Not Boring Capital Pitch Deck (2022): 15-Slide Breakdown

See all 15 slides of the Not Boring Capital pitch deck — a 2022 deck — with a slide-by-slide teardown of what the deck does well and where it falls short.

Not Boring Capital’s Fund II pitch is a masterclass in 'Media-as-a-Service' venture capital. Eschewing traditional slides for a 15-page long-form memo, founder Packy McCormick argues that his 90,000-subscriber newsletter (at the time of writing) provides an unfair advantage in deal discovery and allocation. The fund targets a $25 million raise to invest across stages, with a heavy emphasis on web3 and fintech. The memo is exceptionally transparent, listing every Fund I investment, check size, and valuation range. It positions the solo GP model not as a limitation, but as a collaborative asset…

Key takeaways

The Memo Format: A Departure from the Pitch Deck

Not Boring Capital’s Fund II pitch is not a deck in the traditional sense. It is a 15-page investment memo. This format choice is intentional; it mirrors the product the founder, Packy McCormick, is known for: the Not Boring newsletter. By using a text-heavy, narrative-driven document, McCormick demonstrates his core competency—storytelling—while providing the level of detail typically reserved for institutional LP due diligence. The document is structured to address the 'why' before the 'what,' leaning heavily on the personal brand and distribution power of the author.

Slide 1: The Hook and the Fund I Retrospective

The memo opens with a direct address: 'Hi friends.' It immediately establishes the founder's credentials, citing a newsletter with 90,000 subscribers. The primary 'ask' is stated clearly: $30 million for Not Boring Capital Fund II (though later slides and catalogue facts suggest the final target or raise was $25 million). McCormick is candid about Fund I, noting he raised $9.9 million—nearly double his $5-7 million target—and deployed it in six months rather than the projected twelve. This slide sets the tone of 'learning in public,' a hallmark of the Not Boring brand. He identifies three pillars for success: Picking, Allocation, and Helping.

Slide 2: The Fund I Portfolio Visualized

Slide 2 provides a visual 'logo wall' of the Fund I portfolio. It is a dense grid of over 60 logos, including recognizable names like Unit, Farmstead, and Stilt. The text below the graphic clarifies the strategy for Fund II: bigger checks ($100k-$500k) and a focus on Seed to Series B, while maintaining the flexibility to go earlier (Composer, Party Round) or later (Ramp, Scale). This slide serves as proof of 'Allocation'—the ability of a solo GP to get into rounds alongside major firms.

Slide 3: Web3 and the Barbell Strategy

McCormick outlines a stage-agnostic 'barbell' approach: 1/3 in Pre-Seed/Seed, 1/3 in Series A, and 1/3 in Series B+. He introduces a significant shift for Fund II: a deeper dive into web3 projects and protocols . He notes that Fund I was 11% web3 and expects Fund II to be higher. This slide also introduces the '20% non-qualifying investment cap' for token deals, explaining how he will use SPVs via AngelList or Syndicate to bypass these limits if necessary. This shows a sophisticated understanding of fund structure and regulatory constraints.

Slide 4: The Distribution Engine

This slide lists the 'assets' of Not Boring Capital. It’s a list of media properties: a twice-weekly newsletter (now 98k subscribers), a syndicate with $4 million invested, public investment memos, sponsored deep dives, a podcast with 3-7k listeners per episode, and 125k Twitter followers. The argument is that these assets solve the three problems of venture: seeing deals, winning allocations, and helping founders. He uses the 'Strategy Kernel' framework from Richard Rumelt’s Good Strategy, Bad Strategy to frame his approach.

Slide 5 & 6: Market Diagnosis and the 'Unfair Advantage'

McCormick diagnoses the current market (2021-2022) using Crunchbase data, showing a chart of Global New Unicorn Count By Month , peaking at 58 in March 2021. He argues that in a world where a new unicorn is born every day, the 'power law' is more relevant than ever. On Slide 6, he makes a counterintuitive claim: the bigger and better large funds get, the better it is for a solo fund like Not Boring. He positions himself as a 'friend to all' who doesn't compete for lead spots or board seats, allowing him to 'piggyback' on the diligence of giants like Sequoia or a16z.

