Q. What does 9Mile Labs do?
9Mile Labs invests in pre-seed stage enterprise / B2B technology startups that have been accepted into top accelerators across the U.S.
Q. Did 9Mile Labs run an accelerator previously?
Yes. 9Mile Labs started in January 2013 as a mentoring-focused enterprise/B2B startup accelerator in Seattle. The objective was to help companies build scalable, repeatable and profitable businesses with the ideas they brought to us.
Since our founding in 2013, we have run 6 cohorts and invested in 59 pre-seed stage companies as part of the accelerator program. Many of these companies have gone on to raise subsequent rounds of funding while making great progress on their product and customer acquisition goals. The aggregate book value of our portfolio has consistently increased over the years as has the aggregate annual revenues of the portfolio companies.
Q. What kind of investments do you make in startups?
We make investments of $50-100k in pre-seed stage startups.
Q. How long do you take to make your investment decisions?
We will typically perform a one hour interview with all co-founders, either face-to-face or via video conference. After the interview, we commit to responding to entrepreneurs within a week of the interview. At the end of that week we will respond with a “Yes” or “No,” no “Maybe.”
Q. How is your current investment strategy different from what you have done previously?
9Mile Labs makes pre-seed investments in early stage startups that are accepted into top accelerators across the country. We no longer run the fixed length accelerator program that requires a demo day, events, people and a physical infrastructure. This allows us to maximize the amount of our investors’ funds deployed into early stage startups.
For more details, read Our Story
Q. Do you still run accelerator cohorts?
We do not run an accelerator program or cohorts any more.
Q. Do you accept applications from entrepreneurs? Can startups work with you directly?
We will work with entrepreneurs directly, if you have already been accepted into an accelerator. If you have, please fill out the following application form to provide us few details about your company.
Just to re-emphasize, 9Mile Labs invests in startups that have already been accepted into other accelerators. You may reach out to us if you are an enterprise/B2B startup that has a complete team (hacker, hustler, visionary) and either growing revenue or demonstrated evidence of deep customer validation, such as Letters of Intent (LOIs).
Q. Are you a fund of funds now?
No, we’re not. We still invest directly into technology startups, not into other venture funds.
Q: Do you invest in convertible notes or priced rounds?
When investing on our own, our preference is 500 Startups’ open-sourced KISS note that we believe is well-thought-through and strikes a good balance between the interests of entrepreneurs as well as investors.
If your company already has an investment vehicle in place with another investor, we’re happy to join that.
Q What are the terms of your investments?
We invest $50-100k at valuations (or valuation caps) of $1-3M. We have made rare exceptions in the case of significant traction.
Q. Do you only invest in Seattle startups?
We work with accelerators across the U.S. If you’ve been accepted into one of the accelerators, we will work with you regardless of your geographical location.
Q. How can I work with 9Mile Labs?
If you’re a Managing Director (MD) of an accelerator, please send us an email at accelerators@9milelabs.com. We’d love to set up some time with you to discuss how we can work together.
If you’re an entrepreneur, please fill out the following application form