Senatus Fund is a hands-on venture fund that invests in seed‐stage startups and builds diverse management teams that have the potential to scale quickly, dominate large markets, & have a clear pathways to exit.
Why Senatus Fund.
Senatus Fund is uniquely positioned to capture value in the early-stage segment of the market, where strong teams, smart capital, and the right support unlock outperformance. What sets Senatus Fund apart:
Unique Deals:
We find deals through relationships with founder communities, accelerators, and overlooked networks.
Value Creation: We provide mentorship and hands-on support to key talent, implement systems, and prepare for future funding & exits.
Due Diligence:
The analyst program enables us to engage deeply with more startups, creating insights and identifying the “needles in the haystack.”
LP Opportunities: Senatus offers LPs co-investment opportunities, transparent reporting, and a commitment to operational excellence and DIA.
What we look for.
We invest in pre-seed to seed-stage startups, typically committing $250K to $2M, with a focus on companies that demonstrate early, measurable traction and a clear path to scale. We partner with driven, coachable founding teams building scalable businesses in large ($1B+) markets.
As a generalist, industry-agnostic fund, we look for founders who value collaboration and are open to strategic guidance. We believe coachability accelerates learning, reduces execution risk, and leads to stronger outcomes. Our approach is long-term and relationship-driven, leveraging capital, operational insight, and deep networks to meaningfully support growth and increase the likelihood of success.
Meet our team
The Senatus Team and Advisory Board bring together operators, investors, and founders with diverse backgrounds across industries, stages, and geographies. Many of us have built, scaled, and invested in companies ourselves, giving us firsthand experience with the challenges our founders face. We believe in following our own methodology as investors, applying the same principles, discipline, and long-term thinking to our own work that we expect from the teams we back. This experience-driven perspective allows us to be thoughtful partners, not just providers of capital.
Peter Callister
General Partner
Peter leads sourcing, underwriting, and portfolio engagement for Senatus Fund. He brings deep experience identifying early-stage opportunities, building scalable operating systems, and working closely with founders as a hands-on partner. Peter’s approach emphasizes disciplined execution, strong founder relationships, and leveraging diverse perspectives to improve outcomes.
Trent Christensen
Investor Relations
Trent oversees investor relations and capital formation. He brings extensive leadership experience across banking, nonprofit venture development, and large-scale fundraising, having raised more than $90 million across public, private, and philanthropic initiatives. Trent focuses on building authentic, long-term LP relationships grounded in transparency, alignment, and trust.
Sidni Shorter
Advisory Board
Sidni brings visionary leadership, deep entrepreneurial experience, and a strong commitment to economic empowerment. As President and CEO of the Utah Black Chamber of Commerce, she has spent her career expanding access to capital and opportunity for entrepreneurs. Her perspectives and network strengthens Senatus Fund’s understanding of community-driven growth and leadership.
Mick Wiskerchen
Advisory Board
Mick brings 25+ years of executive leadership experience across Fortune 100 companies, hyper-growth startups, and advisory roles. He has held senior leadership and board positions including Micron Technology, Boeing, AT&T Wireless, and ClickBank, and currently co-founded Scale Navigators. Mick adds deep operational insight, scaling expertise, and pattern recognition across growth stages.
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FAQs
How does Senatus Fund underwrite its portfolio companies?
Senatus Fund employs a disciplined, multi-stage underwriting process. Companies are first screened through our analyst program, where multiple analysts independently evaluate opportunities using a triple-lens framework focused on market, execution, and team. This “many eyes” approach reduces bias and improves early signal quality. Opportunities then advance to partner review and, when appropriate, advisory board input, ensuring rigorous debate and consistent decision-making.
Is Senatus Fund an impact fund?
Senatus Fund is a performance-driven venture fund with a deliberate focus on investing in diverse management teams. We believe diversity of ethnicity, gender, veteran status, and lived experience leads to stronger decision-making and superior outcomes. We are committed to allocating at least 30% of our capital to companies led by diverse CEO’s and at least 70% to companies with diverse management teams. Beyond demographics, we prioritize founders with differentiated perspectives and operating experience. Independent research from McKinsey demonstrates that diverse teams consistently outperform non-diverse peers.
Will your fund invest in non-diverse management teams?
Yes. Senatus Fund is focused on generating alpha. At the pre-seed and seed stages, teams are often small and evolve rapidly. When we invest early, we can influence hiring practices and encourage the development of diverse leadership teams as companies scale.
What industries does Senatus Fund target?
Senatus Fund focuses on technology, medical devices, and consumer products, sectors with strong growth potential and scalable business models. We are not focused on building core AI models; instead, we prioritize AI-enabled companies where technology is applied to solve real, defensible problems.
What stage of startup does Senatus Fund invest in?
Pre-seed and seed stage companies. Our typical initial investment ranges from $500K to $2M.
Does Senatus Fund act as a lead investor or a follow-on?
Senatus Fund prefers to lead investments when possible, while remaining flexible to co-invest alongside other value-add investors in the right circumstances.
What type of investment vehicle does Senatus Fund prefer?
For investments under $500K, we typically use convertible notes. For rounds $500K+, we prefer preferred equity.