It's lonely at the top

We can help you get there

Early stage venture capital for daring entrepreneurs who aspire to reach the summit

We are baselayer

We help entrepreneurs build resilient companies with a strong foundation for global scale.

We are an independent venture capital firm that invests with high conviction at the earliest stages.

We look for opportunities that lie at the intersection of enduring consumer needs and the technologies and new business models that will satisfy them.

We partner with founders building in the application layer (B2C) or in the infrastructure stack (B2B) in four focus areas:

health + SELF

Digital technologies, wearable devices, and consumer platforms for personal wellbeing and performance optimization.

sustainability

Innovations that remove the guilt from consumption and give companies and consumers transparency.

MARKETPLACES

Platforms for use, re-use, and exchange of consumer goods. New business models for consumer utilization.

virtual goods + EXPERIENCES

Advanced technologies which engage the “second self” by bridging physical and digital goods.

OUR SECRET WEAPON: THE POWER OF CONNECTIONS

We help world class founders build companies of global scale.

Through a strategic relationship with VF Corporation we can bring to bear the power behind some of the worlds most enduring brands.

These iconic brands are more than just labels. They connect people around the world to the activities and experiences they cherish most.

PURPOSE DRIVEN

We help connect our founders to expertise from some of the world’s best purpose led brands in the sustainable and active lifestyle category.

CONSUMER FOCUS

We help founders tap into insights from millions of consumers around the world to best connect with the lifestyles, activities and experiences they cherish.

BUILDERS

We help connect our companies through VF’s incubator, Venture Foundry and other growth enabling platforms.

Baselayer Pov: forces of change

We see six sustained drivers of development that impact society, the economy, business and consumer lives over the next decade.

Neglected Planet

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Our planet is reaching an environmental overload, as we wrestle with the impact of climate-change and migrations.

Post Truth World

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As our experiences become more digital, algorithmic segmentation erodes common understanding and fractures our shared reality.

New World Order

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The center of power is shifting, leading to the rise of new influencers and an evolved “globalization” model.

mosaic identities

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Gen Z is rejecting traditional identity norms, instead experimenting to create fluid lifestyles.

Disruption by data

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Exponential growth in computing power brings unprecendented means for sensing, capturing and analyzing data.

Limitless wellness

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An increased understanding of our bodies will drive heightened interest in health and self-care.

Interested in BUILDING WITH US?

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health + SELF

democratizing wellbeing & OPTIMZING PERFORMANCE

Machines and data help humans be their best. We look for companies that are creating platforms that provide an ecosystem approach to wellbeing.

For over a century we have relied on the medical setting for monitoring health and wellness. We have now finally begun using advanced sensor based technologies as well as artificial intelligence and machine learning to monitor wellbeing in our everyday lives, and we believe this will transform the future of personal health and wellness through connected “smart clothing”, wearables, devices, the digital interfaces that connect them and other users together. Fabrics are poised to become the new software, and future of brain-machine interfaces is non-invasive. No longer will understanding and improving all dimensions of our health be wholly constrained by access to medical professionals.

Focus AREA

We look for advanced capabilities in data and analytics powered by state-of-the-art A.I. and Machine Learning models, breakthrough Innovations In embedded sensors, and platforms that connect health-minded consumers together.

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SUSTAINABILITY

NATURAL + CONSCIENTIOUS LIVING

Good for me and good for the planet. We look for companies that are creating platforms that provide an ecosystem approach to sustainable living.

Clothing overconsumption has occurred on both macro and micro levels. Consumers behavior and buying patterns are shifting to minimal consumption and sustainable products. Vertical integration allows us to simultaneously become closer to the source of our materials and the post-purchase product lifecycle. These factors will drive a shift in spending across multiple generations of consumers as well as changes to the supply chain and materials manufacturers.

Focus AREA

We look for companies that focus on novel approaches to sustainability as a core of their Intellectual property. We look for innovations in material science and circular business models. We are attracted to opportunities in track & trace technology, ESG analytics, circular clothing, raw materials recycling and new alternative materials and biopolymers.

