Kevin Moore: From Civil Engineering to Seed Stage Investing at Serac Ventures

Kevin Moore is the founder and managing partner of Serac Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm focused on FinTech, SaaS, and Future of Work.

In this interview, Moore discusses Serac Ventures’ investment approach, highlights emerging trends in the VC industry, and offers practical advice for founders working to build and scale successful businesses.

What inspired you to get into venture capital?

During my last year in college, I started reading about finance and investing. I grew up in a low-income family so I made it a goal before graduating to teach myself about money so I would know how to manage and invest it when I got my first job.

After graduating, I went to work as a civil engineer. But after six months in that role, I realized my real passion was in finance and investing. So, I changed careers and after six years of investing in the public markets, I developed a desire to invest earlier into companies before they went public. Hence, my career in venture capital began and I haven’t looked back since.

What is your investment strategy and why did you choose this?

We have a passion to back companies in the fintech and SaaS industries that make it easier for individuals and businesses to access financial services and improve their business operations.

We invest in these sectors because they are large and in constant demand and need innovative technology to move them forward. We primarily target companies at the seed stage.

We believe companies at this stage have made enough progress to demonstrate viability, but they still need (and want) our help to reach the next major level of success.

What are your thoughts on the current state of the VC industry for both founders and fund managers?

I think the current state of the VC industry for founders is highly competitive but in a good way. There is now more than ever a record number of founders in the market which suggests that the spirit of entrepreneurship is alive and well and accessible for all to try.

I revel in seeing founders from all different types of ethnicities, genders, backgrounds, and geographies in the market. This type of diversity is healthy for the industry and I’m optimistic this trend will continue. 

On the flip side, more founders in the market competing for a finite pool of capital makes fundraising harder and may result in founders raising less capital than they need to stay afloat. The same goes for many fund managers on their first fund seeking to prove themselves to investors accustomed to backing larger, established funds. 

We are experiencing a dearth of exits right now, but slowdowns in the venture capital industry are not unusual and are a regular part of the economic cycle. The uniqueness of the current period is the enormous capital overhang that exists against the backdrop of record founder demand. I don’t think this will last especially as investor sentiment improves heading into 2025. I hope I’m right.

What advice do you have for founders raising capital?

My advice to founders is to stretch the resources you have as far as possible and be conservative in your estimates for how long it will take to hit your company projections and/or fundraising goals.

If you do not need to raise capital, then don’t. Further to this point, I recently wrote a blog post discussing whether founders should or shouldn’t raise venture capital. If interested, you can read it here.

What are the biggest opportunities for entrepreneurs in the market today?

There are numerous sector opportunities I could comment on (AI, cybersecurity, fintech, etc.), but I think the biggest opportunity for every entrepreneur/company is to be very deliberate in building a diverse leadership team.

When a team is more diverse it benefits from diversity of thought, which in turn generates new ideas and concepts that help companies compete and reach a broader set of customers.

This sounds easy to do but it has been difficult for most companies (large and small) to execute on. Those that do stand out, at least to me.

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