University as one of its anchor investors.

The firm’s general partners, Jim Cohen and Mark Poag, teach venture capital investing at both the Rice University Jones Graduate School of Business and the Princeton University Graduate School. At Princeton, each has received the Clio Hall Award in recognition of their contributions to graduate student education.

Fitz Gate offers a strategic advantage to its portfolio companies through its proprietary “Friends of Fitz” network—an extensive community of venture capitalists, startup founders, educators, senior executives, and subject matter experts. The firm typically writes initial checks ranging from $500K to $1M, with reserves allocated for follow-on investments. Fitz Gate is flexible in its investment approach, leading rounds, co-investing with other funds, or investing independently.

World-class investors—including Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia, Bessemer, Morgan Stanley, Blackstone, Eli Lilly, Temasek/Xora, BlackRock, Glaxo, Bezos Expeditions, Merck, Fidelity, MIT Engine Fund, First Round, Zoom, KKR, Formula One, Koch Disruptive Technologies, AstraZeneca, Porsche, and others—have invested in Fitz Gate portfolio companies after the firm’s initial investments.

Jim and Mark serve as mentors to Techstars NYC, the Princeton Entrepreneurship Council, the Rice Alliance, the Rice Lilie Lab, and the Northeast National Science Foundation I-Corps Hub program. They are also members of Princeton’s Keller Center eLab Advisory Committee, the Princeton Dean for Research’s Advisory Council, and the inaugural Investment Advisory Committee for the Rice University One Small Step grant program.