1903
THE AIRPLANE
“Most people do not need to leave their immediate vicinity.”
HARD PASS VENTURES
Protecting LP capital from generational returns since 1844.
- The airplane.
- Penicillin.
- The internet.
- Nuclear energy.
- Credit cards.
- Amazon.
We passed on all of them—and slept soundly at night.
Our Investment Thesis
Disciplined Capital Allocation
At Hard Pass Ventures, we remain committed to timeless principles.
Our Convictions
- Horses have demonstrated thousands of years of product-market fit.
- Information scarcity is a feature, not a bug.
- Geography is nature's rate limiter.
- Successful customers should remain customers.
- Scarcity creates healthy markets.
- Human memory is an underappreciated technology.
- Existing infrastructure deserves respect.
We Avoid Investments That
- Depend on pornography as a growth channel.
- Require rebuilding civilization.
- Eliminate recurring revenue.
- Assume Americans will suddenly change their behavior.
- Attack markets that already work.
Recent Passes
A selection of opportunities our investment committee declined with conviction.
1928
PENICILLIN
“Successful customers stop being customers.”
1969
THE INTERNET
“The only plausible use cases appear to be pornography and gambling.”
1973
GPS
“Getting lost is an important form of research and development.”
1994
AMAZON
“Half the reason people shop is to be seen shopping.”
2008
AIRBNB
“What prevents this from immediately becoming a brothel?”
Request Funding
Our investment committee reviews all submissions with the discipline our LPs deserve.