Slide 7 & 8: Guiding Policy and Coherent Actions

Continuing the Rumelt framework, McCormick defines his guiding policy: maximize dealflow while protecting time to write. On Slide 8, he lists 'Coherent Actions,' which are the tactical rules he follows. These include: writing about spaces to send a 'bat signal,' sharing deals with other solo GPs, and not worrying about ownership percentage (stating he'd rather own 0.25% of a 1000x company than 0%). He also lists risks, such as 'investing in a lot of companies and still missing the winners' or the 'inability to raise future funds.'

Slide 9 & 10: Extreme Transparency - The Portfolio Spreadsheet

These slides are perhaps the most valuable for a potential LP. They contain a line-by-line export of the Fund I portfolio. It includes the company name, round, investment date, investment size , and a brief description. We see checks ranging from $20,000 (Syndicate Protocol) to $250,000 (SecurityPal, WithCo). This level of transparency is rare in pitch decks and serves to build trust by showing exactly how the GP behaves when he has capital in hand.

Slide 11: Early Wins and the Braintrust Case Study

McCormick highlights early signs of progress, specifically the Braintrust (BTRST) token launch . He includes a screenshot of the BTRST price at $9.20, claiming a 13.9x return in a couple of months and a $2.3 billion valuation. He acknowledges the volatility of the crypto market but uses this as a 'proof of concept' for his web3 thesis and his ability to identify projects that can successfully launch tokens.

Slide 12 & 13: Stage and Vertical Mix

Slide 12 breaks down the $7.8 million invested in Fund I by stage. The largest buckets are Seed (31.8%) and Series A (20.3%). Slide 13 provides a vertical breakdown, showing Fintech as the leader ($1.36M across 13 deals) followed by Web3 ($1.01M across 12 deals). Other categories include SaaS, Health & Fitness, and AI/ML. This data-heavy section proves that while the fund is 'generalist,' it has clear clusters of expertise and interest.

Slide 14 & 15: Fund Terms and the Syndicate

The memo concludes with the 'Summary of Terms.' The fund size is listed as $25 million . Key terms include: 10% reserves, 2% management fee for four years (then 0%), 20% carry, and a $500,000 GP commitment. Slide 15 explains the relationship between the Fund and the Syndicate, noting that the Syndicate will be used for 'Bigger Allocations' (over $250k) and 'Special Situations.' It ends with a call to action to 'submit your interest here.'

What Not Boring Capital Does Well

The 'Media-as-a-Service' model is perfectly articulated. Most VCs claim to add value; McCormick proves it by showing the platform he has built and how it integrates into the investment lifecycle. The transparency regarding Fund I's performance and specific check sizes is a significant trust-builder. By using a memo format, he also filters for LPs who are willing to read and engage with his thought process, which is exactly what he wants from his investors.

What is Missing

The memo lacks a traditional 'Team' slide. While Not Boring Capital is a solo GP fund, there is no mention of back-office support, venture partners, or advisors who might assist with the legal and operational complexities of managing 79+ investments. Additionally, while early markups like Braintrust are mentioned, there is no formal 'Net IRR' or 'TVPI' calculation for Fund I, likely because the fund was less than a year old at the time of the memo.

What Founders and GPs Should Copy

The 'Strategy Kernel': Using a recognized framework (Diagnosis, Guiding Policy, Coherent Actions) makes a complex strategy feel logical and inevitable. · Extreme Transparency: Listing every deal and check size from a previous fund eliminates the 'cherry-picking' suspicion that LPs often have. · The 'Friend to All' Positioning: For solo GPs or small funds, positioning yourself as a non-threatening, value-add partner to lead VCs is a winning strategy for getting into competitive rounds. · Narrative Over Bullets: If your strength is writing, write. Don't force a narrative into a 10-word-per-slide PowerPoint if a memo better conveys your edge.

