Aurelia Ventures

Choose the route

• The Scale Program is the way in. The Inception Fund and Follow-on Fund invest in companies that come through it.
• Check the criteria that differ between pages before you apply. The location rule, the stage limit, the length and the intake size all vary by page.

How applications work

• Its site says the process from application to acceptance usually takes five working days.
• Admission is on a rolling basis, and no batch dates are published.
• The site does not give a direct application link for the Scale Program. Its footer links a sign-up form for an Operator Network, which it does not describe as the route into the programme.

What the programme asks for

• A B2B software product or service.
• A founding team with prior industry experience and at least one technical co-founder.
• Seriousness about raising funds.
• A funding history of no more than a Seed round on one page, or Series A on another.
• At least three hours a week in the first four weeks.

Aurelia Ventures is an early-stage investor that describes itself as an ultra-early operator VC. It runs the Scale Program, a fundraising and growth programme for B2B software founders, and two funds that invest in companies that come through it. Its terms page names the operating company as Aurelia Ventures Operations LLC and gives a postal address in Sacramento, California.

How programmes work

The Scale Program is the entry point. Its programme page describes 12 months of one-to-one work with the Managing Partner, Felix Kues, on a founder's fundraising and go-to-market goals. It is aimed at companies moving from proof of concept or stealth towards a Seed round. Its site also describes an intense eight-week sprint and a programme duration of two months, so the length is not settled. Check it before you plan around it.

Companies from the programme can receive investment through the Inception Fund, which provides the first cheque at angel or pre-seed stage. The Follow-on Fund supports pre-seed to Series A rounds, and Aurelia says it also leads rounds. Its site does not describe a separate application for either fund, so both are reached through the Scale Program.

Who can apply

Its site describes its focus as B2B software founders building a B2B software product or service. It asks for founders who have not raised more than a Seed round, though one of its pages gives Series A as the limit. The founding team should have worked in the industry before, with at least one technical co-founder or a solo technical founder. Founders should be serious about raising money, and the site asks for at least three hours a week in the first four weeks.

Location is the point most likely to decide eligibility. Its site says it requires the company to be incorporated in the US, and usually the team as well, with case-by-case exceptions for teams that have US customers and plan to relocate to the US. Its programme page asks instead for US ties, and lists incorporation under things that do not matter. Founders based in India should check this point before they apply.

Scale

The figures are the company's own, and they do not agree. Its programme page says its warm network has 350+ pre-seed and seed VCs, while its investment page says 250+ VCs join its rounds. The programme page also cites 160+ portfolio companies, but its portfolio page lists named companies without giving a total. The same page gives a sector mix led by AI and machine learning at 56%, followed by FinTech at 17%. The same page gives a stage mix of bootstrapped, angel, pre-seed and seed companies, without saying what it is a share of. It also cites 100+ partner benefits for sales, marketing, engineering and business. Read these as claims, not verified results.

On partners, its partners page lists it as an official startup partner of AWS Activate, Google for Startups, HubSpot for Startups and Startup with IBM. Its programme page also lists Microsoft for Startups, which the partners page does not.

Who runs it

Aurelia Ventures says it was founded in 2019. One of its pages gives 2016 instead, so the founding year is not settled. Its people page lists Felix Kues as Managing Partner, with a focus on fundraising and B2B sales. One of its pages calls him CEO. His programme page says he has founded and scaled technology companies in several countries, including India, before moving into venture capital more than six years ago.

Locations

Its terms page gives a postal address at 1401 21st Street, Suite R, Sacramento, California. A second address, in San Francisco, appears only in its page markup and not in the visible text, so it is not shown here.