The last decade has created an industrialization and institutionalization towards building startups. Faster. Bigger. Broader.
Founding became a rung on the career ladder, not a creative act. Venture became about who could scale resources fastest, create the biggest exec platform, and be first to give you a playbook on how to build. All with good intentions — but incentives between investor and founder diverged.
That era has come crashing to a halt. We are now in a rawer, more chaotic moment for startups. The track is gone but in time we will realize we never needed it anyway.
This moment demands founders who call their shot. Those who look into the future, point to a specific point, and say: this is where we want to go and here is how we are going to do it.
Today Eric Stromberg and I are introducing Terrain to back and support these founders as they bring their companies to life.
Terrain is a seed stage investment firm.
We invest and partner during a company’s first year — not forever.
We go deep in a few select areas to drive outcomes and impact.
When we work together, we match your energy, creativity, and intensity.
We’ve already started and made several investments to-date. Our first was in Base Power Company, announced earlier this week, with more to come.
We wrote a letter about the past, the future, and who we think will come to define it.
We'd love for you to read it here: terrain.com/letter