Frequently asked questions

What is the primary investment thesis of Not Boring Capital?
The thesis is built on 'Media-as-a-Service.' As a solo GP, Packy McCormick uses his newsletter and social reach to help companies tell their stories. This visibility helps him 'Pick the Right Investments,' 'Get Allocations' in competitive rounds where founders want his audience, and 'Help Portfolio Companies Succeed' through public deep dives and amplification.
How does the fund handle follow-on investments?
According to the memo, the fund maintains a 10% reserve for follow-ons. However, larger follow-on opportunities or allocations exceeding $250,000 are typically handled through Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) via AngelList or Syndicate, giving Fund LPs direct co-investment opportunities.
What is the stage and sector focus for Fund II?
It is a generalist, multi-stage fund. While it targets a 1/3 split between early, mid, and late stages, Fund I data shows a lean toward early stage, with 84% of dollars in Pre-Seed through Series A. Top sectors include Fintech ($1.36M invested) and Web3 ($1.01M invested).
How does Not Boring Capital differentiate itself from larger VC firms?
The memo argues that the larger and more sophisticated big funds get, the better it is for Not Boring. Because McCormick doesn't lead deals, sit on boards, or require high ownership percentages, he can 'piggyback' on the diligence and resources of lead investors while providing unique marketing value.
What are the specific terms of the $25 million fund?
The fund carries a 2% management fee for four years, 20% carried interest, and a $500,000 GP commitment. The minimum investment for LPs is $25,000, and the fund administration is handled by AngelList. Capital calls are split 50% upfront and 50% when called.
Cover slide of the Not Boring Capital pitch deck — 2022
Not Boring Capital pitch deck, slide 1 (2022)

Not Boring Capital pitch deck: the facts

Company
Not Boring Capital
Year
2022
Slides
15
Sector
Venture Capital, Tech, Software, Hardware, Consumer

Not Boring Capital pitch deck PDF

The full Not Boring Capital deck is embedded on this page and can be read slide by slide in the browser — no download or account required. Each slide is covered in the breakdown above.

What the Not Boring Capital pitch deck was used for

This deck is a 15-page long-form memo used in 2022 to raise Not Boring Capital’s Fund II, a venture capital fund led by newsletter writer and investor Packy McCormick. The memo positions the firm as a multi-stage generalist fund focused on tech companies "with stories to tell," leveraging McCormick’s Not Boring newsletter (about 90,000 subscribers at the time) as a differentiated sourcing and value-add channel. The document outlines the transition from Fund I to a larger Fund II, describes portfolio construction, check sizes, and sector focus, and concludes with a terms summary. It was circulated primarily to prospective LPs from the Not Boring audience and broader venture ecosystem as the main fundraising artifact instead of a traditional slide deck.

Business model: Venture capital firm investing across web2 and web3, software and hardware, consumer and other tech sectors, often at seed to Series B with a generalist, multi-stage strategy.

Year
2022
Founders
Packy McCormick
Industry
Venture Capital

Round: Venture capital fundraise (emerging manager raising a second fund) rather than a company round.

Raising: Fund II of Not Boring Capital, a multi-stage generalist venture fund focused on tech companies across web2/web3, software/hardware, and consumer/enterprise.

Raised: Approximately $25–30 million for Not Boring Capital Fund II, with the memo itself describing a $30M target and a separate terms page and teardown summarizing a $25M fund size.

Use of funds as presented: To invest primarily in pre-seed, seed, and Series A tech companies, with some allocation to later-stage rounds, writing larger checks than in Fund I and reserving a portion of capital for follow-on investments.

What happened after the Not Boring Capital deck

Not Boring Capital successfully raised its Fund II as a roughly $25–30M vehicle and rapidly deployed capital across dozens of companies, leveraging the Not Boring newsletter’s audience and brand for deal flow and storytelling, and subsequently reported at least one early liquidity event while continuing to build out a multi-fund platform.

What the Not Boring Capital deck got right

What could have been stronger

How an investor would read this deck

What draws attention

Risks that stand out

Questions this deck invites

What founders can take from the Not Boring Capital deck

Not Boring Capital pitch deck: common questions

What is Not Boring Capital Fund II and what does this pitch deck cover?

