Revolution

DECEMBER 13, 2023

To fill a pail with rocks of different sizes, it’s better to put big rocks in first, and then finish with small rocks. Investing is similar. If you get the big questions right, you can get other stuff wrong and do well. The biggest question: “How much risk should I take right now?” For individuals, that could mean allocations between stocks and bonds; for institutions, it could mean allocations across various risk buckets.

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Revolution

DECEMBER 12, 2023

In the process of finding, funding, and supporting startups that will transform their markets, investors can get caught up in KPIs, ROI, and other three-letter success indicators. Make no mistake, metrics matter, but so does the well-being of the human at the center of it all. Founders are not machines. Sure, they might wear countless hats and execute in a way that makes it seem like they have more hours in the day, but behind that drive lies an individual with vulnerabilities, families, emotion

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Revolution

DECEMBER 6, 2023

Unpacking Proptech: A data-driven series on advancing built world innovation In Part 1 and Part 2 , I reviewed proptech financing trends, sources of capital and investor types, scaling and fundraising lessons from the past five years, and potential conflicts of interest. That brings us to one of the most exciting topics — exits. Diving into the Data According to Pitchbook, there have been 390 exits in proptech between 2018 and 2022.

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Revolution

NOVEMBER 28, 2023

At Rise of the Rest, we’ve spent years traversing the country, spotlighting emerging startup hubs, and building a network of entrepreneurial champions and ecosystem builders beyond Silicon Valley, New York City, and Boston. At first, we primarily played an advocacy and convening role, working with policymakers and administrations , organizing bus tours, and telling the stories of the entrepreneurs we met along the way.

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Revolution

NOVEMBER 13, 2023

Today’s e-commerce companies, faced with tightening advertising budgets and increased competition, are finding creative solutions to help personalize and gamify the customer experience. In this rapidly evolving landscape, having an intimate knowledge of your customer and leaning into lifestyle branding is more crucial for e-commerce brands than ever before.

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Revolution

OCTOBER 25, 2023

We spent the good part of the past three months doing our favorite part of the job: meeting the startups we seed (and the communities that rally around them) on their home turf. We’ve read plenty of articles on the movement of tech talent and the surge of American entrepreneurship , but seeing that momentum in person is a different kind of invigorating.

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Revolution

SEPTEMBER 27, 2023

Although politicians from both sides of the aisle want to avoid a government shutdown, and we are already seeing some last-minute deals as a result, there remains a strong likelihood that we will see one this October. While shutdowns used to be enormously rare measures of last resort, as our political system becomes more and more polarized, shutdown threats have become more commonplace.

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Revolution

SEPTEMBER 11, 2023

While economists continue to debate the likelihood of a more widespread downturn, something that looks very much like a recession has been plaguing the e-commerce industry for months. Rising inflation rates, supply chain uncertainties, a growing number of layoffs, and former industry darlings’ bankruptcy filings have become commonplace. Consequently, when it comes to investing in e-commerce, you’ll hear many VCs say they’re “waiting for the dust to settle.

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Revolution

AUGUST 8, 2023

In the following series, I’ll examine the current status of “work” and how it impacts lives — from where people are moving to how they are spending their time — and various business models that support these new habits. First up: Where are people spending their time now compared to pre-pandemic? For decades, most people’s existence revolved around a 9-to-5 workday with a lengthening two-way commute, (hopefully) bookended by some family time.

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Revolution

JULY 13, 2023

Savvy Games Group’s acquisition of the Revolution Growth-backed company marks the sixth-largest transaction in gaming history. Revolution Growth first partnered with Scopely in 2017 when we led the company’s Series C. Core to our investment thesis was Scopely’s platform approach to IP partnership and game development, its exceptional ability to drive monetization among users, and the team’s dedication to becoming the preeminent free-to-play mobile gaming publisher.

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Revolution

JUNE 15, 2023

CAVA’s founders had a vision to bring heritage, heart, health, and innovation to the fast-casual sector. Now their company is trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Our partnership with CAVA began in 2015, when the Mediterranean fast-casual chain had just a dozen locations in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. That financing kicked off a period of accelerated growth for the company — from creating a compelling digital offering to acquiring a company three times its size to scaling to more than 250 l

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Revolution

MAY 23, 2023

Unpacking Proptech: A data-driven series on advancing built world innovation As mentioned in Part 1 , an outsized portion of the proptech investor base comes from the real estate community — a reality I would argue is complicating the industry’s growth. Part of the antidote for startups: employing a more prudent approach to raising capital and curating a diverse investor base.

