Fund: Geek Ventures
Thesis: Immigrant VCs Investing in Immigrants
Fund size: $23 million
How he’s making the world a better place: Mahaniok believes talent is distributed equally all over the world and wants to give brilliant immigrant founders their shot.
Ihar Mahaniok’s story starts like many in tech. A boy in Belarus discovers computers, learns to code at twelve, studies computer science, and lands a dream job at Google. From there, he built a career at Facebook and AI startups while making angel bets on founders. Five of those became unicorns, including Instacart, which IPO’d in 2023.
By 2021, between jobs and searching for his next move, he realized building his own venture fund was the right path. “Some people who liked coinvesting with me wanted me to take their money and invest,” he says. Encouraged by a friend, he applied to VC Lab, and was accepted.
He moved fast. Within a month, he had a fund thesis, Geek Ventures, focused on immigrant founders, built his deck, and started pitching. His first close came quickly: $6 million of a $10 million target. Though the market hardened in 2022, he pressed through and ultimately closed a $23 million fund.
“This is something I want to do for the rest of my life,” he says.
Knowing the Unknowns
Even with his track record, Mahaniok wasn’t a natural fit for traditional VC firms. He lacked the MBA credentials or founder-CEO experience typically required. By the time his angel record spoke for itself, starting his own fund made more sense than waiting for a role to open up.
“There are just not enough roles in VC at all levels,” he says. “Sometimes it’s easier to raise a $1 million fund than land an associate job.”
For Mahaniok, the opportunity gap in venture is real. He believes the world needs 10,000–20,000 more funds, especially smaller ones backing overlooked talent. His own focus is immigrant founders, who, he argues, often have the talent but lack access to networks and capital.
Why VC Lab?
Mahaniok credits VC Lab with accelerating his journey. What might have taken years happened in months. It gave him the structure, portfolio discipline, and legal grounding to transition from angel to fund manager.
“VC Lab is why it took me just a couple months to go from ‘Here’s an idea for a VC fund’ to ‘Here’s a venture fund that’s actually operational,’” he says.
Today, Geek Ventures is thriving, and Mahaniok has doubled down—signing on as a client and investor in Decile Group.
“It’s the perfect mix of handholding, white glove service, and automation,” he says. “I recommend it to other VCs.”
Read more at https://govclab.com/2025/08/25/ihar-mahaniok/
