Mintaka is an early-stage venture capital firm backing founders with deep expertise and bold visions. Founded by Reed McBride (ex-Carta and Berkeley Law), Mintaka focuses on pre-seed and seed-stage investments. They’re cutting checks between $100K and $250K in Fund I, with plans to increase to $500K to $1M in Fund II.
The VC firm looks for high-potential startups with asymmetric upside, preferring to invest in companies valued at $20M or less to maximize returns.
We sat down with founder Reed McBride to learn more about his unique approach to venture capital, the specific traits he looks for in founders, and lessons he’s learned from a decade of investing & ops.
Mintaka’s Founder: Engineer turned Lawyer turned VC
Working with Mintaka means working closely with founder and Managing Partner Reed McBride. He seemed interested in founders getting to know him personally.
McBride’s background is only non-traditional in how almost comically traditional it sounds. McBride is an engineer and a Silicon Valley lawyer and a 3x startup exec. Which at first glance sounds like a false “Catch Me If You Can” doctor-lawyer identity. But Reed has the Berkeley law degree to back it up. He came to the interview in a sweatshirt and slightly grayed beard.
“I wouldn’t say my background is non-traditional, but it’s definitely unusual,” says McBride. “I studied engineering, then went to law school… That blend of analytical thinking and practical execution has been invaluable in venture.”
McBride spent years as a corporate attorney in Silicon Valley, working on high-profile VC and M&A deals at Orrick. While on track to make partner, he found himself drawn to the operational side of startups.
“What I loved most wasn’t the technical legal element [of my work],” McBride says. “It was advising founders and scaling companies.”
After working with Orrick client Nest on its acquisition by Google, McBride left the practice of law to help scale VC-backed startups like VSCO, Rigetti Computing, and eventually Carta, where he played a pivotal role. McBride helped to grow the company’s revenue from under $50 million to a whopping $450 million, helping solidify Carta as the company for cap table management and private markets infrastructure.
Despite his success in ops, McBride could never stay away from venture. He started angel investing a decade ago, backing early winners like Sourcegraph (now a well known unicorn working with many of the top public and private tech firms, leading banks, and gov agencies). McBride seems to have a knack for consistently identifying strong founders and high-potential businesses. This keen eye earned him a spot in Index Ventures’ Scout Program, further sharpening his eye for spotting winning companies.
By mid-2022, McBride was managing so much inbound interest from his network that he decided to formalize his investing under one umbrella. Mintaka was born.
“I didn’t want to deal with SPVs,” he explains. “If people wanted to invest alongside me, I told them, ‘You’re coming into my fund. That’s the only way.’” Within weeks, he raised over $5 million from friends and family—impressive for a part-time effort while still at Carta. That became Mintaka Fund I, which has since deployed capital into 20 companies.
What Mintaka Looks for in Companies
Mintaka’s focus is on high-potential founders building companies with asymmetric upside—often valued at $20M or less, ensuring that even a single unicorn-level success can generate outsized returns.
McBride has a well-defined framework for evaluating founders:
- Earned Insights – “I want founders who deeply understand the space, ideally from firsthand experience. Not just someone who saw ‘white space on a graph.’”
- Clear Market Timing (‘Why Now?’) – “Sometimes the world isn’t ready for an idea yet. I want to see what’s changed to make this the moment.”
- Go-to-Market Strategy – “A great product isn’t enough. How do you wedge into the market? How do you expand once you’re in?”
- Grit and Adaptability – “The best founders have conviction but can also adjust. If I introduce new information, do they resist or integrate it?”
- Long-Term Vision – “I want to know what the ‘second act’ of the company is. What happens after the initial success?”
Mintaka’s Approach: Beyond Capital
McBride’s investment strategy isn’t just about writing checks—it’s about “being a true partner”. That means working closely with McBride in the same way he worked with founders for over a decade. Mintaka’s approach is built on:
- First-Principles Thinking – Instead of relying solely on pattern recognition, Mintaka focuses on fundamental business logic to evaluate opportunities.
- Tactical Support – From fundraising strategy to closing key hires, Mintaka gets involved in meaningful ways beyond traditional VC value-add. This includes deep dives into ops and strategy with the founding team, on an as needed basis.
- Being a “Super-Connector” – McBride is known for his ability to bring in the right investors, advisors, and customers to accelerate growth. His extensive network is a key value proposition.
- Deep Operating Experience – Having worked at multiple scaling startups, McBride understands the challenges founders face and helps them navigate everything from product strategy to hiring to M&A.
Portfolio Highlights
Some of Mintaka’s early bets include:
- Doss – A next-generation ERP system that’s shaking up an industry where 12-month implementations were the norm. Doss can get customers up and running in two weeks, even if they’re on a legacy system today.
- Grove Safety – A simple yet powerful product improving school safety at a cost of just $100 per classroom, making adoption a no-brainer for schools and law enforcement agencies.
- Curve Bio – Detecting early markers for chronic diseases, including those known to cause cancer, with the potential to reduce healthcare costs at scale.
- CapitalOS – Founded by an ex-Stripe and Tipalti GM, this fintech infrastructure company is allowing financial products to be offered seamlessly within any vertical SaaS platform.
- Subsalt — Unlocking regulated data sets so they can be used to train AI models.
McBride’s approach isn’t just about writing checks. Founders describe him as a high-value partner, leveraging his deep operating experience, extensive network, and strategic thinking to help them navigate everything from product strategy, to hiring, to M&A. Working with Mintaka means McBride becomes your secret weapon.
To that end, a founder in Mintaka’s portfolio recently shared the following, “Reed’s unique background as a startup attorney, operator, and now VC makes him an incredible person to have in your corner. I’ve never met an investor as consistently and enthusiastically prepared to dive into the most nuanced topics about our product, market, and strategy. Because Reed has built products and businesses, he also has a unique ability to see what is possible for our business, as well as the path to get there. His remarkable ability to put himself in a founder’s shoes—or those of our prospective customers and competitors—is one of the many reasons I always look forward to our conversations.”
Common Mistakes in Pitches—and How to Fix Them
What are founders doing wrong? It can feel like sending pitches into a black hole, hearing no after no without clear explanations (even with a strong product-market fit).
With years of evaluating startups, McBride has seen his fair share of weak pitches. Some of the most common mistakes include:
- Lack of Differentiation – “If it’s a crowded space, and you don’t have a clear reason why you’ll win, it’s an easy pass.”
- Unclear Go-to-Market – “Who’s your first customer? What’s the painkiller? If that’s not obvious, adoption will be slow.”
- No Path to a Real Business Model – “Some founders are building features, not companies. Even if they scale, the economics don’t work.”
- Overemphasis on ‘Perfect’ Pitching – “It’s not about polish, it’s about strong, differentiated thinking. A great deck with strong proof points will get investors to dig deeper.”
Advice for Athletes Interested in Venture
McBride sees strong parallels between high-performing athletes and the founders he backs. “Athletes understand grit, competition, and long-term discipline,” he says. He also believes athletes have a unique opportunity to leverage their networks in meaningful ways. Whether it’s using their influence to boost a company like Grove Safety in their communities or investing in startups with game-changing health applications, athletes can be more than just capital providers—they can be catalysts.
For those looking to get into venture, McBride advises: “Find your tribe. Invest in meaningful relationships, not just ‘networking.’ The best opportunities come from deep, authentic connections.”
With Mintaka Fund II on the horizon, McBride is just getting started. If his track record so far is any indication, the companies he’s backing today may be the next unicorns of tomorrow.
Learn more about Mintaka and how to invest here. If you’re a founder or investor interested in working with Reed, you can reach him personally at reed@mintakavc.com.
