Find.
Open seats
Founders screened first through Founders Friend, then by us. Every open seat names its lead and what they are putting in.
Startup co-investing, managedThere’s a seat
There’s a seat
for you.
The best startup rounds used to fill before most people heard about them. We find the founders, do the homework and handle the paperwork. You decide if you’re in.
For wholesale investors. Early-stage investing is high risk. You could lose all the money you put in.
A lead goes first on every round
The homework published
Fees shown in full
Your call, always
Why we exist
The best rounds fill before most people hear about them.
Not because they’re better investors. Because they weren’t in the room.
We’re building a bigger table.
We find the founders and do the homework.
A lead puts their own money in first.
Every fee and every risk, out in the open.
And there’s a seat for you.
The disconnect
Plenty of capital. Too few doors.
Money is flowing into startups, but it pools in a handful of big rounds and moves through private networks. Most founders never meet most investors who would back them. That gap is why the platform exists.
- 390
announced Australian startup deals in 2025, down 17% on the year before, even as total funding rose
State of Australian Startup Funding 2025 - 58%
of all 2025 capital went to just 20 deals
State of Australian Startup Funding 2025 - 2%
of capital went to all-women founding teams
State of Australian Startup Funding 2025 - 1 in 5
Australian households forecast to meet the wholesale investor test within a decade
PwC for the FSC, 2024
- ~60%
of global venture capital in 2025 went to 629 companies raising $100 million or more
Crunchbase, 2025 - 30%+
of venture deals come through investors’ professional networks. Only 10% start with a founder reaching out
Gompers et al., 2019 - 0.6%
of US firms started with venture capital
Kauffman Foundation - 50
companies screened, on average, for every one a venture firm backs
Gompers et al., 2019
How the platform bridges the gap
Better-prepared founders. Better-informed investors.
Founders Friend gets founders ready for diligence. Palo Alto Syndicate is the platform that puts them in front of investors who would otherwise never see them, with the homework already done. Neither of us tells anyone what to invest in.
FFFounders, through Founders Friend
- One model of the companyNumbers, plan and story kept in one place
- Structured guidanceFive stages, from first idea to first raise
- Diligence-ready packThe documents investors ask for, organised before they ask
Palo Alto Syndicate, the platform
- Screened twiceThrough Founders Friend, then by our team
- The homeworkWhy we said yes, what could go wrong, every fee
- A lead goes firstNamed, experienced, own money in, same terms
Eligible investors
- IndividualsEligible wholesale investors, seat by seat
- Family officesCurated early-stage flow without building a team
- VC firms and angel groupsCo-invest, or bring the syndicate in behind your round
What we do
Find. Vet. Manage.
Three jobs, always together. The open seat shows the deal, the homework proves it, and your table keeps it honest for years.
Vet.
The homework
A diligence memo for every deal: why we said yes, what could go wrong, the full fee table and the terms, in plain English.
Manage.
Your table
One vehicle, one login. Sign online, track every seat and get regular updates for the life of the deal.
Who it’s for
One table, three ways to sit at it.
Smaller investors get access and support. Founders get champions without a crowded cap table. Firms get a syndicate behind their rounds.
For investors outside the inner circle
A real seat in early-stage rounds, without needing to know the right people.
- Rounds once kept for VC firms, family offices and angel networks
- The homework in plain English, risks first, before you decide
- Back alongside an experienced lead who invests first
- Every seat, document, signature and update in one place
Check eligibility
For wholesale investors now. Not there yet? Join the waitlist.
Access
Rounds that used to stay in the room.
Angel networks curate well but keep the door shut. Crowdfunding opens the door but can’t promise the homework. VC firms and family offices see the best rounds first. We sit where nobody else does: open to every qualified investor, with every deal led and vetted.
- Seats in rounds normally filled by funds and family offices
- Smaller seats than a fund cheque [minimum to confirm]
- The same homework a lead investor sees
Led and vettedUnvettedInvitation onlyOpen to qualified investorsAngel networksVC fundsGoing it aloneEquity crowdfundingPalo Alto Syndicate
The homeworkSample
Why we said yesTeam has shipped this before. First contracts signed.
What could go wrongA larger competitor could copy the product within a year.
