How Stacy Brown-Philpot raised $172M for under-invested founders

Executive overview

Most operators who become investors join an existing firm. Stacy Brown-Philpot chose to launch her own fund — Cherry Rock Capital — targeting under-invested entrepreneurs who lack networks, board access, and operating mentorship, not just capital.

She raised $172M from institutional LPs including Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Ford Foundation, and Mass Mutual over two years, starting from scratch in January 2023 with no prior fund management experience.

Operating experience is the investor's edge: having sat in the founder's chair lets you see around corners, not just evaluate decks.

The decision to start a fund

• Left TaskRabbit in August 2020; committed to saying no to everything for six months (lasted five)
• Did a six-day silent retreat immediately after leaving — first time truly alone in her life
• Retreat produced clarity that grounded every subsequent decision: stopped optimising for others' expectations
• Considered full-time roles at top-tier VC firms; co-joined SoftBank Opportunity Fund's investment committee instead, keeping optionality
• Launched Cherry Rock because no existing firm matched her specific mission, values, and focus on the capital access gap

Raising the fund

• Started January 2023 — widely told it was the worst possible time; ignored the advice
• Co-founded with Sada Howard (9 years at IVP) to pair operating credibility with venture operations experience
• Built institutional-grade infrastructure from day one to satisfy LPs like JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs
• Early mentor reviewed the pitch deck slide by slide; V1.0 became V2.0 — that feedback was decisive
• Most prospects said no; institutional LP processes run three to nine months each
• Final close: January 2025 — two years total, twice the timeline she expected
• Conviction, not market timing, drove the decision: "When else am I going to do it? It's kind of now."

What Cherry Rock offers beyond capital

• Focus: under-invested entrepreneurs who lack Silicon Valley networks and board-level relationships
• Differentiator: operating expertise plus networks, not just a cheque
• First investment: Coactive (multimodal AI, Series B co-led with Emerson Collective) — a year-long founder relationship preceded the investment
• Takes board seats deliberately; most VCs avoid them, citing reduced founder access — Stacy disagrees
• Board role discipline: ask better questions, don't tell founders what to do

Being a great board member

• Joined HP's board as TaskRabbit COO; learned that the best board members ask the best questions, not give the most advice
• CEOs know twenty other constraints the board member can't see — "this is what I'd do right away" is almost always the wrong frame
• Key practice: ask "what's most helpful right now?" before offering anything
• Advice to founders: don't form a board until you actually need one — seed stage often doesn't require it
• Determine board need by trajectory: go-to-market gaps, partnership needs, leadership team building, institutional capital requirements
• The best boards are managed by the CEO and founders, not the other way around

On AI and continuous learning

• Optimistic: humans remain in the loop for the 0.1% gap between 99.9% and 100% accuracy
• Data security and accuracy still require human judgment even in highly automated systems
• Stays current by reading widely, listening to her children, and maintaining a meditation practice