Why We Chose Cercis Canadensis for Our Brand

A lot of companies spend time trying to come up with clever names. We didn’t. We named our fund after a tree—Cercis canadensis, the Eastern Redbud—because it represents something most people overlook: the quiet kind of strength that shows up early and lasts.

The redbud doesn’t wait for perfect conditions. It doesn’t need rich soil or a curated environment. It blooms early—before other trees, before even its own leaves—often while the landscape still looks dead.

That’s the kind of founder we back.

What is Cercis canadensis?

It’s not a tree you see in Silicon Valley. It grows in the Midwest and along the edges of woods and fields across the central U.S. It survives cold winters, dry summers, and rocky soil. It’s not big or loud. But when it blooms, you notice.

Technically, it’s called Cercis canadensis. Most people just call it the Eastern Redbud. What’s interesting isn’t just how it looks, but when and where it shows up. It blooms in places you wouldn’t expect—on the sides of highways, on steep hillsides, in poor soil. And it’s almost always the first sign of spring.

The tree doesn’t need ideal conditions to be exceptional. That’s the point.

Why It Matters

There’s a narrative in venture capital that good companies come from good schools, in big cities, with certain resumes. That’s not what we’ve seen.

We’ve seen some of the best founders come out of the Midwest, the South, places without a tech scene, people with no connections, sometimes no cofounders. People building from necessity, not from an incubator. They’re not doing it for the press release. They’re doing it because they can’t not do it.

That’s who the redbud reminds us of.

What the Tree Represents

Resilience is one of those words that gets overused in startup land, but the redbud actually lives it. It grows in hard places. It blooms early, often before the frost is gone. It doesn’t wait. It acts. It adapts. It leads.

It also doesn’t need attention to thrive. No one has to cheer it on. It shows up anyway.

That’s the kind of founder we look for—someone who keeps building even when no one’s watching.

What It Means for Redbud VC

We don’t invest based on credentials. We invest based on conviction. We try to find people who are already showing signs of life when everything around them looks dormant. People who are pushing through the noise, who are already building, already shipping, already moving forward.

The redbud is a signal. It’s an early indicator that something real is happening. That’s what we look for in founders.

Founders Like the Redbud

If you’ve been underestimated, if you’ve had to build in tough conditions, if you’ve started something before anyone gave you permission—you might be more like the redbud than you think.

You might also be exactly the kind of founder we want to invest in.