New Denver-based VC firm is doling out $10K to underrepresented founders

What they're saying: "You look at the numbers, and it's all overwhelmingly white and male," ThingVC co-founder Mike Gellman, who sold his web design firm Spire Digital in 2019, tells us.

Details: ThingVC, which launched in mid-2023, is the brainchild of Gellman and Chris Glodé, who sold his personal genomics startup HumanCode in 2018.

• The two write $10,000 checks to promising entrepreneurs at a $200,000 valuation.
• ThingVC doesn't take its cut until the company they've invested in earns $100,000 in profit, which gets put back into ThingVC's fund, allowing them to do more deals and run a "self-sustaining model."

How it works: Entrepreneurs submit their ideas to ThingVC through an online application. Gellman and Glodé then ask selected people to submit business plans and meet over Zoom.

• In addition to cash, Gellman and Glodé use their 25 years in the Denver startup and business world to offer mentorship, support and connections.

The bottom line: "We just want great ideas and great people and people who we can help," Gellman said.