Run your own venture capital firm. Hunt deals, research founders, write the checks — then live with the results. Most bets fail. The one that doesn't pays for everything: a bigger fund, the corner office, a name every founder knows. Outrank the big firms, or take yours public.
You have some money and a lot of opinions. Time to prove you're right.
Venture Capital Tycoon is a deep, systems-driven management sim about building a VC firm from a co-working hot desk to a name every founder knows. Start with your own small checkbook — no LPs, no fees, no safety net — and turn conviction into carry.
SELECT YOUR STARTUPS
Deal flow hits your inbox every week: AI wrappers, climate moonshots, crypto casinos, dentist software. Assign diligence, read the memo, weigh conviction against your dry powder — then wire the check or pass. Every pass is remembered: the anti-portfolio immortalizes the ones that got away.
BUILD THE FIRM
Hire partners, analysts, and the CFO who signs everything when you flip on autopilot. Every hire is a personality with stats and traits — build out your dream team, organize them into deal squads, and put the right specialists on the right deals. Upgrade from a hot desk to the corner office. Manage burn, court LPs, and raise Fund I, II, and beyond — each fund bigger, each miss more expensive.
TAKE THE RISK
Most of your portfolio goes to zero. That's the business. What matters is the one that doesn't: the 50x grand slam, the unicorn at a billion-dollar mark, the IPO that returns the fund. Follow on into your winners, sell into acquisition offers, or hold and pray.
THREE WAYS TO PLAY
Classic Firm (the full journey, Easy through Brutal), The Bootstrapper (hardest mode: one backer, $1M, a 1 in every stat, completely alone), and Empire Mode (skip the grind — start at scale with $100M and a full senior team).
A LEGACY WORTH KEEPING
Every completed run earns Legend points to spend on your next firm. Climb the all-time leaderboard, outrank the big firms, or — one day — take the whole firm public.