BYU Cougar Capital
Venture capitalProvo · 9 people tracked
Find your way into BYU Cougar Capital
4,376 people in our graph share verified history with the BYU Cougar Capital team — schools, employers, funds. One of them is your warm intro.
Investment thesis
BYU Cougar Capital is an educational, donation-funded evergreen investment vehicle run by second-year MBA students at Brigham Young University. Rather than sourcing deals independently, the fund draws nearly all of its deal flow from partnerships with established venture capital and private equity firms, co-investing on their deals. Students add value to these partners by conducting significant due diligence and providing post-deal analysis of portfolio companies. Guided by a faculty advisor, an academic advisory board, and industry professionals, the program combines academic learning with applied, hands-on investing experience where students actively pursue opportunities and deploy capital.
Source: firm website, verified Aug 3, 2026.
Team · 9 people
from the firm's website & curatedWhat they invest in
from 24 of 33 portfolio companiesSaaS ×13AI & Machine Learning ×12Enterprise Software ×11Fintech ×5Healthtech ×4Cybersecurity ×3E-commerce ×3EdTech ×3
HQs:United States×21
Who they back
founder profiles across 19 portfolio companiesFounding team size:solo founder×132 founders×13 founders×44+ founders×1
Where their founders studiedfrom 21 founders with education data
Brigham Young University ×6Dalhousie University ×2University of Toronto ×2University of Utah ×2
Where their founders worked beforefrom 22 founders with career history
Business Objects ×2
Accelerator rootsportfolio companies that came through a program
3 founders hold a PhD · 5 hold an MBA (of 21 with degree data)
Investments · 33 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathBILL is a unified financial operations platform that automates accounts payable, receivables, and spend management for businesses.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareFintechSaaSSan Jose, US
Rene A. Lacerte(Executive Officer, Director)inRené Lacerte(Founder)inBora Chung(Executive Officer)inThomas J. Clayton(Executive Officer)inJohn R. Rettig(Executive Officer)inRajesh A. Aji(Executive Officer)
Co-investorsAugust CapitalCommerce Venturescoreteq venturesCross Creek AdvisorsDCM VenturesEmergence Capital Partners+6 more
Weave offers team communication and collaboration tools for healthcare practices, including messaging, scheduling, and patient management features accessible from desktop and mobile apps.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareFuture of WorkHealthtechSaaSLehi, US
Brandon Rodman(Founder/CEO)inJared Rodman(Founder/CCO)inClint Berry(Founder/CTO)in
Co-investorsA.Capital VenturesBessemer Venture PartnersCrosslink CapitalFundersClubIA Seed VenturesTeamworthy Ventures+5 more
Redo provides returns management and fulfillment software for e-commerce businesses, featuring AI-powered SMS messaging, order tracking, and integrations with platforms like Shopify and ShipHero.
E-commerceSaaS
Co-investorsAglae VenturesEl Cap EquityKickstart
Atlas Urology is a urology medical practice providing patient care for conditions such as UTIs, kidney stones, and infections.
HealthtechBradenton, US
Bryan Allen(Physician (Urologist))
Bark builds parental control and monitoring software for families and schools to help keep children safe online.
AI & Machine LearningConsumerDigital HealthSaaSRichmond Hill, US
Brian Bason(CEO)in
Co-investorsAmerican Family Insurance Institute for Corporate and Social ImpactAtlanta SeedSocial StartsTeamworthy VenturesTechstarsFuel Capital+2 more
Subscription service and app that automatically turns phone and social media photos into printed photo books.
Provo, US
Nathan J Quigley(CEO, Treasurer, Secretary)
BoardChristopher M Lee(Director)James H Quigley(Director)Jared W Stone(Director)
Co-investorsKickstartPeterson VenturesSignal Peak Ventures
DeepSee.ai develops technology aimed at supporting knowledge workers and improving business operations.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareFintechSaaS
Steve Shillingford(Founder)in
Co-investorsBankTech VenturesFairhaven Capital PartnersOquirrh Ventures
Degreed provides an enterprise learning experience platform that helps organizations collect, understand, and develop workforce skills through AI-driven learning experiences.
EdTechEnterprise SoftwareHR TechSaaSSan Francisco, US
David Blake(CEO)inDavid Wiley(Executive Officer, Director)in
BoardChris McCarthy(Director)Brandon Tidwell(Director)in
Co-investorsAcadian Ventures Management, LlcContour Venture PartnersElevate Innovation PartnersETS Strategic CapitalFounders Circle CapitalGSV Ventures+11 more
Credit card program offering fair credit solutions to international students in the U.S. without requiring a social security number.
