Ventera Partners
Check your readiness Get started

Keel — venture studio

Build it investable
from day one.

Many founders build first and find out what investors wanted a year later. We design and build your company to the standard North American investors fund from the start, then coach you through every step of the raise.

Apply to Keel How it works

Already building, and just need help with the raise? Start with the 30-minute fundraising diagnostic or see fundraising support.

What is a venture studio?

A team that builds the company with you, not for you.

A venture studio brings a full operating team to an early company: strategy, product, engineering and go-to-market, working alongside the founders. Instead of charging only by the hour, the studio shares the risk and takes a small equity stake, so it wins when you do.

Keel is named for the first beam laid when you build a ship; everything else is built on it. We lay down a business model and validation logic investors recognize first, then build the product and the evidence on top, so the company is investable from day one instead of retrofitted a year later.

How it works

Six stages. A gate at the end of each.

  1. Apply

    Tell us what you're building. If there's a fit, we invite you to a 30-minute screening call with the partners.

  2. Diagnose

    If we both want to proceed, a paid Diagnostic finds the real blocker and gives you a clear go / no-go. Fully credited if you continue.

  3. Validate

    Four to six weeks to paying intent or committed design partners.

  4. Build

    A scoped MVP that proves the core assumption, and nothing more.

  5. Grow

    One growth signal investors actually respect.

  6. Raise

    Investor exposure through our network, and coaching through every step of the raise.

Every stage ends at a gate with published pass criteria. If a gate isn't met, we stop, and so do the fees.

How we partner with founders

You lead the company. We make the road a lot shorter.

You stay the founder and CEO. We bring the investor perspective, the team and the network, and we work through every stage with you until the round closes.

We work backwards from what investors want

We sit on the investor side of the table, so we know what gets funded. Every decision, from the business model to the first feature, is made against what your next round will need to see.

A full enablement team

Product, engineering, validation and go-to-market from one fixed team that works together every day. No agencies to manage, no handoffs, no starting over.

A direct network of experts

Lawyers, accountants, industry operators and manufacturers we work with directly, so you don't start from a cold search. And when your company fits, it gets exposure to the investors in our network and beyond.

The result is a process that's simply easier: fewer wrong turns, fewer months lost, and a company built to the standard investors fund.

Who we are

The people who know investors decide what gets built.

Business model and fundraising are led by our partners, not handed off. Validation, product, engineering and growth are executed by one fixed team. No swap-outs, no subcontracting.

Alex Chen

Alex Chen

Managing Partner

Alex is a serial entrepreneur, co-founder of QuantWave and ALCLE, and former president and current board member of CESPN. He has coached hundreds of technology companies and taken many of them from 0 to 1, and from 1 to 100.

His work centres on commercialization: turning technology into something people pay for, then into a business that scales. He has worked with early- to late-stage companies worldwide across cleantech, smart hardware and software, advanced materials and health, and advises enterprises on AI transformation. Founders get a partner who has sat on both sides of the table: building the company, and deciding whether to back it.

As a Venture Partner at a Boston early-stage VC, he sat on the investment committee and took part in investment decision-making, and he is currently a Deal Partner for a leading Silicon Valley venture fund. His investor network spans North America, concentrated in Silicon Valley, Boston and Toronto. Between his consulting work and his engineering PhD at the University of Waterloo, he has built a deep bench of design partners in hardware and AI.

linkedin.com/in/alex-chen-alcle
Yvonne Wang

Yvonne Wang

Managing Partner

Yvonne has taken multiple businesses through 0 to 1, and has worked inside the investment and diligence process at three funds. She brings deep insight into the full investment cycle, how investors make decisions at every level, and what narrative, materials, targeting and investor relationships have to look like for a raise to work.

She has consulted for 30+ organizations on financial, operational and growth strategy, including Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, top Canadian universities and large public and private companies. That rigour carries into every part of building a venture: the business model and validation, the product and go-to-market, the financials and materials, and the relationships with institutional investors and partners that carry a company forward.

Today she sources deals across the US, Canada, Europe and Asia as a Deal Partner at Boardy Ventures, for a Silicon Valley early-stage fund, and for a network of corporate and angel investors.

linkedin.com/in/yvonneywang

The raise

When it's time to raise, we're in it with you.

A direct investor network

Exposure to the right investors, not a list.

Experience that's been through it

Narrative, deck, data room, meeting prep and diligence, reviewed by people who have done 60+ rounds.

We run it together

Through every stage of the raise, we prep and debrief around every meeting.

Aligned incentives

Our biggest payday comes when your round closes, not before.

Both sides of the Pacific

North American capital.
China's operating depth.

Keel works with founders of every background. What sets us apart is that we operate on both sides.

Talent

Engineering and operating talent to build faster and leaner.

Supply chain

Manufacturing and sourcing for hardware and physical products.

Channels

Distribution partners for reaching Chinese and Asian markets.

Why Keel

Built for the outcome, not the invoice.

Option
What it does
What's missing
Dev agency
Builds what you ask for
No one asks whether investors will fund it
Accelerator
Curriculum, network, a small check
Doesn't build or validate with you
Traditional venture studio
Does everything
Takes 30–50%. You become an employee
Placement agent
Finds capital
Can't fix a company that isn't investable
Keel
Designs and builds to investor standards, then raises with you
A small stake. You stay the founder

Terms

Small equity. You stay the founder.

A small equity stake

Enough to tie us to your outcome, small enough that you keep control.

Fixed-price build

Every stage is scoped and priced before it starts. No open-ended billing.

Paid by the gate

If a stage doesn't happen, you don't pay for it.

A bonus only when you raise

Our biggest payday comes when your round closes, not before.

Full terms are shared after your screening call.

We're very selective

A fit

Founders building something investors will want, who want a partner that tells the truth, including telling you to stop. We take on only a few companies at a time, by application, and turn most of them down.

Not a fit

You only need a dev shop, or you don't have the runway to get through the first stage.

FAQ

Are you a placement agent?
No. We don't raise on your behalf or hold your company. We make it investable, give it exposure to the right investors, and coach you through the process.
Do you invest in the round?
No. Our upside is our equity.
How much does it cost?
It depends on what your company needs. Every engagement combines a small equity stake, fixed-price stages, and a bonus only when your round closes. We share full terms after the screening call.
Why cash and equity?
Cash covers the real cost of the build team. Equity keeps us tied to the long-term outcome, and it's small enough that you stay in control.
What if a gate isn't met?
We stop or pivot. You don't pay for stages that don't happen.
Who owns the IP?
Your company. All of it.
Do I need a Chinese background?
No. The China-side resources are an advantage we bring, not a requirement.

Apply

Apply to Keel.

We read every application, and we're very selective: we take on only a few companies at a time. Here's what happens after you apply.

  1. We review your applicationWe both read it. If it isn't a fit, we tell you, and where we can, point you to what would help instead.
  2. A 30-minute screening callIf there's a fit, we meet the founders and go through the company, the market and what investors will need to see.
  3. A paid DiagnosticIf we both want to proceed, the Diagnostic finds the real blocker and gives a clear go / no-go. Fully credited if you continue.
  4. A scoped proposal and termsStages, gates, price and equity, in writing, before anything starts.
  5. We start buildingOne fixed team, working through the stages with you, to the raise.
Apply to Keel