Collab Fund

Collab = (people x stuff) + new technologies^creativity

Read our Substack:

[Collab Fund @collabfund]

First Mile: a run club for founders, operators & investors on the first Monday of each month in the East Village.

Sign up: https://t.co/JZ8kd6WgDw

[Craig Shapiro ⚽️ @cshapiro]

Welcoming Parker Hayden to Collaborative Fund

A quick note on what we're building. Collaborative Fund has long been known as a venture firm. Collab Holdings is our newer effort, a home for enduring consumer companies held for the long term, more in the spirit of private equity than venture.

To lead it, we're thrilled to welcome Parker as a Partner.

Parker brings a rare combination: the rigor of a seasoned PE investor and a real feel for what makes a brand matter to people. Over two decades, he has deployed more than $3 billion across dozens of transactions, including investments in Supreme, Beats by Dre, CAVA, OGX, and 66° North. He has served on 15+ boards and has seen every stage of the journey, from sourcing through IPOs and strategic sales.

Before Collaborative, Parker oversaw the portfolio at Redesign Health, led direct investing at Mousse Partners, and spent over a decade at The Carlyle Group on the Consumer and Retail US Buyout team. He began his career at Morgan Stanley.

The best businesses are built for the long term. Parker understands that as well as anyone we've met. Glad to have him on board.

[Celine Halioua @celinehalioua]

new loyal homepage is v cute

[Will Ahmed @willahmed]

engraved on every circuit board

[Collab Holdings @collabholdings]

Hello world.
https://t.co/184fZAs3Z0

[Collab Fund @collabfund]

The team basking in @thesundaylight at the Collab office.

Sunday Light is the closest thing to sunlight indoors, supporting better circadian health. Beautifully built by @natmartin and team.

[Sophie Bakalar @sophiebakalar]

Way to go Ineffable team! 👏 Excited to be a supporter @collabfund

[Craig Shapiro ⚽️ @cshapiro]

Today we’re announcing Collab Holdings, a different approach to private equity for extraordinary consumer brands. As the world gets faster, more synthetic, more algorithmically optimized, people reach for things that feel slow, crafted, and real. The companies that serve this instinct represent one of the most interesting opportunities in consumer investing.

[Morgan Housel @morganhousel]

Long-Term Money

Some thoughts on generational progress and spoiled kids.

https://t.co/OvRY1WdVkR

[Will Ahmed @willahmed]

You have no experience.
You’ve never started a company.
You’ve never had a full time job.
Nike is going to kill you.
You’re a kid.
You don’t have technical skills.
You shouldn’t build hardware.
Apple is going to kill you.
You can’t build hardware.
You can’t measure heart rate non-invasively.
Athletes don’t care about recovery.
Under Armour is going to kill you.
It won’t be accurate.
You don’t listen.
You’re an ineffective leader.
You can’t recruit great talent.
You’re going to have to pay every athlete.
You can’t measure sleep non-invasively.
It’s too expensive to research.
Athletes are a small market.
The product costs too much to make.
The product costs too much to sell.
Your valuation is too high.
Consumers aren’t going to want it.
Hardware is too hard.
You should measure steps.
Fitbit is going to kill you.
You can’t build a marketing engine.
You can’t raise enough money.
You need a real CEO.
Google is going to kill you.
You can’t be a subscription.
You can’t build a brand.
You can’t do consumer in Boston.
Your valuation is too high.
You shouldn’t make accessories.
You shouldn’t make apparel.
Lululemon is going to kill you.
You can’t predict Covid.
Stay in your niche.
You are going to run out of money.
You can’t build a health platform.
Amazon is going to kill you.
You can’t measure blood pressure.
You can’t get medical approvals.
The market is too small.
You don’t understand AI.
The market is too competitive.
It won’t work internationally.
The supply chain is too complicated.
You can’t build an AI.
You can’t raise enough money.
It’s too competitive.
Healthcare isn’t going to want it.
…

Just keep going ✌️

[Will Ahmed @willahmed]

NEW PARTNERSHIP: @WHOOP x PSG

WHOOP is now the Official Health & Fitness Wearable of Paris Saint-Germain through 2029.

