Foundation Capital
 | |
| Private | |
| Industry | Venture capital |
| Founded | October 1995 |
| Founder | Bill Elmore, Kathryn Gould, and Jim Anderson |
| Headquarters | Menlo Park, California, United States |
Number of employees | ~ 30 worldwide |
| Website | www.foundationcap.com |
Foundation Capital is a venture capital firm located in Silicon Valley. The firm was founded in 1995, and manages more than $2.4 billion[1] in investment capital.
Foundation Capital has invested in approximately 200+ ventures over the course of the last 19 years, 23 of which have had successful initial public offerings. It currently maintains investments in around 80 companies. Most investments fall under the areas of consumer tech, fin-tech, mar-tech, energy, enterprise tech, and applications. Its partners have been members of the founding executive teams of Silicon Valley startups of the past two decades, with each having an average of 15 years of operating experience. The firm differentiates itself from other venture capital firms in that it takes a hands-on approach with its portfolio companies, offering operational and management assistance and counsel as well as investment capital.
The firm's Entrepreneur-in-Residence program takes on a select few candidates who have shown superior entrepreneurial tenacity each year. The program incubates, trains, and graduates these individuals, challenging them to apply their knowledge and experience to the mission of developing a solid business plan for an emerging technology.
The firm's Young Entrepreneurs Program, now in its third year, builds relationships with top business schools nationwide to offer Foundation Capital access and exposure to promising entrepreneurs and startups through various MBA networks. Through the program, Foundation offers graduate students an opportunity to gain experience identifying promising startups, pitching ventures, providing analysis of the opportunities, and building constructive relationships. Members of the program have a background in technology or entrepreneurship, a strong interest in the field and a strong connection to the local entrepreneurship ecosystem.
The firm raised its seventh and largest fund of $750 million in April 2008.[2] It was one of Netflix's original investors.[3]
References
- ↑ "UPDATE 1-Foundation Capital raises $750 million fund". Reuters. Retrieved 2012-02-18.
- ↑ "Foundation Capital raises $750M fund, claiming focus on cleantech | VentureBeat". Deals.venturebeat.com. Retrieved 2012-02-18.
- ↑ Levy, Ari (2009-11-06). "Chegg Seeks to Become the Netflix of Textbook Rentals (Update1)". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2012-02-18.
External links
- Conversation on Entrepreneurship with Kathryn Gould, co-founder of Foundation Capital (Feb. 2015), Stanford Entrepreneurship Corner