Not Boring Capital Fund II is a venture capital fund managed by Packy McCormick that targets roughly a **$25–30 million** vehicle to invest in tech companies across web2 and web3, software and hardware, and both consumer and enterprise, often at seed through Series B. The associated memo serves as the primary pitch document to prospective LPs rather than a traditional slide deck, emphasizing the fund’s generalist, multi-stage strategy and reliance on the Not Boring newsletter as a key differentiator.

How much was Not Boring Capital Fund II aiming to raise according to the deck?

The memo states a target of **$30 million** for Not Boring Capital Fund II, although some catalog summaries list the final or formal fund size as **$25 million** and note that the terms section describes a $25 million fund. The discrepancy appears to come from the memo’s opening framing of a $30 million goal and a later "Summary of Terms" page specifying a $25 million fund size, both of which are referenced in secondary breakdowns.

What investment strategy and stage focus does the Fund II memo describe?

The fund’s stated strategy is to invest in the "best companies across verticals – web2 and web3, bits and atoms – at any stage," with a heavier concentration in earlier rounds like pre-seed, seed, and Series A. The memo explains that Fund II will generally write larger checks than Fund I, maintain a multi-stage generalist approach, and prioritize companies with compelling narratives where Not Boring can help tell their story.

How does the deck say Not Boring’s newsletter helps the fund?

The memo highlights the **Not Boring** newsletter, which had around **90,000 subscribers** at the time of writing, as the core engine for deal flow and value-add. The pitch argues that the newsletter gives Not Boring Capital differentiated access to high-quality deals, helps win allocations in competitive rounds, and provides portfolio companies with distribution and storytelling support through deep dives and essays.

What key fund terms does the Fund II memo present (fees, carry, minimums)?

External write-ups on the memo note that the "Summary of Terms" slide lists Fund II as a **$25 million** fund with **10% reserves**, a **2% management fee for four years (then 0%)**, **20% carried interest**, a **$500,000 GP commitment**, and a minimum LP ticket of **$25,000**. The fund is administered by AngelList, with capital calls split **50% upfront and 50% when called**. These terms are presented as relatively standard and intentionally "boring" compared to the differentiated strategy.

Sources

Funding and outcome facts on this page were researched on 2026-08-22 from the pages below.

Not Boring Capital pitch deck slides

Not Boring Capital pitch deck slide 1 of 15
Not Boring Capital pitch deck — slide 1 of 15
Not Boring Capital pitch deck slide 2 of 15
Not Boring Capital pitch deck — slide 2 of 15
Not Boring Capital pitch deck slide 3 of 15
Not Boring Capital pitch deck — slide 3 of 15
Not Boring Capital pitch deck slide 4 of 15
Not Boring Capital pitch deck — slide 4 of 15
Not Boring Capital pitch deck slide 5 of 15
Not Boring Capital pitch deck — slide 5 of 15
Not Boring Capital pitch deck slide 6 of 15
Not Boring Capital pitch deck — slide 6 of 15

What each slide of the Not Boring Capital pitch deck says

Slide 1

Fund II Memo Hi friends ¥, I'm Packy McCormick. I write a newsletter called Not Boring about tech companies and trends that currently has about 90,000 subscribers. I'm raising $30 million for Not Boring Capital Fund I1. Not Boring Capital invests in companies with stories to tell, and helps tell them. I raised Fund I in April 2021, expecting that I would raise $5-7M and that it would take 12 months to deploy the capital. I was wrong. Fund I ended up raising $9.9M and I deployed it in a little over six months. Part of the reason for the discrepancy was the market. Things moved faster than I could have even anticipated back in April. Particularly for a small multi-stage generalist fund, the o…

