In this episode, we share a slice🍕 with Ophelia Cai, partner at Tiny VC, a unique European venture fund that writes $150-200K checks across an expansive portfolio of ambitious technology startups.
The journey to Tiny began with a simple WhatsApp message in May 2021 from Andy Chung, who asked "Would you join tiny full time?". Despite the ambiguity of the role, Ophelia knew three things:
She believed in the people (Philip and Andy, first AngelList EU hires)
She believed in the strategy behind Tiny
She believed in herself to step up to the challenge
"I think 'leave' is just not the right verb," Ophelia reflects on her transition from LocalGlobe.
"Leave implies that you're running away from something bad. But really, I was running towards something good, cool, different. It felt like a specific time of my life that I could take such an extreme risk - no kids, no mortgage, still really early in my venture career. It felt like the time to swing for the fences."
What makes Tiny special isn't just its European focus—it's their approach to early-stage investing. While most funds aim for concentrated portfolios of 10-20 companies, Tiny is targeting 300 companies in their third fund. This strategy has attracted notable LPs like Roger Ehrenberg of IA Ventures, who told Ophelia: "I don't claim to corner the market on how to make money... what you're doing works. The numbers are good."
To manage such a large portfolio with a small team, Tiny has built what’s called "Nemo…or what we think should be called Tiny AI😉 "— a powerful platform that automates many of the workflows typically handled by VC interns. This system can ingest decks, generate summaries, pull LinkedIn profiles, identify competitors, and even suggest the best potential co-investors based on historical data.
Some of Tiny's other notable innovations include:
The Collective Partner Program: Allowing specialists (outside of the Tiny team) to deploy capital from the fund, expanding reach into specific geographies and sectors
Community-Driven Approach: 20% of Fund III's LPs are previous Tiny founders
Scale Through Technology: Processing over 710 decks via Nemo in Q1 2024 alone
For Ophelia, the transition from LocalGlobe to Tiny exemplifies the changing nature of venture capital allowing room for emerging managers.
"The breakaway velocity that you need in this industry to start something new and to jump ship is phenomenal," she explains. "All of the incentive structures are designed to keep you against doing that... What I have noticed about my peers is I don't think they would be doing anything else. You couldn't pay us not to do it."
If you're an early-stage European founder looking to join a collaborative community, Ophelia and the Tiny team are looking forward to meeting you.
You can reach Ophelia at o@tiny.vc.
E6: Think Big, Start “Tiny”: Ophelia Cai on Tiny VC’s Huge Impact in Europe