The new guard in venture capital

Benefits of partnering with mega firm spin offs

By Michael Morgenstern

Happy Tuesday Brex community,

Venture capital in 2025 has entered a new era. We’re watching nimble funds spin out from the global franchises, driven by frustration with rigid bureaucracy, top-heavy decision structures, and uneven economics. Many partners feel it’s their moment to break away and build something leaner and more focused.

That’s great news for founders. These smaller, more agile funds often trade massive AUM targets for deeper, hands-on engagement with startups. They can also craft fairer economics for the whole team, fueling stronger alignment and sharper expertise. Historically, newer funds frequently deliver outsized returns, so there’s no need to shy away from these breakaways. If anything, they might just be your best bet for real partnership—and for truly moving the needle in today’s market.

Growing together, Michael Morgenstern

• Brex Hubspot Fuel Carta Dinner in NYC 2/4: A dinner for early stage founders. Apply Here. Brex Host: Anshul Shah
• Galentine’s Vino & Visionaries in NYC 2/5: A social mixer for female founders and investors. Apply Here. Brex Host: Erica Wenger ???
• Brexfast Club in Miami 2/10: A breakfast for pre-seed and seed stage founders. Apply Here. Brex Host: Michael Morgenstern
• Brex Supper Club in NYC 2/11: A conversational dinner for founders in the fintech space. Apply Here.?Brex Host: Shai Goldman
• Brex Flex Club 2/12: A workout and recovery series designed for Brex customers. Apply Here. Brex Host: Phil Chen
• Brex Supper Club in NYC 2/12: A dinner for ascending pre partner investors. Apply Here.?Brex Host: Erica Wenger ???
• Brex HQ Housewarming Mixer in NYC 2/25: A mixer for founders and investors at our new and very large NYC office. Apply Here. Brex Host: Shai Goldman
• Brexfast Club: Florida’s AI & Crypto Policy Roundtable in Miami 2/27: A roundtable breakfast with leading policymakers and founders/investors with a strong POV on AI and crypto regulation and policy. Apply Here.?Brex Host: Michael Morgenstern

Dylan Lew, EIT , ? Kyle Wyche , and Elliott Bennett ?are the co-founders of Ecotone Renewables

Ecotone Renewables, a public benefit corporation, is dedicated to driving the future of clean energy through innovative, community-driven solutions that accelerate the global transition to sustainability. By leveraging cutting-edge technologies and scalable models, Ecotone is shaping a greener, more sustainable future. Their patented Zero Emissions Upcycling Systems (ZEUS) transform waste from hospitals, universities, restaurants, corporate cafeterias, and other sources into renewable energy and a nutrient-rich liquid plant fertilizer known as Soil Sauce.

Ambassadors Perspective: Scalable, community-powered models not only drive impressive financial performance but is also set to catalyze the global shift toward a sustainable, circular economy. We are watching Ecotone closely.

Sarah Guo, Mike Vernal and Pranav Reddy are the Partners at Conviction

Conviction is a new venture firm purpose-built to serve AI-Native, "Software 3.0" companies; they believe they are extremely early in translating powerful AI models into transformative products, partner with the most important companies of tomorrow by deploying checks ranging from $1M to $10M, and are often the first investor in groundbreaking opportunities.

• Alexandra: [email protected] | Twitter
• Anshul: [email protected] | Twitter
• Erica: [email protected] | Twitter
• Emily: [email protected] |
• Ilias Benabdallah: [email protected] | Twitter
• Jason: [email protected] | Twitter
• Jonathan: [email protected] | Twitter?
• Michael: [email protected] | Twitter
• Phil Chen: [email protected]?| Twitter
• Shai: [email protected] | Twitter

The financial stack you can bank on. Trusted by 1 in 3 US startups, Brex allows you to manage your spend from MVP to IPO. Interested? Sign up here using the referral code NEWSLETTER and get 25,000 bonus points, $5K AWS credits, $2.5K OpenAI credits and up to $150K in SaaS discounts.

Don’t hesitate to reach out,??!