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Marley Cooper — VP Finance, Graphite Ventures

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Featured Quote

"Vessel makes even the most complex workflows feel effortless. Once you experience that kind of ease, you don't want to go back.”

Marley Cooper VP Finance, Graphite Ventures

About Graphite Ventures

Graphite Ventures is a Toronto-based venture capital firm with approximately $500 million in assets under management. The firm evolved from the Mars Discovery District's venture arm, with Fund 4 representing their first independent private fund at $200 million. Their legacy portfolio through Mars spans three earlier funds totaling approximately $300 million.

The 12-person team, invests across technology sectors with notable portfolio companies including Labs Cubed, MindBridge, FlyBits, and SceneDoc. The firm has delivered multiple liquidity events and maintains strong relationships with institutional and high-net-worth investors.

With Fund 5 on the horizon and plans for a feeder fund structure to accommodate founders and high-net-worth investors, Graphite sought a platform that could scale with their evolving fundraising strategy while delivering a premium LP experience.

Opportunity

As Graphite prepared for Fund 5 and evaluated their operational infrastructure, the limitations of their existing toolset became impossible to ignore. The firm was managing multiple disconnected systems: Google Drive for document sharing, DocuSign for signatures, and Apex for fund administration—each creating friction at different points in the LP journey.

"We used to manage fundraises with Google Drive, but we quickly realized we needed a purpose-built solution. Vessel changed the game for us.”

Marley Cooper VP Finance, Graphite Ventures

The fund administration portal drew particular criticism. LPs complained about usability issues and login problems, and the interface hadn't kept pace with modern expectations. As Steve Currie noted, "We haven't been terribly happy with that... Login problems, even basic stuff like that. But then it's just not the most user-friendly from navigating and that side."

Reporting presented its own challenges. Collecting updates from portfolio companies was manual and time-consuming, and the team was managing investment data through a custom Salesforce tool they hoped to replace. The fragmented approach meant more work for the internal team and a disjointed experience for investors.

With Fund 5 targeting market conversations in early 2026 and potential early closes by mid-year, Graphite needed a unified solution that could handle fundraising, onboarding, and reporting—without requiring months of implementation.

Solution

Graphite evaluated Vessel with a focus on three core capabilities: fundraising data rooms, LP onboarding, and investor reporting. What immediately resonated was the platform's integrated approach and the team's firsthand experience as former LPs themselves.

The implementation took a phased approach, prioritizing the fundraising data room for Fund 5 while planning parallel workstreams for subscription documents and investor portal migration. Vessel's customer success team committed to an aggressive timeline—marketing pages ready in days, not weeks.

The team configured the platform around Graphite's specific needs: a branded data room experience, click-through NDAs, and document tracking to monitor LP engagement. For the reporting migration, Vessel worked directly with the team to match LP names across systems and reconcile data from capital calls and distributions.

What stood out throughout implementation was the pace.

Mid-Story Quote

"Since implementing Vessel, our LPs are happier, our team is more efficient, and frankly, I've never been more confident in our operations.”

Marley Cooper VP Finance, Graphite Ventures

Results

Premium Branded Experience Graphite's data room now delivers a fully white-labeled experience that matches the firm's brand and professionalism. LPs encounter an interactive, engaging platform rather than a traditional file repository—a marked departure from their previous Google Drive approach.

Tracking and Visibility For the first time, Graphite can see exactly how LPs are engaging with their materials: which documents are viewed, how much time investors spend, and where interest is highest. This intelligence helps the team prioritize follow-up conversations and gauge momentum.

Streamlined Document Workflows The transition from manual DocuSign processes to integrated digital signing eliminates friction for both the Graphite team and their investors. Sub-docs that previously required manual coordination can now flow seamlessly through the platform.

Unified LP Portal Rather than directing investors to multiple systems for different needs, Graphite is consolidating the LP experience. Fund documentation, performance reporting, and capital activity will live in one place—eliminating the login issues and navigation problems that plagued their previous setup.

Portfolio Company Intelligence Vessel's AI-powered extraction is transforming how Graphite collects and processes portfolio company data. Board decks and financials can be automatically parsed for key metrics like runway, headcount, and revenue—reducing hours of manual data entry to minutes.

Rapid Implementation The marketing page went live within weeks of kickoff, meeting the team's December target for Fund 5 preparation. The pace of implementation validated Graphite's decision to partner with a team that operates at startup speed.

Impact

For Graphite Ventures, implementing Vessel represents a strategic investment in how they present themselves to the market. As they prepare for Fund 5 and contemplate a feeder fund structure for founders and high-net-worth investors, having modern infrastructure positions them competitively.

"Vessel means less manual work for our team, and less work is always a good thing.”

Steve Currie Head of Partnerships, Graphite Ventures

Looking ahead, Graphite plans to expand their Vessel usage across multiple dimensions: completing the investor portal migration for Fund 4 LPs, launching digital subscription documents for Fund 5, and potentially replacing their custom Salesforce tool with Vessel's portfolio company tracking. The modular approach lets them add capabilities as their needs evolve.

For a firm transitioning from Mars Discovery District origins to independent fund management, having enterprise-grade infrastructure signals their evolution to LPs—while giving the team back hours previously lost to administrative friction.