News Summary

• Knowing that the team is at the center of any startup, the fund went down what Hjelm described as a “behavioral psychology rabbit hole” and sought the help of an industrial psychologist to define the optimal entrepreneurial behavioral profile.
• They then built Wendal.I tried the platform out myself, and my fictional company (based heavily on my real company that failed spectacularly) was recommended to the investment team.Wendal is not all that’s unique about this firm: It also has no carry component.
• But any AI system is only as good as its training data, so it’s logical to wonder about Wendal’s fairness or its capability to determine whether a startup’s founder is right for a given market.
• Called Wendal, the platform assesses founders according to 13 entrepreneurial traits to determine if a meeting will prove fruitful or not for investors.
• Unlike most VC firms that get to keep 20% of the money they generate for their LPs, Connetic wants to make itself available to retail investors through financial advisers.
• But Hjelm believes the platform has been built to be equitable and that the data bears out this assertion.