As murmurs about an impending recession rippled through the startup community in early 2022, many became anxious and risk-averse. But Gadi Borovich and Daniel Ha recognized the opportunity. At the end of 2022, they were wrapping up deployment of their fund at XX, an accelerator associated with WeFunder, and had a strong feeling the timing was right to start their own fund. Thus, Antigravity was born. 

For Daniel, the second half of 2022 reminded him of 2008, when he started his company, Disqus. Noticing the similarities with 2008’s macroeconomic environment, he felt that the next couple of years would be one of the best times to start a company. More importantly, he knew that any seed funds deploying capital during this time would have some of the best performing vintages.

Daniel came into the startup ecosystem as the co-founder of Disqus. A product expert, Daniel led the company through finding product-market fit, and upon exiting the company, he brought that knowledge to seed stage companies as an advisor and investor. In 2020, he joined XX as a Partner and met Gadi Borovich. In Gadi, he found a partner with energy, work-ethic, and insight that pushed him to think about what more they could do together as investors. 

Gadi started his career on Wefunder’s growth team then became a Partner at XX. During his two and half years at XX, he backed 40+ companies and demonstrated insight across sectors from HealthTech to EdTech. A proven investor, it seems inevitable that he would launch his own fund. 

Now, after working together for two years at XX, Daniel and Gadi are launching Antigravity to bring their product and growth expertise to a new generation of founders.

Finding Fund-Market Fit

A product guy at heart, Daniel approaches fund building with a focus on finding what he refers to as “fund-market fit.” To him, this means identifying a specific customer pain point (with his customers being early stage founders) and offering a solution that addresses that pain point directly. Finding fund-market fit for Antigravity means identifying what they can contribute to both portfolio companies and their investors, whether that is anchored in their relationships, insights, or deal identification. Operating in this way will create a feedback loop that allows Daniel and his partner to constantly refine and improve their offering for companies and investors.

Finding fund-market fit also means articulating Antigravity’s unique vision and selling it to investors. The team’s secret sauce lies in their ability to provide very early capital paired with hands-on guidance – but knowing that is not enough. Daniel and Gadi are constantly adjusting how they package and present their value to investors, many of whom are inundated with opportunities. 

“There is a constant challenge of needing to justify your existence to yourself and to the people that are on your side – your investors, your companies, and other partners.” - Daniel Ha

Like any product looking for market fit, Antigravity's approach has evolved since its inception. While the recession was a catalyst for launching the fund, they are also building an edge that will allow Antigravity to endure through economic cycles. These are the challenges that give Daniel an excitement reminiscent of his experience as a founder 15 years ago.  

New Approaches

As first-time fund managers, Daniel and Gadi were intimidated by the mechanics of launching a fund. They used this to their advantage by questioning traditional methods and looking for opportunities for innovation and disruption. 

“We wanted to examine and break down the principles of running a fund. We wanted to question what others took as fundamental truths. We started by saying: ‘Why does it have to work this way? What could we do to make it better?’” - Daniel Ha

This philosophy led them to Sydecar where they immediately felt like they had an aligned partner who would walk them through the challenges of setting up their first fund. In Sydecar, they found a team that inspired confidence and a product that would streamline the mechanics of starting and running a venture fund.

“As investors, people come to us when they don’t know exactly how to think about a problem set or a market, and we give them a source of confidence. Sydecar does that exact same thing for us as fund managers.” - Daniel Ha

Whether you’re building a product or starting a fund, it’s easy to follow what other people have done. The harder route is creating something that is distinctly yours. Venture capital is a young industry that is built on disruption and challenging established norms. With this in mind, Daniel and Gadi are committed to executing a strategy and defining a voice in the industry that rises above the noise. 

Summary

Managing a fund for the first time can seem scary, but Daniel and Gadi are diving in. Bringing their experience as accelerator investors and product experts, they are approaching the fund like a product, seeking to find its unique voice and perspective. Fueled by the opportunity brought by a downturn and their success working on XX, they hope to build something distinctly theirs.