— ABOUT —
UNLEARN VENTURES
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PROBLEM →
The traditional venture model IS NOT BUILT FOR FOUNDERS
— separating financial capital from operational clarity, FOUNDER alignment, and relational support.
This leads to FOUNDER burnout, misaligned scaling, and UNSUSTANABLE success.
FIX →
Unlearn Ventures IS BUILT FOR FOUNDERS
— INTEGRATING capital, strategic CLARITY, AND ENERGETIC PARTNERSHIP to SUPPORT FOUNDERS, companIES, and the MAGIC behind them.
CHRONOLOGY
FROM FUTURES TO FOUNDERS.
Cal, or Jon if you ask the IRS, cashed out at 41 after 20 years as a partner — and eventually owner — of a Chicago trading firm. Not because he had to, but because it was time to bet on something more interesting than numbers on a screen. Years of playing chicken with billions had taught him two things:
You can feel momentum before you can prove it.
Bad bets hurt like hell.
But good ones? Good ones will make your hair stand on end.
So he started placing chips on founders instead of futures. Companies with potential energy. Operators with blood in their teeth.
UNLEARN VENTURES 1.0
Somewhere between the early retirement and exits, Cal and Ty wound up in Austin. Though Cal spent his free time as an angel investor to over 40 start-ups, neither of them moved here to start a fund. They moved here like everyone else — chasing something they couldn’t quite name.
They crossed paths. Recognized the alignment. Birthed the first iteration of Unlearn Ventures and started backing bold ideas together — with their own chips on the table.
FROM FOUNDER TO FOUNDERS.
Ty came from the other side of the country. Santa Barbara, where the ocean’s perfect but the taxes will kill you. He spent 16 years launching and scaling businesses, selling two along the way.
He knows what it costs to build something real — the blind spots, the gut punches, the rush of finding the thing that works and double down. He understands the founder path because he’s lived it.
FROM CAPITAL TO STUDIO.
Venture capital was great. But there was a question neither of them could shake: What if capital didn’t just sit back and watch? What if it showed up? Rolled up its sleeves. Got in the mud and helped make the thing work.
So they relaunched Unlearn Ventures — a fund & studio for the unorthodox bets. For the founders who don’t need more advice. They need firepower.
Not traditional venture capital. Not passive checks.
Just two partners, fully in, riding with and betting on the wild ones.
THESIS
UNCOMMON returns require UNORTHODOX methods →
We don’t just invest — we embed. The majority of companies we back share three things in common, aligned with how we create and capture value →
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Our greatest edge is our unique network of professional athletes, celebrities, and influential operators — giving us access to deals others don’t see. This ecosystem unlocks proprietary deal flow and strategic growth channels from day one.
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We only invest when our involvement directly accelerates growth. Whether through our ambassador network, vertical-specific growth consulting, or enterprise relationships, we ensure our capital comes with unfair advantages — or we don’t deploy it.
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We launched Unlearn Studio to strategically partner with our port-cos — combining capital, growth marketing, network expansion, and executive support.
Our goal is simple: propel port-cos to their next inflection point, scaling both valuation & long-term sustainability.
