Marcy Venture Partners

Marcy Venture Partners

Marcy Venture Partners (Marcy) is a growth-stage venture capital fund co-founded by Jay Brown, Shawn Carter (JAY-Z) and Larry Marcus in 2018. The firm and fund are named after the Marcy Projects in Brooklyn, NY where JAY-Z began his rise to musical stardom as well as his career as a businessman and investor. Marcy Venture Partners invests in Consumer and Culture with positive impact values. Marcy is not a “celebrity” fund but an institutional VC that marries the network, access, and insights of two of the world’s most important and influential Black business executives and founders with the rigorous analytical skills and investment judgment of one of the industry’s most experienced and successful venture and private equity investors, Larry Marcus. Marcus was classically trained as a Wall Street research analyst working with early technology companies and participating in the success of some of the world’s leading technology companies. He knows disruption when he sees it and has invested across cycles. Unlike most diverse managers who emphasize higher risk pre-seed and seed investments, Marcy invests in more established businesses at growth stage with exceptional founders and products that leverage cultural shifts. Marcy is adept at spotting through its global business partners, distribution relationships, proprietary consumer insights and emphasis on data. The co-founders are passionate about investing in game changing businesses and have built a supporting team in their likeness – smart, hungry, passionate, and intellectually curious with deep knowledge of their industries, companies, and products. Marcus’ investment discipline and acumen combined with the operating experience and entrepreneurial success of the “Two Jays” (Roc Nation, Rocawear, Ace of Spades, Fenty, and Tidal) make them a complete, institutional firm with differentiated sourcing, experienced underwriting capabilities, and solid mentors and connectors to support the companies in their portfolio. Their debut vehicle from 2019 is already a top decile performer in DPI (distributed to paid in capital) and investment multiple. Their Fund II at $325 million may be a record fundraise for a Black-led venture fund. Their third vintage is coming and given their access, high performing companies, DPI and sophisticated portfolio strategy, we expect a significant raise even in a difficult environment.