About This Fund
Fitz Gate Ventures Fund I is the debut vehicle of Fitz Gate Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm co-founded in 2015 by Jim Cohen and Mark Poag and headquartered in Houston, Texas. The fund was established in 2017 with a final close of approximately $10 million and was anchored by the firm's deep ties to Princeton University, where both general partners teach venture capital investing at the Princeton University Graduate School. Fund I pioneered the firm's network-driven investment model that has since been replicated across its subsequent vehicles.
Fund I deployed capital at the pre-seed, seed, and Series A stages, writing initial checks of approximately $500,000 with reserves for follow-on investments, targeting early-stage technology companies primarily from the Princeton University ecosystem — including alumni-, faculty-, and student-founded startups. The fund pursued a generalist strategy across software, fintech, healthcare, energy, and deep tech, investing exclusively in U.S.-based companies. A defining feature of the strategy is the proprietary 'Friends of Fitz' advisor network comprising hundreds of founders, venture capitalists, academics, and senior executives who support portfolio companies with deal flow, diligence, introductions, and commercial partnerships.
Fitz Gate Ventures Fund I has produced at least one unicorn, consistent with the firm's stated track record. Early portfolio investments included Quantum Circuits, Inc. (subsequently acquired by D-Wave Quantum for $550 million), Optimal Dynamics, Visor, Predata, and Pledge, among approximately 15-21 portfolio companies. The fund's performance underpinned the firm's ability to raise a $25 million Fund II in May 2020 and a third fund in December 2025, bringing total firm AUM to approximately $70 million. Fund III broadened scope beyond Princeton to a national generalist strategy with Rice University as an anchor LP.