Investing in a Y-combinator startup can bring great benefits to investors.
“Looking at the data, 6% of YC companies become unicorns, and 6% of those 6% become big cones,” Kulveer Taggar told TechCrunch. Taggar is a YC alum best known for establishing Zeus Living, a property management startup that has raised over $150 million.
Taggar is so confident in the potential for continued returns that it offers by its well-known accelerators, that it has established Lin Capital, a venture company dedicated to investing in YC companies. Since launching last year, Lin has raised $34 million in capital from two funds.
While the only venture capital firm focused on YC startups (not the only venture capital firm where Pioneer Funds and Rebel Funds have adopted a similar strategy, the company is the only dedicated YC fund led by solo general partners. And because of Taggar’s long relationship with YC, he also caught YC CEO Garry Tang as an investor in the fund, he says.
Taggar’s relationship with Y Combinator began in 2007 when his cousins Hal Jaguar and future Stripe founders Patrick and John Collison brought the startup automatic through the program. A year later, the auction went on sale, but that experience was key to building a strong connection with top accelerators.
He went through the Y Combinator again in 2011. This time, along with Zeus Living, we are a startup that purchased the home to offer furnished accommodation in flexible business and individual travel conditions. Initialized capital co-founded by current YC Chief Garry Tan, the Red Zeus Living Series A fundraiser, Tan joined the board.
At its peak, the startup was valued at over $200 million, with an annual revenue occupancy of around $120 million, according to Taggar.
However, Zeus encountered considerable headwinds a decade ago when interest rates surged and the startups were sold to competitors’ Blue Grounds in late 2023 on private terms.
Taggar launched the phosphor just a few months after leaving Zeus. He told TechCrunch he was particularly excited by the opportunity to invest in a young AI startup and the leadership of Garry Tan’s prestigious accelerator. “You can see this as a bet on Garry. I think he’s taking Y’s combinator to a new level,” Tagger said.
Unlike many emerging managers, Taggar raised funds relatively easily. Beyond Tan, he says his other LPs include Zeus investors. “I had a relationship and track record with them, so they knew me and they knew how hard I worked,” he said.
Others include the family office and a large asset manager who bets on Taggar for his deep connections and years of connections with the Y Combinator.
“Kulveer has been called an OG alum since the early days of YC,” said Jared Friedman, a partner at YC. “He’s close to me and close to many of the people who currently run YC.”
Taggar’s background as YC alum and founder was also part of LPS’ draw to Lin, which was a profit for the founder. “Zeus was a company that was extremely difficult to run. He has so many combat scars from doing this difficult thing in the physical world,” Friedman said. “He’s heard this from the founder that he has incredibly empathetic to what they are going through because he’s experienced it all himself.”
The phosphor writes checks ranging from $100,000 to $500,000. The company already supports over 200 YC companies and has raised several Series A funding, including the workflow automation platform Gumloop and AI Meeting Manager Circleback.
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