Fifthdown
43 employees on LinkedIn · 1 known investors
Fifth Down is a firm that advises senior management teams, boards of directors, and investors, with a team bringing legal and business advisory experience across mergers and acquisitions, venture capital, and private equity.
Also known as FDC · Fifth Down · Fifth Down Cap LLC · Fifth Down Capital · Fifth Down Capital Partners, LLC
Founders & leadership
Investors · 1
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Fifth Down Capital (also referred to as Fifth Down, and operating through the entities Fifth Down Cap LLC and Fifth Down Capital Partners, LLC) is an investment firm that allocates capital across the venture landscape. Its stated platform comprises three strategies: direct investment into companies, a fund-of-funds strategy backing fund managers, and a secondary strategy, which together allow the firm to invest at multiple stages of company and fund life cycles. The firm says it seeks to partner with companies and fund managers building in large, enduring markets, and maintains an active core portfolio alongside funds and SPVs managed by its entities.
The firm is organized with a sizeable internal team spanning investing, finance, investor relations, compliance, legal, operations and platform functions, led by Founder & CEO Andrew Spellman and Managing Partner Janki Gandhi, with partners covering finance and administrative/legal/compliance responsibilities. It supplements this with a Board of Advisors chaired by Richard Rosenblatt and a network of Senior Advisors and Operating Partners, who are disclosed as non-control advisors rather than employees; they may be engaged as consultants, receive incentive unit grants in the management company or carried interest in managed vehicles, and may themselves invest in the firm, its funds or portfolio companies — arrangements the firm discloses as a potential conflict of interest.
Business model
Fifth Down operates as an asset manager, managing funds and special purpose vehicles through Fifth Down Cap LLC and its affiliate Fifth Down Capital Partners, LLC, and deploying limited partner capital via direct investments, investments into venture funds, and secondary purchases.
As a fund manager, the firm may compensate consultants with fees and grants carried interest in its funds and vehicles; investors may receive fee breaks, indicating a management fee and carried interest structure across managed funds and SPVs.
▸Full profile — market position, go-to-market, history, risks & controversies
Market position
Positions itself as a multi-strategy venture allocator able to invest at several stages through direct, fund-of-funds and secondary vehicles, rather than a single-stage direct investor.
The firm attributes its edge to a curated relationship network of venture firms and founders used for sourcing, a three-strategy platform spanning direct, fund and secondary investing, and a bench of senior advisors and operating partners drawn from consumer, sports and entertainment backgrounds who support value-add and consumer-focused investing efforts.
Go-to-market
The firm describes itself as relationship-driven and primarily investing through its own network. Sourcing is built on a curated ecosystem of venture firms and portfolio company founders developed through long-term partnerships and continuous engagement, with proactive outreach intended to connect people and surface opportunities across its community.
Founders of portfolio companies, venture fund managers, and limited partners who allocate to the firm's vehicles.
History
Andrew Spellman is identified as Founder & CEO. The firm's advisor bench has expanded over time: Jared Carver, formerly President & CEO of Converse and, from January 2026, CEO of the running brand Tracksmith, serves as an Operating Partner working with firm leadership to scale its value-add platforms and consumer investing efforts; Chrysa Chin, a Managing Director at NKSFB and previously an executive at the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association, joined as Senior Advisor, Strategic Relationships in Q3 2026; and Alex Dermer, co-founder of a location-based task management platform acquired by Amazon in 2017 and co-founder of influencer marketing agency Get Engaged, serves as a Senior Advisor.
Risks & controversies
The firm publicly discloses an inherent conflict of interest arising from its Senior Advisor and Operating Partner arrangements: these non-employee advisors may receive consulting fees, incentive units in the management company, carried interest in managed funds or vehicles, may invest in the firm, its funds and current or prospective portfolio companies, and may receive fee breaks — factors that may influence their endorsement of Fifth Down.
Compiled by commissioned research from 1 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Founder mafia
2 people who came through Fifthdown went on to found or lead other companies.
Timeline · 2
launches, deals, and filingsChrysa Chin, Managing Director at NKSFB and previously an executive at the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association, joined Fifth Down as a Senior Advisor in Q3 2026.
Jared Carver, an Operating Partner at Fifth Down Capital and former President & CEO of Converse, joined the running brand Tracksmith as Chief Executive Officer while continuing in his Operating Partner role at the firm.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 1
primary sources listed
- Fifthdownfifthdown.com · web
1 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Fifthdown do?
- Fifth Down Capital is a relationship-driven venture investment firm running direct, fund-of-funds and secondary strategies.
- Who founded Fifthdown?
- Fifthdown was founded by Andrew Spellman.
- Who are Fifthdown's investors?
- Fifthdown's investors include Evolution VC Partners.