Co-investorsBascom VenturesBlue Ivy VenturesCastor Ventures (an Alumni Ventures Fund)Strawberry Creek VenturesVARSHA RAO
Dragos provides cybersecurity software, threat intelligence, and professional services to protect operational technology (OT), IT, and IoT assets in industrial environments.
CybersecurityDefense TechEnterprise SoftwareHanover, US
Robert M. Lee(CEO and co-founder)in
Co-investorsAllegisCyber CapitalCanaan PartnersCyber Mentor FundDataTribeEarth FoundryEnergy Foundry+9 more
Fetch offers doorstep services for apartment renters through a single app, including package delivery from its facilities, same-day grocery and essentials delivery, self-storage with bin pickup, and nightly trash collection.
ConsumerLogistics & Supply ChainPropTechAustin, US
Michael Patton(Founder)in
Co-investorsCadron Capital PartnersFrame VCSilverton PartnersTech WildcattersAlpaca VCArcher Venture Capital+9 more
Co-investorsAccelAcrew CapitalAspect VenturesSparkLabs Global Ventures
Graphite offers a supplier onboarding and management platform that automates procurement workflows, validates supplier data, and runs ongoing risk assessments for fraud, sanctions compliance, and payment issues.
CybersecurityEnterprise SoftwareSaaSLehi, US
Conrad Smith (Ally)(Founder)in
Co-investorsKickstartSignal Peak Ventures
Leland is an online platform connecting individuals with expert coaches for career development, interview prep, and graduate/business school admissions, alongside an AI Builder Program that trains people to build AI agents and workflows.
AI & Machine LearningEdTechFuture of WorkLehi, US
John Koelliker(Executive Officer, Director)inErika Mahterian(Cofounder)inJiashuo Wang(Founder)in
Co-investorsContraryForerunner VenturesGSV VenturesMarketplaceNext Play VenturesFJ Labs+3 more
Lendio operates a marketplace connecting small businesses in the US with 75+ funding partners through a single loan application, and provides embeddable and integrated lending technology for banks, credit unions, and platform partners.
FintechMarketplacesSaaSSouth Jordan, US
Brock Blake(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)inMark Santiago(Executive Officer)in
BoardAndre Bliznyuk(Director)Chris Gottschalk(Director)Daniel Kittredge(Director)Brian Hirsch(Director)
Co-investorsBlumberg CapitalComcast VenturesMercato PartnersRuna CapitalTribeca Venture PartnersAlbum VC+1 more
Moki provides a device management platform for content-driven deployments such as digital menu boards, promotional signage, self-ordering kiosks, and lobby display networks, including scheduled content updates pushed to devices.
IoTRetail TechSaaSLehi, US
Thomas Karren(Executive Officer, Director)Ty Allen(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardNick Efstratis(Director)Blake Modersitzki(Director)Spencer Tall(Director)in
Co-investorsAllegisCyber CapitalService Provider CapitalPelion Venture Partners
Music AI develops AI-driven music and audio technology, offering a platform of over 50 stackable audio solutions—such as stem separation, chord recognition, lyrics transcription, and generative music tools—delivered via cloud APIs and embedded SDKs.
AI & Machine LearningCreator EconomyMedia & Entertainment
Geraldo Ramos(Founder)in
Co-investorsSamsung NextToba Capital
Neurala develops artificial intelligence technology for edge devices that learns from limited data in real-time without forgetting, embedded in products for enterprise customers across industries.
AI & Machine LearningHardwareBoston, US
Massimiliano Versace(Executive Officer, Director)inAnatoly Gorshechnikov(Executive Officer)Heather Ames Versace(Executive Officer, Director)inAnatoli Gorchet(Founder)inRoger Matus(Executive Officer)in
BoardBruno Bonnell(Director)
Co-investors360 CapitalDraper AssociatesPerot JainRaptor GroupTechstarsEcomobility Ventures+4 more
Nursa operates a marketplace platform that connects healthcare facilities with nurses and nursing assistants to fill per diem shifts on demand.
B2B MarketplacesHealthtechMarketplacesBountiful, US
Curtis Anderson(Executive Officer, Director)in
BoardAndrew Rigby(Director)
Co-investorsDrive CapitalKickstartPelion Venture Partners
ObservePoint provides analytics validation software that detects broken, duplicate, or missing tracking tags and validates data across customer journeys for GA4, Adobe Analytics, and 94+ other platforms.
CybersecurityData & InfrastructureDeveloper ToolsEnterprise SoftwareMarketing TechSaaSProvo, US
Chris Cooper(Director)Shane Atchison(Director)John Pestana(Director, Promoter)Rob Seolas(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)Jared Wilks(Executive Officer)
BoardJeff Burningham(Director)
Co-investorsAlbum VCMercato Partners
SchoolAI provides AI-powered classroom software that adapts to individual student learning styles while giving teachers real-time data on student progress and mastery.
