Notley Ventures

Dan Graham, co-founder and Managing Partner, leads investment decisions alongside co-founder Lisa Graham. Dan brings an operating background from BuildASign, which he co-founded and scaled before exiting. The partnership relies on a compact internal team and a network of venture partners sourced through the affiliated Notley Fund nonprofit.

Notley Ventures and Notley Fund share co-founders, brand, office space in Austin, and a unified mission around social impact, but they are legally separate entities. The venture firm is a for-profit early-stage fund that makes equity investments, while Notley Fund is a 501(c)(3) that runs grant-funded programs and community initiatives. The two entities collaborate on deal sourcing and diligence, particularly in regulated markets where the nonprofit has government and institutional relationships.

Notley concentrates on Seed and Series A rounds, occasionally extending into later-stage follow-ons. Typical initial check sizes range from a few hundred thousand to a few million dollars. The firm prefers to lead or co-lead rounds in its core geographies and sectors.

Notley's investment activity is focused on the United States, with a pronounced concentration in Texas and the broader Sun Belt region. The firm has not publicly disclosed a mandate for direct international investments, though it maintains co-investor relationships that may involve coastal or cross-border syndication on a deal-by-deal basis.

Notley's unique deal flow comes through its integrated 501(c)(3), the Notley Fund, which operates community initiatives like the Center for Social Innovation. This nonprofit arm works closely with municipal governments, school districts, and policy networks, surfacing founders who are testing scalable models inside civil-society distribution channels. When those models prove commercially viable, the venture arm can invest with diligence advantages that pure financial investors lack.

Notley is thesis-driven rather than generalist. It targets sectors where for-profit business models can directly address social challenges — primarily enterprise software, digital health, edtech, sustainability, and proptech. The firm does not invest in sectors it considers misaligned with its dual financial-and-impact mandate, such as extractive industries or vice products.

Notley actively co-invests and syndicates with other venture firms. Its position in the Austin ecosystem and its unique nonprofit pipeline make it a value-add co-investor for coastal funds seeking exposure to Sun Belt deal flow or founders with public-sector traction. The firm does not operate as a solo investor in most deals and publicly frames itself as collaborative within the broader venture community.