alexis maciel - unshackled ventures

"The perfect founder pitch starts with demonstrating founder-problem fit rather than founder-market fit."

May 07, 2025

Connect with Alexis Maciel

VC Uncovered's View

This week, we feature Alexis Maciel, an investor whose perspective embodies the new breed of nimble, daring VCs we champion here at VC Uncovered. Her approach, deeply shaped by a personal understanding of the immigrant experience and the drive to build from zero, offers a refreshing departure from venture capital's often conventional path. She isn't just looking at spreadsheets; she's looking for the "obsessive curiosity and determination to solve meaningful problems" in founders, often being their "first believer."

What makes Alexis particularly relevant to our readers is her profound commitment to go far beyond just writing checks. Her "people-first framework”, evaluating founders on a holistic set of qualities including IQ, EQ, SQ, and AQ, is a prime example of looking beyond standard metrics to see raw, often overlooked, potential. This isn't about chasing trends; it’s about a passionate deployment of capital into industries she genuinely cares about and, crucially, into founders whose unique backgrounds and approaches might otherwise be missed.

Her philosophy recognizes the "brilliance, competitiveness, resourcefulness, creativity, curiosity, grit, and resilience" that often define those who have had to forge their own paths.

It's about understanding that true potential isn't always visible through traditional lenses. This is where her work at Unshackled Ventures comes into play, a firm that carves a unique niche by backing the "undervalued, underleveraged, underrated, and unknown," with a special focus on immigrant founders. The firm's commitment to providing crucial support, like navigating the complex immigration process, acts as that "helping hand," enabling Alexis to champion individuals who arrive with brilliant ideas but might lack the initial capital, community, or clout.

Meet Alexis

Q: If you could be anywhere, eating, drinking, and reading whatever you like most, where would you be and what would those things be?

A: On a beach in Mexico, eating watermelon & mango drenched in lime and Tajin. Drinking the residual fruit juice from the watermelon, mango, and lime (iykyk). And reading Some of my favorite substacks.

Key Quotes

"The perfect founder pitch starts with demonstrating founder-problem fit rather than founder-market fit." 

"I invest super early (often pre-product, pre-traction, pre-revenue, even pre-incorporation). That means my conviction starts with the founder, not the metrics." 

"If you want to be good you climb the mountain, but if you want to be great you wake up and climb it every day." 

"The brilliance, competitiveness, resourcefulness, creativity, curiosity, grit, and resilience that is required to move to the US prepares an immigrant to take on the challenges that come with entrepreneurship and sets them up for success to build great companies."

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Original Responses (Lightly Edited for Clarity and Flow)

Background and Personal Journey

Experiences Shaping My Investment Approach

From a very young age, I’ve understood what it means to build from zero. My brother and I were raised by a family that showed us day after day their resilience and determination to succeed in this country. Entrepreneurship is central to my family’s experience and for many immigrant families in this country. And while the entrepreneurs I grew up around weren't building the next venture-scalable company, they showed the strength, courage, and hustle it took to become successful, and like many immigrant families, did so without any help. I grew up wondering how different their journeys to “success” would have been if they had received not a free handout (no immigrant wants this), but a helping hand from someone who wanted to underwrite their potential.  

This translates to how I think about the undervalued, underleveraged, underrated, and unknown immigrant founders building in the shadows today. They come to this country with no capital, community, or clout—the three pillars that Unshackled Ventures addresses at the earliest stages in a founder's journey.

I knew I wanted to be in venture capital, particularly at Unshackled Ventures, when I realized it combines identifying untapped potential in others and helping move bold visions into reality. What draws me to VC isn't just the possibility of financial returns; it's the privilege of being the first believer in founders when they're still operating out of garages or dorm rooms, with nothing but obsessive curiosity and determination to solve meaningful problems.

I didn't join venture simply to invest in companies with good metrics or chase the latest trends. I joined because I'm passionate about deploying capital into industries I genuinely care about and into founders whose backgrounds, experiences, and approaches might be overlooked.

Unconventional Belief

I invest super early (often pre-product, pre-traction, pre-revenue, even pre-incorporation). That means my conviction starts with the founder, not the metrics. So to guide my decision-making, I use a people-first framework built on IQ, EQ, SQ, and AQ. Many people are probably familiar with IQ and EQ, but I’ve also found SQ and AQ important in assessing opportunities. Here’s what I’m evaluating in each:

  • IQ – Intellectual Quotient: Founder-problem fit, depth of problem understanding, market research depth and unique insights, technical knowledge, strategic vision, prioritization frameworks, and their venture scale and commercial mindset.

  • EQ – Emotional Quotient: Ambition, self-awareness (personal growth mindset), stress management, leadership charisma (ability to inspire team, customers, and investors), and team and interpersonal dynamics.

  • SQ – Social Quotient: Pitch effectiveness, social awareness, networking capabilities, and professional relationship building.

  • AQ – Adversity/Adaptability Quotient: Resilience (adversity recovery and grit), flexibility in approach, comfort with uncertainty, and velocity.

This framework helps me see beyond pitch decks and traction metrics. It helps me bet on people, especially those others might overlook. I think part of Unshackled’s secret sauce is the ability to figure out how to identify founder potential in people where those signals aren’t as visible yet, and it starts with learning and appreciating all sides of the founder.

