“Smart SaaS” – the next generation of enterprise apps

When Angela and I were pitching our newest fund to investors, we started using the term “smart SaaS” to describe the kind of SaaS companies we like to invest in. Before the SaaS explosion, software and data were only “on premise.” Then, SaaS came along and moved everything to the cloud, boosting efficiency and collaboration […]

Announcing Version One Fund III

We are very happy to announce the launch of Version One Ventures III with $45M USD ($57M CAD) in commitments. With Fund III, we’re doubling down on all that has worked in our previous funds – our strategy, geography, investment thesis and philosophy. It’s an exciting time to be launching a new fund as our […]

Crypto-native applications

Every new technology platform has been built around a specific new capability. The Internet connected people and data at scale (“connecting everyone, everything”). Marketplaces, social platforms, and search all leveraged this capability. The next platform, mobile, was about “always on, everywhere.” Mobile helped spark new products that leveraged these capabilities, with messaging and ride sharing […]

Scaling from maker to manager

A few weeks ago I shared some important leadership lessons from Stewart Butterfield, including investing in your own growth to make sure that the founder scales as fast as the company. Growing with your start-up can be a very tough undertaking for a founder. It requires reinventing yourself dramatically in very little time. When you […]