AI & Machine LearningEdTech
Caleb Hicks(Founder)in
Co-investorsGraph VenturesHomebrewNextView VenturesGeneral Partnership
SimpleRose is a high-performance computing optimization company developing Rose, a parallel optimization engine for solving large-scale mixed-integer programming (MIP) problems.
AI & Machine LearningDeep TechEnterprise SoftwareFintechSaaSSt. Louis, US
Carl Ledbetter(Executive Officer, Director)inM.L. Martindale(Executive Officer)
BoardBrian Matthews(Director)inGreg Papadopoulus(Director)Drew Dennison(Director)Matt Mosman(Director)
Co-investorsNew Enterprise Associates (NEA)Cultivation Capital
True Fit provides an AI personal shopping agent and "fit intelligence layer" that gives apparel and footwear shoppers size and fit guidance based on real purchase, return, and keep data.
AI & Machine LearningE-commerceRetail TechWoburn, US
Joseph Romney Evans(Executive Officer)William R. Adler(Executive Officer, Director)inRomney Evans(Founder)inLen Nannarone(Executive Officer)inCharles Badavas(Executive Officer)Jessica Arredondo Murphy(CEO)in
Co-investorsCross Creek AdvisorsFounder CollectiveGen CapitalGeorgianIntel CapitalJump Capital+1 more
Verasight provides survey management and targeted recruitment services for investment diligence, portfolio support, and market research.
Data & InfrastructureEnterprise SoftwareFintechMarketing TechSaaS
Benjamin Leff(CEO)
Co-investorsRed Bear AngelsThe MBA FundTop Corner CapitalTrestle Partners
Videra provides AI-powered technology that supports behavioral health clinicians by enhancing their capabilities and patient engagement to improve care delivery and outcomes.
AI & Machine LearningBiotechDigital HealthHealthtechMental Health
Co-investorsEPIC VENTURES
Visier offers a Workforce Intelligence platform that unifies scattered people and operational data to give HR, IT, and business leaders analytics, benchmarks, and AI-driven recommendations on issues like attrition, skill gaps, retention, and workforce planning.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareHR TechVancouver
Ryan Wong(Executive Officer, Director)inJohn Schwarz(Executive Officer, Director)inBrett Schwarz(Founder)inDavid Weisbeck(Executive Officer)Steve Bamberger(Executive Officer)in
BoardRob Rueckert(Director)
Co-investorsAdams Street PartnersFoundation CapitalGoldman SachsSummit Partners
Exits · 2
IPOs and acquisitions across the tracked portfolioBill.com Holdings, Inc.NYSE: BILLWeaveNYSE: WEAV
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companies
Music · bitcoinworld.co.in · Aug 25, 2026

Lendio · startupfortune.com · Aug 12, 2026
Leland · wilmingtonbiz.com · Jul 31, 2026
Bill.com Holdings, Inc. · pulse2.com · Jul 19, 2026
Weave · morningstar.com · Jul 13, 2026
Bark · wwlp.com · Jun 20, 2026
Visier · summitpartners.com · May 27, 2025
Frequently asked questions
- How many investments has BYU Cougar Capital made?
- BYU Cougar Capital has 33 tracked investments, 1 of which have exited via acquisition or IPO.
- What sectors does BYU Cougar Capital focus on?
- BYU Cougar Capital focuses on Crypto & Web3, Sector Agnostic.
- Where is BYU Cougar Capital located?
- BYU Cougar Capital is headquartered in Provo, US.
- Who does BYU Cougar Capital co-invest with?
- BYU Cougar Capital most often shares deals with Kickstart, Techstars, Cross Creek Advisors, among 91 tracked co-investors.
Images
Similar investors
AirTree Ventures runs Pathfinders, a free four-week in-person program in Sydney for young builders (high-school graduates up to age 23) to work on a real product, access the AirTree team and founders, and build a peer network.
Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) is a venture capital firm founded in 2009 by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, known for pioneering the platform model with a large team of operators supporting founders across stages.
Atomico is an international venture capital firm that invests in growth-stage technology companies across multiple geographies. The firm focuses on scaling disruptive technology businesses globally.
August Capital is a venture capital firm that invests in a small number of companies, providing hands-on support to entrepreneurs building their businesses.
B Capital is a global investment firm backing early to late-stage technology innovators across technology, healthcare, and energy & resilience sectors.























.jpeg)