Slide 2

So far, steps two and three are playing out beautifully. It will take some years to understand whether we've picked the right investments, but I feel strongly that we've built a portfolio full of phenomenal companies. Fund I's portfolio should look similar to Fund I's, but with bigger checks. I've been holding back on allocations in Fund I, and want to move the range closer to $100-$500k, with the ability to flex up (or very occasionally down) for Fund I1. We will mostly focus on Seed to Series B tech companies, broadly defined, but will occasionally go earlier or later. For example, our pre-seed checks into Composer and Party Round have

Slide 3

already resulted in markups, and I would write checks into the later-stage companies we've backed like Ramp, Sky Mavis, Modern Treasury, and Scale ten times out of ten. Once again, I expect to invest roughly % of the fund into Pre-Seed and Seed, % into Series A, and % into Series B+. While I will make most investments with the expectation that they can return the fund, I am also happy making safer later-stage investments that I think have a high probability of 5-10x returns and smaller investments into earlier stage companies and protocols with big upside and the opportunity for larger follow-on checks. One new addition for Fund I1 will be follow-on checks from Fund I. I don't have an exact…

Slide 4

e Not Boring Syndicate: $4 million invested across 25 deals, 1,500 backers e Investment Memos: Public memos on companies we invest in e Sponsored Deep Dives: Companies pay Not Boring to write about them * Not Boring Founders. Podcast conversations with portfolio founders with ~3-7k listeners per episode. e Twitter and Spaces: 125k Twitter followers e Not Boring Capital. A multi-stage venture fund. Those help us do the three things we need to do to be successful: see & pick the best companies, get allocation, and help portfolio companies. Figuring out exactly what we should be doing with those assets, and how, is the secret sauce of Not Boring Capital's strategy. Strategy In our recent LP Up…

Slide 5

higher: it tracks 994 unicorns, worth a combined $3.4 trillion, 132 of which were valued over $1 billion for the first time in Q3. Whichever list you look at, the takeaway is the same: Over the past quarter, more than 1 new unicorn was born every single day. es 54 49 5 W 42 a 37 24 23 24 26 18 vi . 2 12 12 1 1] i TLL LLT 2020 Feb | Mar| Apr| May| Jun | Jul | Aug| Sept| Oct| Nov| Dec| 2021 Feb | Mar | Apr |May|Jun | Jul | Aug| Sept| crunchbase Source: Crunchbase It’s not just private market mania fueling valuations, either. Crunchbase reported that 83 unicorns went public in the first nine months of 2021 at a combined market cap of $958 billion, for an average public valuation of $11.5 billi…

Slide 6

. . Unicorn Companies Public Debuts Excludes companies previously acquired. Data as of Sept 28 2021, ® Valuation at public debut ~~ ® Number of public debuts 83 J $9588 - 39 32 38 5 2 4 10 6 6 $3948 $2968 $2828 $2288 Ew. ey 8B $3 [RAL S108 S183 pum 20m 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 YTD 2021 crunchbase Source: Crunchbase That $958 billion is higher than the past three years combined, and if the pace continues, 2021 unicorn valuations at public debut will exceed the combined value of the past six years. The second piece of the diagnosis is that the rules of the game are different for a small solo fund like Not Boring Capital. We are structurally set up to be able to invest in a…

Slide 7

threat to lead and is a friend to all, we get to piggyback on all of that work for free, which saves time and lets us meet with, invest in, and write about more companies. The third part of the diagnosis is that without the newsletter, I would be a very average venture investor at best. I probably wouldn't be doing this. I would see fewer deals, spend less time thinking deeply enough about companies and markets to put my thoughts out there, and win few allocations in more competitive deals. No Not Boring, no Not Boring Capital. Guiding Policy All of those inputs combine into a guiding policy for Not Boring Capital: set Not Boring Capital up to see and invest in as many great companies as po…

Slide text above is read directly from the Not Boring Capital deck PDF embedded on this page.

Related fundraising guides (24)

This deck's categories (6)

Decks from the same year (1)

Decks with a similar raise (1)

Browse companies alphabetically (1)

Decks in the same category (12)

More pitch deck teardowns (16)

Recently published pitch deck teardowns (12)

Browse by topic (1)

Fundraising library · Pitch deck examples · Investor directory · Founder database