david roos - core innovation capital

“Large funds create misalignment—founders often raise more capital than they need, which can stifle a company’s real potential.”

February 25, 2025

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In a venture landscape often focused on “unicorns or bust,” it’s easy to forget that the most transformative companies aren’t driven by quick returns alone. David stands out for his mission-first mentality, grounded in the belief that real innovation happens when founders are motivated by more than a big exit. If you’ve followed our manifesto, you know we champion a new generation of nimble, daring VCs who value resilience, diversity of thought, and a willingness to tackle complex, real-world challenges.

David advocates for a more sustainable, mission-driven approach in a field where massive, multi-billion-dollar funds often pressure startups to raise more capital than necessary (and sometimes at the expense of the founder’s vision).

Whether you’re a founder or a fellow investor, these principles might determine who thrives in the next wave of venture capital. If you believe, as we do, that tomorrow’s breakout companies won’t be found through mere box-checking, these insights will resonate.

Meet David

Q: You can be anywhere. Eating, drinking, and reading your favorite thing. What is it?

A: A burrito from El Farolito with a horchata and a side of Brandon Sanderson's latest science-fiction.

“Founders who start a business for the money—not the mission—will always fail or lead to subpar outcomes.”

“Focus on the people first; everything else follows.”

“Large funds create misalignment—founders often raise more capital than they need, which can stifle a company’s real potential.”

“Truly transformative ideas exist at the intersection of public and private sectors—where innovation solves real problems at scale.”

“AI will reshape entire industries at an unprecedented pace, but real value lies in bold, non-consensus ideas.”

Original Responses (Lightly Edited for Clarity and Flow)

Background and Personal Journey

Moment Inspiring Venture Capital Career
I was (and still am) obsessed with the markets, which initially led me to start my career as an interest rates trader. Trading is fast-paced, intellectually stimulating, merit-based, and financially rewarding. I still love following macro news, politics, and policy, but I vividly remember two moments from my trading days that changed my path.

First, I found myself valuing a 4.9-year bond rather than a 5.1-year one and thought, "This is so unfulfilling." Nothing about that work was going to impact the world meaningfully.

Second was realizing that one day’s successful trades were tied to political and societal upheavals around me. At that moment, I saw that financial motivation was just a piece of the puzzle—I also needed my career to be more mission-oriented. I wanted to feel closer to businesses that were making a difference. After leaving trading, I joined two early-stage startups (each with fewer than ten people) and fell in love. Your day-to-day impact was off the charts, especially compared to trading. And the scale that tech creates for that impact is mind-blowing. Yet I missed the thrill of investing, so venture felt like the perfect balance—early-stage, strategic thinking, and the chance to empower founders who are making real change.

Influences on My Worldview
My longtime mentor has seamlessly navigated the private and public sectors, dedicating his career to tackling our most pressing global challenges. He showed me that transformative ideas often lie at the intersection of these domains, where innovation can solve big problems at scale while generating real returns. I followed him to the Treasury Department, joined his first startup, and he played a significant role in paving my path toward venture.

In my investing, I try to emulate his ethos:

  • Invest in tomorrow’s most pressing challenges.

  • Invest in founders you’d want to work for yourself.

  • Invest in teams that care deeply about the mission.

  • Invest in businesses that understand and capitalize on macro trends around them.

Best Advice Received
“Focus on the people first; everything else follows.”

This applies in multiple ways:

  • Who you work with. Venture teams are small and can be cutthroat. I found a collaborative, curious, and aligned group that made all the difference.

  • Who you invest in. Exemplary founders will find massive markets, build great teams, hold a high bar for integrity, and push toward a better future—even when things get tough.

  • Who is in your network. Seed-stage investing is all about sourcing. Building solid relationships with other investors and entrepreneurs is critical. Make new friends, and everything else will follow.

Philosophy and Insights

Investment Philosophy
Invest in missionary founders with visionary ideas. If someone is just in it for the money, they won’t last when adversity hits. Mission-driven founders, on the other hand, have the grit to keep going. I also look for ideas that are not just incremental but truly forward-thinking. Visionary founders can adjust course as needed, weaving new directions into their broader mission.

Values When Working with Founders

  • Intensity. Founders must be driven and obsessed with their vision. I look for signals like hyper-responsiveness, compelling content (founders that can’t stop talking about what they’re building), and a track record that shows they’ve gone deep into their field.

  • Magnetism. Great leaders attract capital, talent, and partnerships. I test this by gauging my draw to them and seeing who their first hires are.

  • Accomplishments. A founder’s past achievements—whether from high school extracurriculars or scaling a side hustle—can speak volumes.

  • Self-awareness. Nobody can do it all. Founders who understand their limitations and hire around them usually build the strongest teams.

Measuring Success Beyond Returns
It’s about becoming a trusted confidant to the founder, someone they can turn to—whether things are going well or falling apart. That trust can make a real difference in guiding them through pivotal decisions. Being a referenceable investor also matters. Your reputation isn’t just shaped by the founders you fund and the 99% you don’t. Passing with respect matters. We measure net new wealth created from a fund perspective, focusing on cost savings, wealth creation, and risk mitigation. These metrics tie directly back to financial success and keep us aligned on building real value—not just chasing valuations. Last year, we open-sourced how we do so (primarily a combination of cost savings, wealth creation, and risk mitigation). I love that we have a measurement beyond financial success. We’ve also learned that they are inherently tied.

Exciting Trends and Technologies
I’m intrigued by the move to fully autonomous agents, but I’m even more excited about the shift from closed to open data systems—particularly in finance and healthcare. Finance has been opening up for a while (e.g., open-banking initiatives), and healthtech is finally catching up with better tech adoption, shifting regulations, and consumer demand for data access. Paired with advancements in AI/ML, we’ll see a new era of personalized, proactive, and programmable financial and healthcare services.

Improving the VC Ecosystem
There’s a misalignment between huge, multi-billion-dollar growth funds and the founders they fund. Because these big funds must deploy massive amounts of capital, founders often raise more than they need. That can lead to bloated cap tables and more pressure to deliver sky-high exits. Ironically, in an era when you can build more with less—especially with AI—companies are raising bigger rounds than ever. I hope founders and seed-stage investors will lean into AI’s efficiencies to build more sustainably, creating better outcomes for everyone.

Challenges for Early-Stage Founders
AI’s rapid expansion poses huge uncertainty: Where will the value ultimately accrue? Will it be the data-rich incumbents? Are the foundational models moving toward AGI? Or the newcomers with niche AI applications? The challenge is to avoid chasing consensus trends and instead explore bold, non-consensus uses of AI. VCs can help by offering funding and support for these off-the-beaten-path ideas. Accepting the unknown and investing courageously is critical. AI’s future is wide open, and we need more intrepid investors willing to place bets on new frontiers.