About Us
Small Investments in Big Ideas
Tigris Ventures is an unconventional seed-stage investment firm and venture incubator with access to over $50M in capital. We seek out compelling opportunities that can significantly impact healthcare and the environment. We focus on early-stage ventures, primarily in the Southern California region, with relatively low risk that can produce a significant return on investment within two to four years.
How We Are Different
Unlike most VC firms, we invest our own capital, and will entertain opportunities whose exit valuations are relatively modest, typically in the $5-100M range. Some ventures are incubated within our facility—typically ones that we co-found. These start-ups have access to shared resources, including our team of domain experts, CAD capabilities, a complete development and prototyping laboratory, and a patent attorney.
Investment Criteria
The most important aspects we consider include the potential impact of the innovation on quality of life or the environment, the strength of intellectual property, the ability to demonstrate proof-of-concept with a relatively low initial investment, the experience of the management team, market size and growth, regulatory and reimbursement hurdles, profit margins, and the potential for a successful exit by acquisition.
Our Evaluation Process
During the evaluation process, we often engage prospective exit partners in preliminary discussions about the potential value of the innovation, and their appetite for acquiring the entity should it prove to be viable. By doing so, we significantly reduce overall risk and help each venture focus on meeting the most important milestones that drive value and enable a rewarding and timely exit.
Timing
For outstanding opportunities that meet our criteria and resonate with the core strengths of our principals and venture partners, we can provide an indication of interest within 2-3 weeks. Draft term sheets can be discussed within 4-6 weeks and funding decisions within two weeks after that, subject to further due diligence.