What’s a Big Check for an Investor?

A rough answer is more than 1.5%-2% of their investable capital is a “lot of money” for most professional investors. 2% is a pretty standard target for most core VC investments, and then more than that starts to become risky. And 5% starts to become a “this investment has to work” investment.

So take say a $150m venture fund:

• A $250k or $500k investment is immaterial (0.1%-0.3%). It can generally be done quickly with limited diligence.
• A $2m-$4m investment is the sweet spot. That’s 1.5%-2.5% of the fund. Enough to move the needle, but not so much it can’t be written off.
• A $7m-$8m+ investment can work if there is “high conviction” in the investment, but is stressful. That’s 5%+ of the fund.
• Anything more than this is super risky and rare for a VC fund.

Do this quick math to know where you stand with a VC.