Best Advice Received

If you want to be good you climb the mountain, but if you want to be great you wake up and climb it every day.

This philosophy has fundamentally shaped my approach to venture capital. In an industry where relationships and reputation are everything, I've learned that greatness isn't built on occasional heroics but on consistent, dedicated engagement with founders.

Venture isn't just about identifying promising opportunities; it's about how you show up for entrepreneurs day after day, especially during their most challenging moments. Founders rarely remember a single meeting or piece of advice—they remember the investor who answered weekend calls, the one who provided honest feedback when everyone else was silent. As investors, it’s our responsibility to have the discipline to wake up and do that every day.

Philosophy and Insights

Investment Philosophy

The brilliance, competitiveness, resourcefulness, creativity, curiosity, grit, and resilience that are required to move to the US prepare an immigrant to take on the challenges that come with entrepreneurship and set them up for success to build great companies.

This is why immigrant entrepreneurs have been so successful, despite immigration hurdles and a lack of family and friends’ capital.

Values When Working with Founders

Love this question. We revisit our shared values as a team every year. Here are our core five that reflect how we show up as a team internally and externally.

  • Beyond Professional: Treat people with compassion, recognizing their inherent dignity. We demand the highest levels of performance from ourselves and our team, guided by empathy and a commitment to supporting the well-being and growth of those we connect with.

  • Velocity is Essential: Time is valuable, so advancing together with speed and alignment is crucial. In this process, we are mindful of energy and stamina while meeting the organization's requirements. We prioritize recovery because it marks the beginning of the next sprint.

  • Pursuing Change with Purpose: Our entrepreneurial spirit is always guided by purpose. We respect the courage to take intentional risks to make something wonderful. We honor the human journey that encompasses curiosity, initiative, and grit.  

  • Truth + Transparency = Trust: Truth combined with transparency results in trust. These components are foundational for building lasting relationships and creating an environment where everyone can thrive. With trust and transparency, we establish deep trust fast.  

  • Love to Play, Compete, and Win: The journey of improvement and impact is exhilarating; competition in the spirit of play fosters this for us. We understand that if we live our values and focus on what is right rather than who is right, we will win more often. And we love to win!  

The Perfect Founder Pitch

The perfect founder pitch starts with demonstrating founder-problem fit rather than founder-market fit. Markets can be researched and developed; what truly matters is why you are obsessed with this problem.

A compelling pitch reveals your personal connection: Why do you care so deeply? What actions have you taken to prove your commitment to yourself and others? This obsession naturally leads to curiosity and unique insights—solutions that seem obvious to you but revolutionary to everyone else. When founder-problem fit is genuine, magic happens.

Remember, you have just 10-15 seconds to emotionally connect with your audience—to make them lean in rather than tune out. Prioritize sharing something authentically personal rather than diving into business details. The most authentic story you know is your own, and starting there makes you an expert from the first moment. When you're comfortable with your founder-problem fit narrative, you become unstoppable.

Measuring Success Beyond Returns

Impact for me is that over the past 10 years, Unshackled Ventures has maintained an immigration success rate of 100% (across over 250 immigration filings). That’s 250 exceptional individuals who we are fortunate to have decided to build in this country and contribute to our collective success.

Exciting Trends and Technologies

I fundamentally believe that immigrants are this country's national advantage, especially in deep tech and hard science fields that are reshaping our future. The unique perspectives and problem-solving approaches that come from diverse backgrounds are driving breakthroughs in areas like climate tech, advanced manufacturing, next-generation agriculture, infrastructure security, and more.

Look at the most pressing challenges in American society today, whether it's reimagining our food supply chain, transforming energy production, enhancing aviation safety, or strengthening healthcare delivery systems—we have immigrant-founded companies leading innovation in each category.

I get excited when I see these entrepreneurs applying advanced technologies like AI, synthetic biology, advanced materials, and automation to solve complex, existential problems rather than incremental improvements. Their outsider perspective often allows them to see opportunities others miss. When founders bring their global experiences and different frameworks to tackle American infrastructure challenges, we often see more creative, resilient solutions that can scale globally.

Misconception About VCs

I don't know if it's a misconception as much as it is growing apathy around the privilege of having a system that fosters innovation at unparalleled levels. Our innovation economy in the US thrives largely because of the venture capital ecosystem that’s been built. The relationship between VCs and innovation isn't perfect. Still, it's created this environment where bold ideas can find the early capital (at the highest risk appetite) they need to become a reality. That flow of capital to ambitious visions exists in the US in ways unmatched anywhere else. We take this for granted daily, but it's truly one of America's special qualities.

Improving the VC Ecosystem

If I could improve one aspect of the venture capital ecosystem, it would be addressing the retention problem of female check writers. Despite our progress, VC continues to lose highly qualified, high-performing female investors at scary rates. When experienced female investors leave, we lose valuable perspectives that drive better investment decisions and returns. I'm deeply grateful for my team and my broader female investor community, who have helped me navigate my journey in this industry. I'm committed to supporting others. If you're a woman in venture feeling isolated or contemplating an exit, please reach out. Our industry desperately needs your perspective and your voice at the table where decisions are made.