Hack VC

Managing Partners Alex Pack and Ed Roman lead investment decisions. Pack previously invested in crypto at Dragonfly Capital and Bain Capital Ventures, while Roman founded and sold several enterprise software companies before entering venture. The firm runs a flat partnership structure where both principals are directly involved in sourcing and diligence.

The engineering lab is a team of protocol developers and security engineers employed by Hack VC who build open-source tooling, smart-contract libraries, and node infrastructure. Unlike a venture studio, the lab does not incubate or co-found startups — it produces reusable infrastructure that multiple portfolio companies integrate. The lab also advises on technical architecture and security audits, creating a sourcing advantage because founders seek access to the engineering team before they seek capital.

Hack VC is stage-agnostic within early-stage crypto, writing checks from pre-seed through Series A. The firm reserves follow-on capital for its highest-conviction positions and has participated in subsequent rounds for select portfolio companies. Initial checks can be under $1 million, scaling up significantly for breakout protocol investments.

The firm has not published a formal exclusion list, but its investment pattern concentrates on infrastructure, developer tooling, and DeFi rather than consumer-facing NFT platforms, gaming, or metaverse experiences. The engineering lab's technical focus pushes the portfolio toward deep-protocol and middleware investments rather than application-layer bets.

The engineering lab functions as a primary sourcing engine: founders building on shared infrastructure or seeking security audits often engage the lab before fundraising. Pack and Roman also leverage developer communities and protocol foundations where the firm's open-source contributions create visibility. The firm runs a network program called Hack Labs that connects portfolio founders with technical contributors, further widening its top-of-funnel.

Hack VC is a traditional venture capital firm that raises capital from institutional limited partners; it is not a family office backing a single fortune. The legal entity "Hack VC Advisor Series, a series of Hack VC Advisors, LLC" reflects a series-LLC fund structure common among US venture firms for segregated liability across fund vintages.

Hack VC allocates portions of its funds for co-investment opportunities and has participated in rounds alongside firms including Paradigm and Andreessen Horowitz (per Forbes, 2022). The firm does not operate a formal co-investor club but selectively invites existing limited partners into direct deals on a case-by-case basis.