Fees[set-up %] + [carry %]
Invest with your values
Back what you believe in.
There is no blind pool. Every open seat is its own decision, so you back the founders, sectors and values you care about, judged on the evidence, and pass on the rest.
- Climate
- Health
- Robotics
- Food and agriculture
- Education
- and more
Seat by seat
Choose each round yourself. Nothing is decided for you.
Substance over hype
The homework shows the evidence and the risks, not the pitch.
Pass freely
Say no to any seat, any time, with no penalty and no pressure.
Patient by design
Built for people who back founders for years, not weeks.
How it works
Five steps. Nothing hidden.
Every round follows the same path, and every step is colour-coded to a seat at the table. Hover or tap a step to see what happens there.
- We find foundersScreened through Founders Friend first.
- We do the homeworkAnd publish it, risks included.
- A lead goes firstWith their own money in.
- You decideSign online. One vehicle.
- We keep you postedFor the life of the deal.
We find founders
Founders come to us through Founders Friend, where they have already been through structured guidance. We screen again, and most do not make it. We publish how many we turned down.
- Founders Friend screening
- Second screen
- No-go reasons logged
What it costs
[Set-up fee] and [carry] on each deal. Every fee is in the homework before you commit, and we disclose what the lead and the team receive.
palo alto syndicateYour table
Good morning, [name]
2 updates in · 1 seat open for you
Seats6
Committed[$ amount]
Sample HealthQuarterly update
Example RoboticsDocuments signed
A seat is open · Demo GridView
Sample companies and figures
Your table
One table for everything.
Every seat, document, signature and update in one place. No chasing PDFs, no spreadsheets of cap tables, no dozen inboxes.
- Sign online, once per seat
- Three kinds of alert only: a seat is open, an update arrived, something needs your signature
- Ask the lead questions before you decide
Open seats
Show the table, gate the detail.
Anyone can see that rounds exist and which sectors. Leads, terms and the homework unlock after the wholesale check.
Climate · Pre-seedSeat open
Demo Grid
Lead, terms and homework for members
Health · SeedSeat open
Sample Health
Lead, terms and homework for members
Robotics · SeedSeat open
Example Robotics
Lead, terms and homework for members
Sample companies shown. Real rounds appear here once the platform opens.
There’s a seat for you, once we know you’re eligible.
Wholesale investors only, for now. It takes about five minutes. Early-stage investing is high risk. You could lose all the money you put in.
What we stand for
Five values, written as decisions.
If a deal, a post or a partnership fails one of these, it does not go out. Turn a card over to see the call we make when it’s tested.
The line we never cross
Your call, always.
We talk about investing, so trust is the product. These six rules apply to every word anyone publishes for Palo Alto Syndicate, including lead investors and partners. Here is where each one shows up on a deal page.
- 1
General information only. We describe deals and explain risk. We never tell a person what to invest in, how much, or that a deal suits them.
- 2
No forecasts. No projected returns, multiples or “could return” figures, anywhere, ever.
- 3
The risk line travels with every invest action. “Early-stage investing is high risk. You could lose all the money you put in.”
- 4
Wholesale gate first. Until retail access is licensed, deal details sit behind an eligibility check.
- 5
Testimonials are about the experience. Never about returns or gains.
- 6
Legal sign-off before publishing. Every deal page, campaign and template.
paloaltosyndicate.com/seats/sample
1
General information only. Not personal advice. Read the homework and decide for yourself.
Climate · Seed · Sample
Demo Grid
Battery software for regional sites
2Projected returnNot shown. Ever.
4Lead, terms and homeworkUnlocks after the eligibility check
5
“The homework was the clearest I’ve read. I knew exactly what could go wrong before I decided.”
Member, about the experience · Sample3Take your seatEarly-stage investing is high risk. You could lose all the money you put in.
6Reviewed by [legal adviser] · [date]
Pull up a chair.
Wholesale investorsCheck eligibility
Five minutes, plain English. Deal detail unlocks after.
Not wholesale yetJoin the waitlistLearn how it works and hear first when access widens.
FoundersRaise with the syndicateOne cheque, one line, many champions.
Early-stage investing is high risk. You could lose all the money you put in. General information only, not an offer or personal advice.