When Mallun Yen envisioned Operator Collective, she set out to fundamentally transform venture capital—not by tweaking the existing model, but by reimagining it from the ground up. Her goal was to make the ecosystem accessible to operators from diverse backgrounds who had built and scaled today’s leading technology companies. This was bold innovation, especially considering Yen had no prior experience in venture capital.

Together, we devised a strategy to establish her as the voice of a new venture model. Through a thought leadership series, we highlighted the flaws in traditional VC and positioned her Collective Venture Model® as both democratic and data-driven—leveraging evidence that diverse teams outperform. These articles sparked widespread engagement and positioned Operator Collective as a scalable platform mobilizing capital, expertise, and networks of top tech leaders. Messaging centered on three values: cooperation, connection, and collaboration.

We developed investor materials and an outreach strategy that framed Operator Collective as more than a fund—it was a movement to democratize venture capital. The narrative emphasized its ability to expand wealth creation opportunities while accelerating startup success through a “rising tide” approach.

Since its 2019 launch, Operator Collective has raised two oversubscribed funds—$50M for Fund I and $92M for Fund II—building a community of over 200 limited partners. By bridging networks that typically don’t intersect, it has created a flywheel effect benefiting founders, operators, and investors alike.