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MARKETPLACES

CONSUMERS GOODS PLATFORMS

The retail landscape is shifting. We look for companies that are creating platforms that provide novel approaches to consumer markets.

Resale has grown 21x times faster than the retail apparel market over the past 3 years, primarily driven by millennials and Gen Z. A Broad range of consumers are adopting secondhand goods. We believe the economic implications of Covid-19, as well as a growing consumer focus on buying in more sustainable ways, will accelerate consumer trial and penetration of ‘new to me’ goods.

Fund Focus

We value platforms that facilitate the exchange of consumer goods and the startups that power brands and communities in primary or secondary market transactions including B2B enablers such as: collection, take-back, cleaning, sorting, logistics, etc.

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Virtual goods + Experiences

irl meets url

Combining the physical and virtual worlds. We look for companies that are bridging the gap between the online and physical worlds we live in.

Consumers regularly engage in multiple virtual environments in which they can experience a brand and transact. We believe experiential retail will see shift from ”in-store experiences” to “out-of-store experiences” which will include the virtualization of goods, garments, and footwear. We see a key long-term opportunity to bridge physical goods to digital goods (i.e., seamless design) and near-term opportunity focus on enabling technologies and engines that could be the tool kit for future virtual brands.

Focus AREA

We look for companies creating breakthrough innovations in the virtualization of consumer products and related experiences. Broadly these can be Innovative solutions to shopping and retail experience across of variety of consumer and business use cases such as: e-commerce, sampling, merchandising, fit, and gaming. We prioritize investments in Augmented Reality (AR) over Virtual Reality (VR) as AR is enabling of ‘active lifestyles’. We prioritize mobile gaming over console or PC gaming, as the latter encourages more sedentary lifestyles.

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Privacy Policy

Baselayer VC, together with its affiliates and funds (“BLVC”, “us”, “our” or “we”), have created this Privacy Policy to explain how we collect, use and share information we obtain through our website located at https://www.baselayer.vc (the “Sites”), as well as Internet services that we offer (together, the “Internet Services”). Because the Internet is global, information about you that we collect or that you submit may be transferred to, processed in, and held in countries (including the United States) other than the one in which you reside. By using the Internet Services, you consent to such use of your information and agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy.

This Privacy Policy was updated as of August 12, 2020.

Information We Collect and Use
Information You Submit. To obtain access to the Sites and to receive certain Internet Services, you may be required to login and provide certain personal data and information about yourself (for example, your username, name and password) (“Personal Data”). We use Personal Data to fulfill your requests for Internet Services, as well as other products and services (together, the “Services”), to monitor and improve our Services, and to contact you from time to time about us and the Services.
Information We Collect Automatically. We automatically collect certain information to help us understand how you use the Internet Services (which we will refer to in this Privacy Policy collectively as “Usage Data”). For example, each time you visit the Sites we may automatically collect your IP address, browser and computer type, access time, the webpage from which you came, and the webpage(s) that you access during your visit. We may combine Usage Data with Personal Data in a manner that enables us to trace Usage Data to an individual user. Some web browsers may have “do not track” settings. The Sites do not honor “do not track” settings.

We also may use cookies (which are small amounts of data sent from a web server to your browser that are stored on your computer’s hard drive) to keep track of your use of the Internet Services, to validate your identity, to remember your password and preferences, to tailor the Internet Services to your account and to meet your interests, and to improve the quality of the Internet Services. Generally, you can set your browser not to accept cookies or to notify you if you are sent a cookie, giving you the opportunity to choose whether or not to accept the cookie. Please note that if you do set your browser not to accept cookies, certain Internet Services may not function properly.
Children. We do not knowingly collect information from minors nor do we target the Sites to minors.

Automated Decisions. We will not use personal information to formulate a decision based solely on automated processing which produces legal effects or similarly significantly impacts the person.

