# Weekend Fund 3.0 Financial Model

Weekend Fund is a pre-seed/seed stage venture fund raising Fund 3.0, led by Ryan Hoover (founder of Product Hunt).

- Canonical: https://finamodel.com/startups/weekend-fund-30
- Excel download: https://finamodel.com/startup-models/weekend-fund-30.xlsx
- Category: Enterprise/Security
- Model type: VC Fund Waterfall
- Funding round: Fund 3
- Funding: $21M
- Founded: 2021
- Geography: US-headquartered (Los Angeles), with global deal flow (India, UK, etc.).


## About the company

Weekend Fund 3.0 is a pre-seed and seed venture fund led by Product Hunt founder Ryan Hoover. Its LP proposition is access to early deal flow, brand-led sourcing, and portfolio support, rather than revenue from an operating company.

The fund targeted $18 million, following a $3 million Fund 1 in 2017 and a $10 million Fund 2 in 2019. Management fees and carried interest are its economics, while LP outcomes depend on deployment, ownership, reserves, portfolio value, and exit timing.

The model schedules commitments, capital calls, investments, follow-ons, fees, valuations, exits, carry, and distributions. It produces a J-curve with DPI, TVPI, RVPI, and net IRR, allowing return scenarios for dilution, exit multiples, and holding periods.

## What's included

- 5-year monthly revenue build with stage-appropriate growth assumptions
- Full P&L, headcount plan, and operating-expense schedule
- Cash-flow statement, runway, and burn-rate tracking
- Valuation via exit multiple with a DCF cross-check
- Returns analysis with MOIC and IRR
- Unit economics including CAC, LTV, payback, and cohort retention

## Product & value proposition

- Weekend Fund invests in pre-seed/seed technology startups capitalizing on early consumer behavior or technology shifts.
- Key differentiation: Ryan Hoover's brand and network via Product Hunt (375K LinkedIn, 165K Twitter, 180K Clubhouse followers) drives inbound deal flow and helps portfolio companies with PR, fundraising introductions, and hiring.
- Intentionally small fund size to remain competitive in early-stage deals and write meaningful checks ($150K–$250K).
- Value-add to founders: intros to co-investors and lead investors for next rounds; PR and go-to-market support; NPS of 86 from portfolio founders.
- AngelList back-office platform handles fund administration.

## Revenue model

This is a fund, not a product company. Economics are standard VC fund terms:
- **Management fee:** 2% average annual (front-loaded) on $18M fund size = ~$360K/yr average gross; front-loading means higher fees in early years.
- **Carry:** 20% carried interest on profits above hurdle.
- **Back-office cost:** $25K/yr fee to AngelList.
- **Follow-on reserves:** 30% of fund (~$5.4M) reserved for follow-on investments.
- **Early-stage deployment:** 70% of fund (~$12.6M) into ~45 companies at $150K–$250K per check. Implied average check: ~$280K (12.6M / 45).

## Traction & metrics

- **Fund 1** (Apr 2017–Jun 2019): 3.26x TVPI, 36.5% IRR
- **Fund 2** (Jun 2019–Present): 2.73x TVPI, 117.6% IRR
- Combined Fund 1+2: **84 portfolio companies**
- Performance as of April 2021; returns partially unrealized
- AngelList data (Jan 2021, n=107 funds, min 10 investments): Weekend Fund placed in the "Good" quadrant - top-right on both FundPerfCalc Percentile (~80th percentile) and Markups over Baseline Score (~1.3–1.5)
- Portfolio NPS from founders: **86** (surveyed annually 2018–2021)
- Founder helpfulness survey: 57% "one of the most helpful investors," 29% "more helpful than average," 14% "as helpful as average," 0% below average
- Select portfolio markups cited: Deel ~10.1x (WF1 seed → Series B); InVideo 3.3x in 3 months (WF2 → Sequoia India Series A); one redacted co 7x valuation since initial meeting
- MainStreet: $14M ARR in under 10 months; raised $60M Series A (SignalFire)

## Unit economics

Not applicable as an operating business. Fund-level unit economics:
- Average check size: $150K–$250K
- Target companies per fund: ~45 early-stage
- Follow-on reserve ratio: 30%
- Management fee as % of AUM: ~2%/yr
- Carry rate: 20%

## Competition / moat

- Not framed as competitive analysis vs. other VC funds explicitly.
- Moat articulated as: brand/audience (Product Hunt community; Ryan's social following); proprietary deal flow from founders seeking WF before raising; ability to "sneak into" competitive rounds at a discount due to small check size; network of co-investors (a16z, Sequoia, Craft, Coatue, etc.).
- AngelList data cited as third-party validation of performance vs. 107 peer funds.

