Echelon Capital

Echelon is a venture capital firm founded in 2017 in San Francisco, built on a multi-decade effort to cultivate founder communities. It manages venture funds with over $100M in assets under management and is certified as a B Corporation. The firm backs unconventional, deeply obsessive founders it calls the "Alienati," people pursuing problems others can't solve. Its team includes David McColl, Joel Moxley, Erik Allen, Kerri Loomis Faber, and Christian Bader, who work closely with founders as an embedded community. Echelon's focus spans data and climate technology, with Fervo Energy, a geothermal power developer, among its notable and recent investments, participating alongside major investors like Google, Devon Energy, and Breakthrough Energy Ventures across multiple funding rounds. Specific check sizes are not publicly disclosed. Its investment criteria center on three traits: obsession with an unsolvable problem, a unique "earned secret" that makes the founder singularly positioned to solve it, and consistent character across professional and personal settings. Their approach emphasizes long-term community and technological support over rapid, transactional dealmaking.