Adapted from the original post here by Stephen Babcock for Technical.ly Baltimore.
A-Level Capital is a student-run venture capital fund in Baltimore, Maryland that was founded in the 2014/15 school year by Johns Hopkins University alumni Elizabeth Galbut and Demilade Obayomi. Its notable early supporters include Dave McClure (JHU alum and founder of 500 Startups) and Paul Grossinger (Blue Jay Syndicate Managing Partner). Both Galbut and Obayomi have previously expressed their intention for the funds issued to help cover expenses in the first 6-18 of running a company.
In the summer of 2015, A-Level Capital managed to fundraise enough money from investors and is looking to make its presence known on campus in the following fall term with its first round of start-up funding distributions to build up the Hopkins startup scene.
A-Level Capital co-founder Galbut – who moved to New York to co-found female-focused investment firm SoGal Ventures following her graduation from a dual master’s at JHU’s Carey School of Business and MICA’s Design Leadership program – was unable to disclose how much they raised due to SEC regulations but said the company is looking to make initial investments of up to $25,000, and hopes to fund 60-80 JHU-affiliated companies in the next five years.
The A-Level Capital team took to The Beach on JHU’s Homewood Campus on Saturday to formally launch the call for applications.
According to co-founder Obayomi, the fund has already received funding applications from 9 student-run startups. Obayomi – who just returned from a summer internship at 500 Startups after graduating in 2015, and has an upcoming job at Goldman Sachs – elaborated that A-Level Capital would be reaching out to others in the JHU entrepreneurship network to broaden the visibility of the fund. A-Level Capital is set to begin issuing checks and supporting the local JHU entrepreneurship community this fall.
As Galbut and Obayomi have left campus following their graduation last spring, the groundwork of identifying upcoming startups to help grow as well as boosting A-Level Capital’s profile on campus has fallen to a team of 15 students.
With its focus on being a student-run venture capital fund, A-Level Capital believes it has the on-the-ground experience and knowledge to push the thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem on campus even further. As the fund expands its presence on JHU’s Homewood campus, it also hopes to eventually foster greater interaction with Baltimore’s tech scene and bridge the gap between the student and tech communities right here in Baltimore.
