HNI Circle · How It Works
From sourcing to your first update: the whole process, no fog.
You should know exactly what happens before a deal reaches you, and exactly what happens after you invest. Here it is, end to end.
Sourcing — proactively, off-market
Opportunities come through founder relationships, operator networks, and co-investors from past deals — not from broadly circulated syndicate lists. Many of these rounds are never publicly announced as open.
Vetting — where most deals die
For every deal that reaches the circle, roughly twenty are reviewed and declined. Raw cohort data, contribution margins, burn multiple, founder reference calls beyond the provided list, and a valuation model that assumes multiple compression, not expansion.
My cheque goes in
I commit my own capital before the opportunity is shared with members. This is the incentive alignment everything else rests on.
The circle note
Members receive a short, direct diligence note: what the company does, the real numbers, the risks I see, the terms, and why I invested. No forwarded decks, no hype language.
You decide, you invest directly
Each member invests in their own name, at their own discretion. I facilitate the allocation and paperwork; the decision — and the shareholding — is entirely yours.
Post-investment updates
Structured updates on performance, follow-on rounds, and exit windows. If something goes wrong at a portfolio company, you hear it from me first — plainly.
The five most common reasons deals get declined
- Burn multiple too high for the stage — growth bought, not earned
- Founder unwilling to share cohort-level or unit-economics data
- Cap table already crowded or misaligned
- Valuation priced for a market that no longer exists
- I would not put my own money in — which ends the conversation