## Team & funding ask / use of funds

- **Ryan Hoover** - General Partner. Founder of Product Hunt (backed by a16z + YC, acquired by AngelList). Co-author of *Hooked*. Stepped down as Product Hunt CEO Oct 2020 to focus full-time on Weekend Fund.
- **Vedika Jain** - Chief of Staff. Former Stripe Analyst, first PM at TrueLayer (6→80 headcount). Prior VC at Mithril Capital, Kalaari Capital, Kairos Society. London-based.
- **Fund ask:** $18M target fund size (may fluctuate slightly based on demand).
- **Use of funds:**
  - ~$12.6M (70%) → ~45 early-stage investments at $150K–$250K
  - ~$5.4M (30%) → follow-on reserves (pro-rata in later rounds; SPVs for large follow-ons)
  - Management fee: ~2%/yr average on $18M (front-loaded)
  - $25K/yr → AngelList back-office
- **Investment period:** 24 months.
- **LP communication:** bi-monthly updates.

## Recommended financial model

- **Archetype + why:** VC Fund Economics / LP Waterfall model. This is a fund raise, not an operating company. The right model is a fund-level cash flow and return waterfall - deploying capital, earning management fees, marking up/down a portfolio, then distributing proceeds via a carried-interest waterfall to GP and LPs.

- **Forecast horizon & granularity:**
  - Investment period: Years 1–2 (24-month deployment)
  - Hold period: Years 3–10 (typical pre-seed fund life ~10 years)
  - Annual granularity for J-curve and cash flows; quarterly optional for deployment schedule

- **Key drivers & assumptions:**
  - Fund size: $18M
  - Early-stage allocation: 70% ($12.6M)
  - Follow-on reserve: 30% ($5.4M)
  - Number of portfolio companies: ~45
  - Average initial check: $150K–$250K; model midpoint $200K; implied ~45 companies
  - Management fee: 2% average annual, front-loaded; model as 2.5% yr1–2, 1.5% yr3–5, 1% yr6–10 to approximate "front-loaded"
  - Carry: 20%
  - Back-office fee: $25K/yr to AngelList
  - Deployment pace: 24 months; ~22–23 investments/yr split evenly
  - Follow-on deployment timing: years 3–6 as portfolio companies raise Series A/B
  - Loss ratio: 40% of companies return <1x (standard pre-seed); 40% return 1x–5x; 20% are outliers (>5x) - informed by prior fund TVPI of 3.26x and 2.73x
  - Target fund TVPI: 3.0x–3.5x based on Fund 1+2 track record
  - Exit timeline: avg 5–7 years to liquidity event (M&A or IPO)
  - Recycling: not mentioned no recycling modeled unless FAQ clarifies

- **Scenarios (Base / Bull / Bear - which variables flex):**
  - Bear: Loss ratio 55%; outlier rate 10%; TVPI ~1.8x
  - Base: Loss ratio 40%; outlier rate 20%; TVPI ~3.0x
  - Bull: Loss ratio 30%; outlier rate 30%; TVPI ~4.5x
  - Primary flex variables: loss ratio, outlier MOIC (e.g. 10x vs 20x), exit timing

- **Required sheets / outputs:**
  1. **Assumptions** - fund terms, deployment schedule, fee schedule, loss/return distribution inputs
  2. **Deployment Schedule** - capital called by year, check sizes, company count
  3. **Portfolio Returns** - per-tranche MOIC distribution (loss / 1x–5x / outlier buckets), gross proceeds by year
  4. **Management Fee & Expenses** - fee income to GP, AngelList fee, net fund expenses
  5. **J-Curve / Cash Flow** - net cash flows to LPs (contributions + distributions) by year
  6. **Waterfall** - LP preferred return, GP catch-up, carried interest split (20/80)
  7. **LP Summary** - TVPI, DPI, RVPI, IRR by scenario
  8. **GP Economics** - total management fees + carry by scenario
  9. **Dashboard** - key outputs: fund TVPI, IRR, DPI, GP carry, LP net IRR vs gross IRR

## Frequently asked questions

### Is the Weekend Fund 3.0 financial model free?

Yes. The Weekend Fund 3.0 model is a free Excel download with live formulas.

### Can I change the assumptions?

Yes. The workbook is editable and its live formulas recalculate when assumptions change.