Our Information Sharing Practices
We do not sell Personal Data, and have not done so for the 12 months prior to the effective date of this policy.

We employ other companies and individuals to perform functions on our behalf, such as for analyzing data and providing certain of the Internet Services. These third-party service providers have access to personal information needed to perform their functions, but we require that they not use personal information for other purposes. Personal Data is not shared with any unaffiliated third-parties for their marketing purposes.

We may share Personal Data with third parties (1) in response to subpoenas, court orders, regulatory requests or legal process, or to establish, protect or exercise our legal rights and interests or defend against legal claims; (2) if we believe it is necessary in order to investigate, prevent or take action regarding inappropriate or illegal activities, fraud, or situations involving potential threats to the safety of any person or property; (3) if we believe it is necessary to investigate, prevent, or take action regarding inappropriate use of the Internet Services; (4) to our parent company, subsidiaries, joint ventures, or other companies under common control with us (in which case we will require such entities to honor this Privacy Policy); and (5) as part of a corporate transaction with a successor or affiliate or in connected with any acquisition, merger or sale of assets.

Your Rights
We have controls in place designed to ensure that the information we have is relevant, accurate, and appropriate for the purposes used. If you believe that any data about you is inaccurate, please let us know by contacting us through our contact form. Please note that any Personal Data that we have copied may remain in back-up storage for some period of time after your request, and that if you delete certain information you may not be able to use our services in the future without re-submitting such information. Also, please note that we will maintain Personal Data in our database whenever we are required to do so by law or regulation.

Individuals in Andorra, Argentina, Australia, California, Canada, Europe, Faroe Islands, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Israel, Isle of Man, Japan, Jersey, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Uruguay, and certain other jurisdictions may have certain data subject rights. These rights vary, but they may include the right to: (i) request access to and rectification or erasure of their personal data; (ii) restrict or object to the processing of their personal data; and (iii) obtain a copy of their personal data in a portable format. Individuals may also have the right to lodge a complaint about the processing of personal data with a data protection authority. The rights described herein are not absolute and may not be applicable to you. We reserve all of our rights available to us at law in this regard.

The California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) prohibits covered businesses from discriminating against you for exercising applicable CCPA rights.

Under California Civil law, Californians are also entitled to request information relating to whether a business has disclosed personal data to any third parties for the third parties’ direct marketing purposes. Californians who wish to request further information about our compliance with this statute or who have questions, more generally, about our Privacy Policy and our privacy commitments and our Sites should contact us through our contact form

If you wish to exercise your rights, we will need to verify your identity. To do so, we will request that you match specific pieces of information you have provided us previously, as well as, in some instances, provide a signed declaration under penalty of perjury that you are the individual whose personal information is the subject of the request. If it is necessary to collect additional information from you, we will use the information only for verification purposes and will delete it as soon as practicable after complying with the request. For requests related to particularly sensitive information, we may require additional proof of identification. If you make a request through an authorized agent, we will require written proof that the agent is authorized to act on your behalf. We will process your request within the time provided by applicable law

SEC Regulations S-P, S-AM and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act
Some regulators such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, the U.K. Information Commissioner and the Federal Trade Commission have adopted rules that require financial institutions, like BLVC, to provide privacy policy notices to their clients. If you are a natural person who invests with us, that notice will govern how we use your personal data.

Security
We have implemented measures to help protect Personal Data from loss, misuse or unauthorized access or disclosure. While we strive to protect Personal Data, we cannot guarantee its security.

Links
The Sites may contain links to other websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of any such other website (whether accessed through an advertisement, service or content link) and urge you to review such practices prior to submitting any information to such websites.

Changes
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If under any such update we make any material change to the way in which we treat your User Information, we will inform you of such change via e-mail or by posting a notice on relevant areas of the Sites. Any updated version of this Privacy Policy will be effective as of the date set forth therein. By continuing to use Internet Services, you expressly agree to the terms of the Privacy Policy.

Questions
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please feel free to contact us through our contact form.