What It Really Takes to Raise a Venture Fund — Lessons from Mark Phillips of 11 Tribes

Venture capital has no shortage of stories about fund managers who came from Stanford, Bain, or Sequoia.

Mark Phillips didn’t take that route.

Instead, the founder of 11 Tribes Ventures came into VC through failure — a three-year hardware startup that ran out of runway and left him questioning his identity as an entrepreneur. That low point didn’t just shape him emotionally; it shaped the entire thesis behind the fund he eventually built.

In this conversation with Nathan Beckord on How I Raised It, Mark shares how his failed startup led to a $46M second fund, why Fund I required 675 Zoom calls, and how he’s rewriting the VC playbook by investing directly into founder resilience.

This is a story every emerging VC manager should hear — and a roadmap for raising capital when all you have is conviction, persistence, and a vision LPs haven’t seen before.

1. When a Startup Fails — and a Venture Thesis is Born

Before 11 Tribes, Mark was a startup founder building a diabetes-monitoring device — an early predecessor to today’s continuous glucose monitors. After three years, a competitor leapfrogged their technology, the company couldn’t raise the capital needed, and the startup shuttered.

That failure triggered what Mark calls “a crisis of identity.” Entrepreneurship had become fused with his self-worth, and when it collapsed, so did he. Therapy, coaching, and self-reflection pulled him back — and crystallized the unanswered question that would eventually define his venture thesis:

If 63% of startup failures are caused by people-related issues (Harvard Business Review), why isn’t venture capital investing in founder well-being?

This insight shaped the founding purpose of 11 Tribes: VC should support not just business outcomes, but founder outcomes.

When you invest in the development of the leader — their mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual health — you build a more sustainable and profitable portfolio. — Mark Phillips, 11 Tribes Ventures

That conviction didn’t just guide his investment strategy. It fueled him through one of the hardest fundraising journeys a first-time GP can face.

2. The Brutal Reality of Raising A Fund: 675 Calls, 199 Nos, 1 Breakthrough

Mark incorporated 11 Tribes in 2019. When COVID hit in 2020, he and his wife had an honest decision: try now… or regret it forever. He chose to go all in.

What followed is the definition of grit:

• 675 Zoom calls
• 82 LPs
• $11M raised
• 18 months of nonstop pitching

Most brutal of all: It took roughly 200 calls to get the very first commitment.

Mark describes the early months as “one of the most challenging, darkest seasons of my life.” Every “no” made him question whether he should quit. What saved him was a small circle — a spouse who believed in him, a future partner who checked on him, and the shift in mindset that changed everything:

Stop selling the model. Start selling the vision.

Early LPs weren’t investing in a track record — there wasn’t one. They invested in him.

The first investor said yes because of the passion, not the idea. I had to lean into founder-led sales — sell who you are. — Mark Phillips, 11 Tribes Ventures

When Mark switched from explaining detailed fund mechanics to painting a picture of what a founder-supportive venture could become, momentum started to build.

The other critical shift: Stop trying to convert every no.

Pushing on uninterested LPs drains energy and kills pipeline momentum. According to Mark:

• Ask directly: “Is this a fit?”
• Accept nos fast
• Move on to better fishing holes

Clarity, he says, is kindness — both to yourself and your LPs.

3. Fund II Isn’t Easier — It’s Just Different

After finally closing Fund I on December 31, 2021, 11 Tribes moved into deploying capital. By the time Fund II came around in late 2023, Mark expected a smoother road.

It was… and it wasn’t.

Total raised: $46M

Total investors: 220+

Median check size: ~$200K…

Fund II was still built almost entirely on:

• Operators
• Angels
• Family offices

Not institutions. Mark is blunt about this:

For 99% of first-time GPs, institutional LPs are not realistic for Fund II.

Fund II is really Fund 1B. You have more stories, a refined thesis, and paper markups — but you’re still raising on a vision. — Mark Phillips, 11 Tribes Ventures

Instead, 11 Tribes doubled down on what was working:

• Deep networks
• Operator communities
• Relationship-driven referrals
• Family offices aligned with their mission

And in one strategic move many emerging managers overlook, Mark also sold 5% of the GP stake to a trusted family office that then became an anchor champion for the raise.

Though controversial, this strategy unlocked warm intros into an otherwise opaque ecosystem.

4. Warm Intros, Family Offices & The Power of Asking

Mark emphasizes two tactical lessons for both startup founders and GP fundraisers:

1. Ask the question.

Is this a fit?

Founders fear hearing no — so they avoid the question. But Mark argues that clarity accelerates the process:

• It saves wasted follow-ups
• It reveals true champions
• It frees you to find better-fit LPs

2. Ask for introductions.

People won’t think of names unless you prompt them.

Mark recounts a founder who simply asked:

“Do you know any angels who might like this?”

He instantly thought of two — but only because she asked.

3. Family offices value relationships above everything

Mark warns against paid “family office summits” and cold approaches:

“They don’t want to be found. They want a relationship.”

Get one family office truly bought in, and they’ll create the relational bridge to others.

5. Betting on the Human Behind the Founder: The 11 Tribes Advantage

If you ask Mark what truly differentiates his fund, it isn’t geography, sector, or check size.

It’s this: 11 Tribes allocates 2% of invested capital — non-dilutively — to the founder’s personal development.

That includes:

• Executive coaching
• Leadership development
• Therapy
• Counseling
• Organizational health work
• Mental/emotional resilience support

I believe this is the highest-ROI investment we make. — Mark Phillips, 11 Tribes Ventures

This is not optional or symbolic. In Fund II:

100% of founders are actively using the resilience allocation.

To support this, 11 Tribes built a curated “Founder Resilience Menu” — a vetted network of coaches, therapists, and organizational consultants. Founders don’t have to search; they simply choose from a curated menu of world-class practitioners.

Mark’s conviction is that building better founders builds better companies — and he’s already seeing lower failure rates in the portfolio, aligning with the data that people problems drive 63% of startup collapses.

6. Resilience as a VC Skill: Returning to Homeostasis

Mark hosts a podcast called Masters of Resilience, and his personal definition is both scientific and practical:

Resilience = How quickly you return to homeostasis after an inflection point.

Inflection points can be:

• Negative (rejection, loss, burnout)
• Positive (closing a fund, winning a deal, getting press)

Both push you out of equilibrium.The ability to return — and not get too high or too low — is what defines long-term durability.

For Mark, a major grounding force is family. He describes coming home after the best or worst days: “My sons don’t care how much money I raised. They tackle me the moment I walk in.”

His takeaway for founders and fund managers:

Be a multi-dimensional person.

If your entire identity rests on the business or the fund, you will break.

Find pursuits and relationships that exist outside work:

• Family
• Fitness goals
• Faith
• Creative outlets
• Community involvement

These aren’t distractions — they’re ballast.

7. Final Thoughts

Mark Phillips didn’t just raise two funds.He built a venture model that asks deeper questions:

• What if venture capital supported founders as people, not just operators?
• What if the best investment a fund could make was into the resilience of its CEOs?
• And what if LPs actually care more about passion and purpose than polished models?

For emerging managers, Mark’s journey is a reminder that:

• Vision > perfection
• Passion > pedigree
• Relationships > cold outbound
• Resilience > everything

And above all:

Your identity is not your fund.

Your value is not your last meeting. Your purpose must be bigger than your numbers.

That philosophy didn’t just help Mark survive failure — it helped him raise $57M across two funds and a growing portfolio of founders who are healthier, stronger, and more supported than the industry norm.