Outlander VC

Investment decisions are led by Founder Paige Craig alongside the partnership group, which includes investors Leura Craig, AJ Smith, and Senior Partner Jordan Kretchmer. The firm operates a consensus-driven model rooted in its proprietary Founder Framework, which scores founding teams across 38 characteristics before a decision is made.

Outlander sources deal flow through a weekly virtual pitch process called Field Surveys, a network of 1,000+ mentors and scouts, and direct relationships cultivated across both traditional tech hubs and non-core US markets. The firm emphasizes a remote-first approach to capture founders overlooked by coastal-centric venture funds.

Outlander VC is a traditional venture capital firm — an asset manager raising blind-pool funds from external limited partners. It is not a single-family office, though its General Partner, Paige Craig, committed personal capital derived from his previous defense contracting business.

Outlander VC makes direct equity investments in operating companies, typically leading or co-leading pre-seed and seed rounds. There is no public evidence that it commits capital as a limited partner into other venture funds; the model is oriented around direct, hands-on company building.

The firm targets the earliest stages: pre-seed and seed rounds for pre-revenue technology companies. It states a strong preference for startups that have raised less than $2M in prior venture capital. Outlander will follow on in growth-stage rounds for its strongest performers.

Because Outlander invests primarily before a startup has meaningful revenue or a fully developed product, traditional financial metrics are often absent. The 38-point Founder Framework — which evaluates vision, intelligence, character, and execution — is designed to build conviction around the founding team's capacity to navigate startup chaos.

Outlander actively co-invests with other venture firms and maintains a roster of institutional co-investors in its portfolio rounds, as evidenced by shared positions in companies like Stripe, Klarna, and Scale AI. The firm's mentor network, which includes partners from Softbank, First Round Capital, and Redpoint Ventures, often facilitates these syndicates.