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être Venture Capital
Jenny Kuan and Hillary Talbot's être VC leads $2M thesis fund into under-hyped founders, achieving an exit and cash-flow-positive company by Year 4.
être Venture Capital
Jenny Kuan, a tenured professor and PhD from UC Berkeley, and Hillary Talbot, a 20-year startup advisor, launched être Venture Capital in Santa Cruz to apply Kuan's academic research on Silicon Valley's collaborative venture model. The firm leads rounds for founders operating in sectors where valuations remain fair and competition is thin, targeting early-stage companies that serve as linchpins in large market systems. Its initial $2M Thesis Fund has deployed into five companies, prioritizing capital efficiency and hands-on guidance over volume. être's portfolio spans biomaterials, human-derived tissue for drug development, AI-driven spine care, and healthtech marketplaces. The firm co-led Obatala Sciences' Series A alongside Ochsner Lafayette General Healthcare Innovation Fund II in 2022 and provided follow-on funding through 2024; the company is now cash-flow positive. Hexas Biomass, a proprietary crop-fiber startup, was acquired by Bioleum after être led its pre-seed round. Other confirmed positions include AI back-pain platform MyBackHub, where être co-invested in a seed round led by Brook Byers in 2025, and B2B laundry logistics firm Hampr. The firm operates nationally, with portfolio companies headquartered across California, Louisiana, and Washington. être is operated solely by Kuan and Talbot, who sit on portfolio company boards and actively recruit talent — including placing a former Yelp VP of Product as CEO of Portico. In 2025, the firm placed a co-investment alongside Brook Byers and California's iBank into MyBackHub. Beyond the fund, Kuan runs a free "Venture Capital 101 for Women" program with over 400 graduates, and the firm publishes its actual closing documents to demystify legal costs for founders. The firm has not disclosed a subsequent fund or increased AUM. être's structural distinction lies in its integration of Kuan's ongoing academic research on industry scaffolding with Talbot's operating network to engineer exits from maiden institutional rounds. The firm explicitly publishes its term sheets and Series A closing documents, a posture no other known venture firm maintains at equivalent scale, and ties its deployment cadence to a free educational ecosystem that doubles as a pipeline for co-investors and limited partners.
General information
Firm type
Private Equity
Year founded
—
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Santa Cruz
Corporate office
Santa Cruz, CA, United States
Principals
Jenny Kuan
Managing Partner
Hillary Talbot
Managing Partner
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at être Venture Capital?
Managing Partners Jenny Kuan and Hillary Talbot jointly lead all investment decisions. They personally sit on portfolio company boards and handle follow-on funding allocations. There are no additional investment partners.
How does être Venture Capital source proprietary deal flow?
The firm sources through cold outreach, co-investor networks, university commercialization centers like the WET Center, and referrals from its 400-person 'Venture Capital 101 for Women' alumni network. Portfolio companies such as MyBackHub originated from cold outreach.
Is être structured as a single family office or a traditional venture firm?
être is structured as a traditional venture capital asset manager, not a family office. It manages a $2M thesis fund and takes board seats, but has not disclosed a second institutional fund.
Does être participate in fund commitments or only direct deals?
être exclusively makes direct investments as a lead or co-lead investor in early-stage companies. There is no evidence of fund-of-fund commitments or SPV participation.
What investment stages does être Venture Capital target?
The firm targets pre-seed to Series A. It led Hexas Biomass's pre-seed round in 2022, co-led Obatala Sciences' Series A in 2022, and led Portico's pre-seed round, indicating willingness to price rounds from inception through early institutional raises.
How is être related to Cal State Monterey Bay's Institute for Innovation and Economic Development?
Managing Partner Jenny Kuan leads the Institute as a tenured professor. The Institute houses the 'Women in VC Initiative' that Kuan launched, creating a pipeline of trained investors who can become co-investors or limited partners for the firm.
Does être Venture Capital maintain philanthropic structures, and how are they separated?
The firm runs a free education program — Venture Capital 101 for Women — that operates separately from the fund's investment activities but shares management. There is no separate philanthropic foundation.
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