on day 1 or day 365.
“But if there's one thing we could be right about all the time, it would be the founding team.” — 20VC: The Acceptable vs Unacceptable Risks To Take When Seed Investing (Mike Hirshland)
“We support founders at the outset of their journey.” — Resolute Ventures
The single thing Resolute most wants to be right about. They look for grit, energy and conviction, a 'messianic attitude,' and founders who are obsessively building. Resolute leans toward backing the team even amid product and idea uncertainty.
“But if there's one thing we could be right about all the time, it would be the founding team.” — 20VC: The Acceptable vs Unacceptable Risks To Take When Seed Investing (Mike Hirshland)
“Backing people with the grit, energy and conviction to bring their ideas to life.” — Resolute Ventures
“We back people rather than ideas.” — Resolute Ventures
“I'm a big believer that you need in-person time with colleagues, but certainly, most workers don't need to be in the office every single hour, every single day.” — Raanan Bar-Cohen
A path to a venture-scale business, not premature growth-at-all-costs. Resolute warns against chasing growth purely to attract funding and prefers experimental, data-driven founders who get the product right before scaling.
“We back our founders as a lead investor and are almost always their first VC check.” — About Resolute Ventures
“For our model, we're looking for companies that are early and where the valuation is in a band that will allow us to get our 10%.” — Mike Hirshland
Resolute is comfortable backing non-consensus ideas — it does not need an idea many people already like, and notes that broad early appeal is uncorrelated to success. Defensibility comes from a mission-driven team building something the world needs.
“We believe they have what it takes to invent and build new ways for the world to work.” — Resolute Ventures
“Our mo, what we really like to do is to be backing teams we fall in love with, with ideas that we fall in love with and just that.” — Mike Hirshland
Resolute is largely timing-agnostic on the product clock — it does not need a perfect 'why now' market window so long as the founder is building. It backs founders inventing new ways for the world to work.
“We believe they have what it takes to invent and build new ways for the world to work.” — Resolute Ventures
“Being the first believer in a founder provides an opportunity to build a meaningful relationship and long-term partnership.” — Resolute Ventures
“We support founders at the outset of their journey.” — Resolute Ventures
Resolute leads the round as the first VC check and targets ~10% ownership, so the ask and valuation must fit a band that supports that. It establishes formal governance (a board) later, around the Series A, not at seed.
“We back our founders as a lead investor and are almost always their first VC check.” — About Resolute Ventures
“In terms of our initial check, which we think is critical in terms of getting to 10% on that first check, and then we're, I would say, combination of vigilant plus creative in terms of our second and third checks.” — Mike Hirshland
“I think it's around the series a. I think when you're raising a series a level of capital, I think that the investors have an understandable interest in governance.” — Mike Hirshland
“But if there's one thing we could be right about all the time, it would be the founding team.”
“I've always been both a tech entrepreneur who is passionate about building businesses and working on product, and a business guy who thinks the more technical you are, the closer you are to the truth.”