Players will use Whoop to unlock continuous insights into key physiological metrics helping optimize performance and improve health across a demanding season.

[Tom Wilson @tom_wilso]

👏👏

[Zack Rosenblatt 🍜 @zackrosenblatt_]

very proud of @collabfund & @cshapiro for embodying the conviction & ambition we all strive to achieve in vc.

+ a massive congrats to @willahmed / the entire @WHOOP team, who've have built a truly generational health platform & the quintessential collaborative company.

[Eli Weiss @eliweisss]

THE 🐐 STRIKES AGAIN

[Morgan Housel @morganhousel]

.@collabfund led @WHOOP's recent $575m funding round.

@cshapiro and I sat down with founder/CEO @willahmed to talk about early visions, scaling a company, and life as a CEO:

Apple Podcast: https://t.co/ihNV3YUGKc

Spotify: https://t.co/fs0A8aiFxw

[Will Ahmed @willahmed]

BREAKING: WHOOP RAISES $575M AT $10.1B VALUATION 

I am pleased to announce that we’ve raised $575M at a $10.1B valuation to accelerate our mission of unlocking human performance and healthspan globally.

This round was led by Collaborative Fund with participation from 2PointZero Group, Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), Mubadala Investment Company, Abbott, Mayo Clinic, Macquarie Capital, Glade Brook, B-Flexion, IVP, Foundry, Accomplice, Affinity Partners, Promus Ventures, and Bullhound Capital alongside a group of individual investors including Cristiano Ronaldo, LeBron James, Rory McIlroy, Virgil van Dijk, and Mathieu van der Poel.

This investor group and this moment reflect a powerful evolution underway for Whoop and the broader healthcare market.

Whoop was born in performance - trusted by the best athletes in the world to train, recover, and compete at the highest level. That foundation remains core to who we are. You see that in the iconic athlete investors joining this round. 

But it also represents our push into broader health. 

In the past 12 months, WHOOP has received medical clearances, launched blood testing, and created a platform that has saved lives. Abbott and Mayo Clinic - two of the most respected and influential institutions in global healthcare - are now investors in Whoop. These are organizations that have shaped modern medicine. Their decision to partner with us is a clear validation of where our technology is headed.

Healthcare systems around the world are reactive. For too long, they have waited for people to get sick, then intervene. Chronic disease is rising and costs continue to climb.

At Whoop, we believe the future looks fundamentally different. We are building the most powerful, personal, preventive health platform in the world - powered by continuous biometric data, advanced analytics, and AI to help people understand their bodies and improve their health in real time.

I am grateful to our team, our members, and our partners for believing in this vision. I’ve been building this company for 14 years and I’ve never been more excited for the future.

[Craig Shapiro ⚽️ @cshapiro]

Today Collaborative Fund is leading a $575M Series G in WHOOP, our largest investment ever.

This is the cover letter I attached to our term sheet:

[Sergei Sorokin @sergeisorokin]

I spent 8 years scaling Discord and got burnt out cause modern work is broken. We’re overwhelmed with too much info across apps, teams, and agents.

AI made it worse. We’re building the solve.

I've joined @tryhighlight as CEO and we raised a $40M Series A led by @KhoslaVentures.

[guyvidra @guyvidra]

Over the past year, athletes using Nomio have broken records and won Olympic gold. 

This isn't just another sports nutrition brand. It’s science-backed, trusted by serious athletes, and points to where performance products are heading next. Read more about why we invested:

[Craig Wilson @CGeoffWilson]

Mina and his team are taking a different and more human approach to consumer AI and I, for one, am so proud that we're backing him at @collabfund and @AIResidency