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May 11, 2020 - Economy & Business

Dave McClure looks to buy back into 500 Startups fund

Kia Kokalitcheva
Dave McClure speaking at a conference.

Photo: Noam Galai/Getty Images for TechCrunch

Venture capitalist Dave McClure is raising $10 million for a special purpose vehicle to buy out some limited partners in the first fund of 500 Startups, the firm he founded and led until resigning in 2017 due to sexual harassment allegations, Axios has learned.

Inside the deal: 500 Startups Fund I was raised in 2010 and invested in such future public companies as Twilio, SendGrid and The RealReal. As of Q4 2019, the fund reports 5.2x gross, 3.8x net TVPI, 1.2x DPI, and 19.5% net IRR.

The SPV is being raised under McClure’s new Practical Venture Capital platform.

  • His partner is onetime 500 Startups COO Aman Verjee, who also has served as CFO for both Sonos and eBay North America. 
  • This SPV is intended to be a proof point for the firm’s larger strategy of secondary stakes in micro VC funds.
  • Practical VC is also raising a $100 million fund.

McClure declined to comment.

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