In their own words.
Tell us about Joy.
I'm the co-founder and CEO of Joy. Joy is a tool that helps couples plan their wedding from engagement to honeymoon and all steps in between. We've raised from several different organizations starting with Y Combinator, to firms like General Catalyst, Avalon, Sierra, and Sound Ventures. We have something like 60–70 different investors in the company.
What makes MVP stand out among 60+ investors?
They're literally constantly almost scouting to find how they can help — not just asking us, but keeping their antennae out and feeling out the entire environment. Having a fund that ambiently keeps your company at the back of their mind while they're doing anything else is pretty amazing. Not everybody will do that. They genuinely get it, and they are thinking like you. Because they're thinking like you, most of their suggestions and ideas are aligned — because they were aligned at the very beginning.
Can you give a specific example?
My team was trying to get in touch with Away and they didn't know anybody, and neither did I. In one day, Gray basically said, "Hey, I'm meeting with the CEO of Away. Would you like to meet with them this Friday?" These people had been trying to get in touch with that company for months — and it happened just like that.
How do you think about MVP's value vs. their check size?
When somebody starts their mission by saying they want to be your most helpful investor, that tells you something — they're like an extended version of your team. If you could hire four or five highly qualified, very networked individuals on your team, but instead of paying them a salary they paid you to work with you, would you take them? Of course you would. I don't honestly even remember how much they invested, and I don't care — the dollar amount is almost irrelevant. When we raise the next round of funding, despite their very small check compared to the rest, we will keep the allocation they want, because they've delivered way over what their check size was.