We believe the next generation of defining companies will be backed by people who know their fields from the inside: founders, operators and specialists who see an opportunity before it is obvious to everyone else. Many are raising their first or second fund. Finding them early, understanding their edge and helping them build is what Allocator One is here to do.
Built by people who have built before
Felix Staeritz and Michael Ströck came to investing as entrepreneurs. They co-founded KochAbo, a meal-kit company that became part of Marley Spoon, which listed on the ASX in 2018. Felix went on to build FoundersLane, a company builder that is now part of Creative Dock, the world's largest corporate venture builder. Michael moved to the US, built Gustav through Y Combinator, then co-founded Calm/Storm Ventures and helped found First Circle Capital. He has been a first-time fund manager himself, so he knows what emerging managers go through.
They have been on both sides of the table: building companies and choosing where to invest their own capital. Allocator One brings those experiences together. We look for managers with real knowledge of a market, close relationships with founders and a clear reason to win. Then we back them early and support the work around them, so they can spend more time finding and building great companies.
Why we do this
Technology is moving at the fastest speed in its history. Markets that used to take a decade to turn over are now repriced within a single planning cycle, and that speed is splitting venture capital in two. At one end, a small number of very large funds that invest once a company is already visible. At the other, specialists who have spent years inside one field and know it better than anyone else in the room. The middle is emptying out. We call this the great divergence.
The world is moving from generalists to specialists, and Allocator One is built for the specialists. More than 1,000 new managers set out to raise a fund each year, and they come to us early: we see around 80% of them, interview roughly 20% and back only the top 1%. Because managers come to us first, we can find the people with real knowledge of their market before the rest of the market finds them.
For investors, this market is still hard to understand and access. Information is scattered, relationships take years to build, and a fund commitment rarely gives a clear picture of everything underneath it. We bring manager selection, access and visibility together, connecting investors with specialist managers and the companies they back.
The Allocator One investor portal
Our investor portal is built on our global database of emerging managers raising Fund I and Fund II. It gives investors a clear view of this market and practical ways to act on it:
Visibility. See the funds you invest in and the companies underneath them, beyond the quarterly headline number.
Market intelligence. Follow emerging managers and the themes taking shape across their portfolios.
Co-investments. Invest alongside managers in individual companies.
Follow-on funds. Commit further as managers grow and raise their next funds.
Secondaries. Sell an Allocator One LP position, or acquire one from another investor anonymously, subject to availability and transfer requirements.
A community, built over time
We host more than 20 small investor dinners a year, in cities all over the world, from London and New York to Singapore, New Delhi, Abu Dhabi and beyond. Around the table we share what we are seeing in each region, and invite one of the GPs we have invested in to talk openly about their work. Investors get to know the people behind the funds. Our Alpha Summits in London, Singapore and San Francisco represent the industry event for emerging fund managers globally and grow from the same relationships.