By Contributor,Geri Stengel,Startup Snapshot
Copyright forbes
11 Tribes Ventures charts a different course in venture capital, backing founder resilience and sustainable $100M outcomes instead of chasing unicorns.
For decades, venture capital has been synonymous with chasing unicorns—those rare startups valued at a billion dollars or more. But a new generation of investors is rewriting the script, prioritizing sustainable growth and healthier founders over high-stakes bets. At Chicago-based 11 Tribes Ventures, General Partner Kristina Chapple and Founder Mark Phillips are betting that a thriving founder creates a flourishing company. They are literally putting money behind that belief by dedicating 2% of every investment as non-dilutive capital for coaching, therapy, and personal development.
This founder-first approach is not only unusual in venture capital but also reflects a broader shift among emerging managers who emphasize founder support, resilience, and mental health. Instead of holding out for one or two unicorns, they aim to nurture more companies toward $100 million exits. As Chapple put it, “healthier founders lead to better returns.”
Venture Capital Meets Founder Resilience
11 Tribes team. General Partner Kristina Chapple is in the center, with the Managing Partner to her right.
11 Tribes Ventures is a venture capital firm that invests in founder resilience, personal development, and sustainable $100M outcomes.
11 Tribes was founded in 2021, in the wake of the post-pandemic bubble burst. Phillips had lived through the identity struggles of a failed startup, an experience that inspired him to create a firm where capital and care go hand in hand. Chapple, who joined in 2022, was drawn to venture precisely because of that vision.
“The pitch to me was ‘come work for a startup that is investing in startups,’ ” she recalled. “I was really attracted to this thesis that cared not just for the business and the value that could be created for investors in it, but, really, the people behind that company.”
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With every check it writes—typically between $1 million and $1.5 million—11 Tribes adds an extra 2% earmarked for founder resilience. “With every check we write, we invest 2% on top that is non-dilutive… founders are spending that on things like therapy, coaching, co-founder health coaches, financial planners, community memberships, and even marriage counseling,” Chapple explained.
This approach contrasts with the broader VC industry, where founder well-being is often sidelined. Yet, evidence suggests the need is urgent. A 2023 survey by Startup Snapshot found that 72% of entrepreneurs reported that entrepreneurship had negatively impacted their mental health, with 44% citing high stress, 37% anxiety, and 36% burnout.
Personal Development And Mental Health As Portfolio Strategy
11 Tribes General Partner, Kristina Chapple
11 Tribes Ventures is a venture capital firm that invests in founder resilience, personal development, and sustainable $100M outcomes.
11 Tribes frames mental health not as a perk, but as a core part of its investment strategy. The firm introduced a “handshake agreement” with portfolio founders, setting expectations for how both sides will invest in the relationship.
“How many board meetings do we have where the miss in the numbers isn’t in the slides, but in the strain of the founder’s personal home life?” Chapple asked. By encouraging transparency around personal challenges, the firm hopes to address risks that rarely appear in spreadsheets but can make or break a company’s future.
The approach has evolved. In its first fund, only 60% of founders used their resilience allocation. For Fund II, 11 Tribes created a “resilience menu” of vetted therapists, coaches, and advisors. The result: Utilization rates have risen to nearly 90%.
Investors have noticed. Tim Jenkins, president of Colchuck Companies and a limited partner in the fund, described the model this way: “11 Tribes has been more than a portfolio investment for Colchuck. We have developed a fruitful relationship with Mark and his team. As an LP, we have seen firsthand the firm’s refreshing approach, which is characterized by clarity, transparency, and light.”
11 Tribes is not alone in this movement. Felicis Ventures commits 1% of every investment to founder development, covering executive coaching and therapy. Crosscut Ventures dedicates at least 1% of invested capital to leadership development and mental health. Freestyle Capital has funded free therapy for founders since 2020.
Emerging Managers Challenge The Unicorn Obsession
The firm also challenges another VC orthodoxy: the power law that assumes most returns come from a handful of outlier unicorns. Instead, 11 Tribes aims for more modest, but more frequent, wins.
“We do not underwrite our returns on the back of one company,” Chapple said. “Instead of going for the $1 billion exit outcome, can we have more $100 million exit outcomes?”
It is a provocative stance in an industry defined by billion-dollar headlines, but not without precedent. Bessemer Venture Partners has popularized the idea of “Centaur” companies—those that hit $100 million in annual recurring revenue—as the truest sign of durability.
By targeting founders who avoid overfunding, 11 Tribes also helps them retain more ownership. “Ten percent of $100 million is meaningful to our LP base, especially if we can make a more regular distribution, as opposed to having liquidity completely locked up into one outcome,” Chapple said.
This approach benefits founders, too. By not taking in “a ton of dilution,” they can exit with both meaningful financial rewards and their health and relationships intact.
The Broader Shift Toward Founder Support
The 11 Tribes model is part of a broader movement among emerging managers who are reshaping venture capital. Instead of “growth at all costs,” they are building funds that emphasize capital efficiency, regular distributions to LPs, and long-term founder well-being. Carta data shows that dilution levels in new venture deals are declining, suggesting that founders increasingly have leverage to push for better terms and preserve equity.
Founder-first support is also becoming a differentiator. As one NBER study found, VCs who were former founders themselves tend to outperform, in part because they better understand the human side of building a company. Firms that offer coaching, therapy, and personal development as part of their platform may gain the trust of entrepreneurs seeking more than just capital.
Healthy Founders, Better Returns
The venture model is evolving. While traditionalists still chase unicorns, firms like 11 Tribes are proving that investing in founder resilience, personal development, and mental health is not charity—it is strategy. By offering non-dilutive capital, prioritizing $100 million exits, and helping founders retain equity, they are creating sustainable pathways for both entrepreneurs and limited partners.
As Chapple’s experience shows, the downward journey of entrepreneurs does not have to end in broken relationships or burnout. It can, and perhaps must, be redefined around wholeness. If this founder-first movement continues, the future of venture capital may look less like a lottery ticket and more like a system built on shared growth, stability, and human flourishing.
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