Earnest Sweat
Building Stresswood (launching 2027) | Advisor to LPs, Hyperscalers, Corporates & Emerging Managers | Host of Swimming with Allocators (75+ episodes)
San Francisco Bay Area
Invests in
Sectors:
Locations:
Min Investment:
$4,000,000.00Max Investment:
$12,000,000.00Target Investment:
$8,000,000.00
Skills
Education
Lists including Earnest
Work Experience
2025
General Partner (Stealth)
2025
Building a conviction-led Series A venture firm, with a public launch targeted for 2H 2027. For updates, visit www.doinggroundwork.com.
2023
Podcast Host
2023
Podcast bridging the worlds of LPs, GPs, and founders—“the capital behind the capital.” - 75+ episodes in under 2 years featuring allocators from Ford Foundation, Sapphire, NEPC, and Top Tier. - 20,000 unique listeners and growing community. - Sponsored by SVB, Sidley, and other industry leaders.
2023
Managing Partner
2023
Syndicate of 1,100+ operators, investors, and allocators investing in early-stage B2B companies. - Early SPVs of $100–$200K have scaled into $5–$9M Series A investments with institutional LPs. - Acts as proving ground for conviction-led capital strategies and Stresswood’s future portfolio.
2023
Founder
2023
Boutique advisory firm supporting LPs, corporates, hyperscalers, family offices, and emerging managers as they navigate the venture capital asset class. Known for high-context, high-conviction counsel that moves initiatives forward. Representative engagements: - Helped a $110B market cap entertainment company invest in a breakout consumer generative AI company. - Designed VC strategy for a family office, leading to $50M deployed. - Guided a Canadian proptech VC expanding into U.S. deal flow. - Supported an emerging manager ($60M AUM) in diligence and sourcing new product types. - Trained an $8B AUM FoF team on direct deal sourcing and diligence.
2023
Expert
2023
2021 - 2023
Class 26
2021 - 2023
I graduated from the Kauffman Fellowship, a two-year executive education program that identifies and develops global leaders in VC.
2019 - 2023
Venture Partner
2022 - 2023
Partner
2019 - 2022
Built GreatPoint’s enterprise SaaS investment strategy within a firm known for deep tech and digital health. Led investments in and served as a board observer for KlearNow, Bit.io, and BookOutdoors. Contributed to deals including Ananda Networks, Cooler Screens, and more. Developed investment theses around B2B marketplaces, developer tools, and vertical software. Continued to source, support CEOs, and contribute to Investment Committee decisions.
2017 - 2022
Board Director
2017 - 2022
Helped grow a national nonprofit to connect, empower, and advance Black venture investors through programming, research, and community-building.
2016 - 2019
Principal, Prologis Ventures
2016 - 2019
First external hire to the corporate venture arm of a Fortune 500 real estate company. Led investments from Seed to Series B in startups modernizing logistics, industrial IoT, and supply chain infrastructure. Board observer for Flexe, Platform Science, Airspace, Sendoso, and Wise Systems. Supported Flexport and ClearMetal. Developed Prologis Ventures' “informed perspective” strategy, bridging corporate and startup ecosystems.
2013 - 2014
Consultant
2013 - 2014
Advised nonprofits and philanthropic organizations on strategy and operational scale. Conducted quantitative research that contributed to national education funding decisions.