Philly angel group invests $750K in Philly venture capital firm

Rittenhouse Ventures, the newly rebranded Navy Yard-based venture capital firm, found a backer in an unlikely place: an angel group in its own backyard.
Robin Hood Ventures invested $750,000 in Rittenhouse Ventures, Robin Hood managing partner John Moore told us. Rittenhouse Ventures managing partner Saul Richter declined to comment on his firm’s fundraising efforts, citing SEC regulations.
Venture firms don’t often turn to angel groups in their fundraising efforts, Moore said, in part because angel groups usually want to manage the money they have set aside for venture investing, instead of putting it in the hands of a venture firm. But Robin Hood and Rittenhouse have a close relationship, which set the stage for this investment. They’ve co-invested in companies before.
Rittenhouse Ventures is the new identity of Emerald Stage2 Ventures, which has been investing in the region since 2006. The firm invests between $500,000 to $750,000 in B2B companies in the healthcare, financial and human resources sectors. It isn’t looking for billion-dollar exits, otherwise known as “unicorns,” Richter told us. Rather, it’s looking for exits between $35 to $75 million, which is closer to the median range for venture exits.
“Batters who swing for every pitch aiming to hit a home run strike out more often,” Richter wrote to Technically Philly earlier this year.
Richter said Rittenhouse Ventures will be announcing two investments shortly.