How a Golf-Only VC Was Founded?
Last week, Orange Bay Sports' article 《“Lightweight Golf” Raises $20M Series B, Targets Middle Ground Between Traditional Venues and Topgolf》 sparked heated discussion. Today, we dive into one of the investors in that event, the golf-focused venture capital firm Old Tom Capital.
Old Tom Capital was founded in 2022 by Matthew Erley and Evan Roosevelt, with offices in Denver and Atlanta. Its website prominently displays the firm's investment motto: Investing in the future of golf.
Matthew Erley (right, below) is a serial entrepreneur who founded alcohol marketplace Drizly (later acquired by Uber for $1.1 billion) and home furnishing platform Havenly. He later began angel investing, during which he met Evan Roosevelt (left, below), then co-founder, president, and COO of Random Golf Club, a golf club in Austin, Texas.
After in-depth research, the duo found that the golf industry was severely underfunded, so they decided to found Old Tom Capital, providing early-stage capital specifically to outstanding startups in the golf space.
To date, Old Tom Capital has invested in 13 companies, spanning key categories such as events, media, technology, apparel, and footwear, as well as niche areas like golf whiskey and golf credit cards. Key companies include:
- Sports media company TMRW Sports, founded by golf star Tiger Woods
- Golf app developer Fairgame
- Golf apparel brand Quiet Golf
- Footwear brand Lusso Cloud
- Mobile golf simulator manufacturer Dryvebox
- Bourbon brand born on a golf course Sweetens Cove
- Golf content media Good Good
- Golf credit card company GolfCard
- World's first par-3 golf tournament Grass League(Click for Orange Bay Sports report)
...
Regarding the firm's investment philosophy, the two founders said in an interview:
"We prefer companies that solve real problems, open new markets, or focus on rapidly growing segments—those that can take root in this white space excite us... We're not just looking at golf companies, but businesses that have a strong impact on golf and can do something truly interesting in the space."
However, Old Tom Capital tends to deprioritize three types of companies: golf courses, golf club manufacturing (a red ocean), and startups that cannot quickly scale to over $100 million in revenue.
Above: Old Tom Capital's current portfolio
In 2023, Old Tom Capital launched its private members club, bringing together investors and providing them with detailed research on golf startups, as well as industry data and reports for decision-making.
The Old Tom Capital members club charges a one-time fee of $1,500 upon joining, with no annual fee. Investors joining the club must have an individual annual income over $200,000, or a combined income of over $300,000 for couples; and a net worth exceeding $1 million (excluding primary residence).
In the founders' view, creating a club is an interesting approach and model, and a differentiator for Old Tom Capital compared to large investment institutions.
Matthew Erley said:
"We entered the golf space, over time becoming the most active and strategically minded investment firm, and built a large network of investors, enabling members to gain insights into golf opportunities, learn about founders, returns, etc. When you nurture these investors, they bring you more opportunities or larger deals."
"We believe that in golf or other investment areas, more small investment firms like us will adopt similar membership models, rather than seeking power-law distributions across hundreds of deals like large funds."
| Source: Old Tom Capital official website, Profluence Sports interview video, English websites perfectputt, coloradoavidgolfer
| Image source: Old Tom Capital official website, official LinkedIn account
| Editor: Esther