We’re putting something together and want your participation.
You are getting this invite because you are a role model and leader of our ecosystem. This means you are sought after, and get plenty of opportunities coming to your door all the time, without the bandwidth to adequately review them. You may also want to invest in the regional opportunity but may not have the right channel or partner to do that with. This initiative is a way to enable a network of extraordinary people to participate in the development of our region and capture the opportunities that COTU creates.
COTU stands for Champions of the Underdog and was born from the idea that the venture capital model is broken and needs to change. We spent the past 5 years building our firm and brand, not as a VC, but as a true partner to the founders we back, as early as possible in their journeys. So far, we have been able to create a portfolio of incredible founders building regional and global solutions, with immense ambition and hunger to succeed. Founders like Jad Antoun of Huspy, Majeed Albabtain of Mnzil, Abdulrahman Alomran of Rekaz, Mohammed Oueida of Stitch, and the list goes on. We do this through a partnership approach based on trust, and a belief that we are in this together. As we look ahead, we are launching COTU Champions Circle to bring the best founders and operators in the region alongside us.
The COTU Champions Circle democratizes the cost of entry into our fund, providing you with an easy way to join us. This does not have any obligation or time commitment, no expectation to mentor and no recurring meetings. This is purely opt-in, and nothing additional is required from you other than to participate with and leverage what we have built at COTU. Our first fund is a top tier performer, and we believe that it has established us as the leader in our category. Our second fund, COTU Champions Fund II, should be no different.
Despite the challenges we are facing today, we continue to be inspired by the incredible founders that are coming out of our ecosystem with bold ambitions of a better tomorrow. We’re here to find the best ones, back them, believe in them, and help them succeed, while delivering returns and impact along the way.
The COTU Champions Circle is an invite-only initiative designed to align exceptional founders, and a limited number of operators, with COTU’s manifesto and COTU Champions Fund II. Admission is capped, and based on trust, discretion, and experience building at scale.
This is not a community or an information-sharing forum. We are trying to create the highest quality network of ecosystem builders that the region has to offer. It is designed for people who value discretion, good judgment, and want to contribute to something bigger than themselves.
There are two ways to participate:
This SPV will be investing into COTU Champions Fund II, giving you some skin in the game where you play a part in the impact we’re trying to have in the ecosystem. You’ll also get access to co-investments subject to availability, founder alignment and COTU’s discretion. No reporting or information rights. See next section for more detail.
When normally, our standard minimum LP check is $250k. As an LP in COTU Champions Fund II you will have the added benefit of capital calls spread out over time (around 4 years), access to our annual LP event, and richer quarterly updates from the portfolio and ecosystem. Here is a link to our deck for more information.
Today, we are fortunate to have Mudassir Sheikha, Magnus Olsson, Michael Lahyani, Jad Antoun, and several other founders as LPs, and we would be honored to have you join us on this mission.
Financial returns through a diversified portfolio. We expect whatever capital you decide to invest to generate strong returns over the next decade (so this will hopefully be at no real cost to you). No guarantees, but we are confident in the region's potential, the pipeline of talented founders, and the size of the opportunity in front of us.
Access to select co-investment opportunities at reduced fees. Especially true for later-stage co-investment opportunities (Series A onwards). For Pre-Seed and Seed opportunities, we will try to carve out room for some of you so that you can go directly into the company, subject to alignment between yourselves and the founder directly.
Screening dealflow. Using COTU to help diligence deals where you don’t have the bandwidth to diligence yourself. This gives you the ability to write checks with low cognitive load.
Incubating ideas you’ve had but never had time to act on. If you have an idea of a new venture, you can have founder equity and watch it come to life. We don’t intend to do many incubations, but if we find the right idea and leverage our network of talent, we may find ourselves building a couple of ventures internally. Should you have an idea you’re excited about, you can just tell us, and we can find a way to make it happen, while giving you skin in the game.
Anyone participating as an LP with $100k or more, will have the following additional rights on top of the above:
The goal here is to ensure we preserve trust with our future founders, portfolio companies, and institutional LPs alike. In order to do that, the following guardrails need to be in place:
While there is no guarantee of success, we know that with your support and participation, the ecosystem has nothing but upside. We’re committed to the region, driving entrepreneurship and empowering the next generation of founders. It’s our job to find the most talented founders that our region creates, be the best possible partner for them as they embark on their journey, and set a new approach to investing that the region desperately needs. With your support, we know we will make a meaningful difference and generate outsized returns along the way.
If this sounds like something you’d be excited to stand behind, let us know. We would be honored to have you. Either way, we appreciate you taking the time to go through this, and we hope to connect again soon.