Matthew Brimer builds things. In 2011, he cofounded General Assembly, an early coworking company that evolved into tech and programing school. (Fifteen campuses strong it sold to the Adecco Group for more than $410 million in April.) Passionate about music, in 2013, he helped launch Daybreaker—a wellness and dance party experience—early morning and substance-free—which has become an unlikely lifestyle brand with a strong cult following.
His next project is a new venture fund dubbed simply The Fund that will focus solely on New York start ups. It will not charge a management fee (there is a 20% carry), and will shun institutional money. Instead Brimer—along with start-up veteran cofounders Katie Hunt (Warby Parker), Adam Carver (Battlestar Capital and Angle List), and Jenny Fielding (Switch-Moble)—are taking personal money from 75 New York based entrepreneurs. Member LPs include the likes of Casper's Neil Parikh, Handy's Oisin Hanrahan and Umung Dua, and Common's Brad Hargreaves.
To date, The Fund has raised from its community of NY angel investors a total of $3.2 million—a sum paltry by VC standards but, according to Brimer, small by design. He sat down with Forbes to discuss his new venture in venture.
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