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Revolution

MAY 11, 2023

Insights and soundbites from our second Beyond Silicon Valley Summit This year, we had more than 150 investors from 31 states join us for our second Beyond Silicon Valley Summit. And while this May’s economic backdrop was markedly different from last’s , enthusiasm was high and outlooks remained positive for the startup momentum building between the coasts.

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Revolution

MAY 5, 2023

A salon dinner on planet, policy, and private sector momentum By Revolution Growth Partners, Kristin Gunther and Todd Klein Over the past decade, Revolution has backed a number of sustainability-focused companies, including those working to enable the circular economy, support the adoption of electric vehicles, create planet-friendly culinary experiences, and facilitate the adoption of clean energy.

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Revolution

APRIL 24, 2023

Everyone is bullish on planet-forward innovation right now. Our investors share what they think will emerge from the pack. Climate change has never been more prevalent or prominent in our daily lives, from the movies and shows we watch to how we shop and dine to the “once-in-a-lifetime” weather events we experience from coast to coast. But rather than viewing global warming as an insurmountable problem, bold entrepreneurs have galvanized around workable solutions to address its causes.

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Revolution

APRIL 20, 2023

Revolution Growth Invests in Carbon Robotics, the Leader in AI-Powered Robotics for Specialty Crop Growers The $35M Series C will be used to expand sales in North America, optimize and scale manufacturing, develop new software and hardware, and enter international markets Meet Carbon Robotics  — the Seattle-based startup pioneering the next revolution in agriculture by solving one of farming’s biggest obstacles.

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Revolution

MARCH 28, 2023

Why it will revolutionize the way we shop, browse, and learn Source: openai.com/blog/chatgpt-plugins The electrifying launch and global adoption of ChatGPT has been amazing to witness. The platform continues to achieve historical milestones, garnering more than 100 million users in its first two months, marking the beginning of a new era of disruption.

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Revolution

MARCH 8, 2023

Women represent 50.5% of the U.S. population, but in 2022, companies with solely female founders garnered just 2% of the total capital invested in venture-backed startups. The share of funding for companies co-founded by women? That ticked up to 15.4% last year, which still leaves a massive delta. The long and short of it: Female founders face systemic barriers to founding, funding, and scaling their businesses.

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Revolution

MARCH 1, 2023

By Revolution Ventures Managing Partner David Golden and VP Alex Shtarkman Given the tumultuous year in tech and overall market uncertainty, a hot topic among institutional investors right now is the magnitude of potential markdowns in the coming year or two. But what could that look like? To determine approximately how many U.S. VC dollars are at risk, we conducted a historical analysis of top quartile fund managers over the past quarter century (as far back as we could access reliable Cambridg

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Revolution

FEBRUARY 13, 2023

Since the beginning of modern venture capital investing — a relatively nascent asset class — the industry has been biased toward funding what it knows best: founders with familiar demographics (white, male) in familiar geographies (Silicon Valley). Despite the recognition of bias and calls for change, systemic inequities unfortunately persist. Case in point: only 1% of 2022 VC dollars went to Black founders, a marked decrease year over year.

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Revolution

DECEMBER 7, 2022

2022 brought new connections and perspectives as we met with entrepreneurs, portfolio companies, and ecosystem builders on the ground in startup communities across the country. [link] Our travels and our portfolio inevitably inspire our gift-giving strategy every year. So this holiday season, we’ve compiled a cross-country guide of Revolution-backed brands to shop and share with your friends and family this winter.

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Revolution

OCTOBER 25, 2022

We've come a long way since the introduction of the first veggie burger in the early 1980s. Today, innovation has spurred a plethora of meat alternatives, but consumer skepticism and startup economics are still barriers to parity with real animal protein. But I believe we are on the precipice of a major shift. Millennials and younger generations are acutely aware of the consequences of global warming (and how cattle contribute to methane emissions) and they are using their purchasing power t

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Revolution

OCTOBER 4, 2022

This article originally appeared in Harvard Business Review on October 3, 2022. Hill Street Studios/Getty Images There was never a guarantee that Detroit would become the Motor City. At the turn of the 20th century, any number of American municipalities with similar access to talent, materials, investment, and transportation might have emerged as the beating heart of the automobile industry.

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Revolution

OCTOBER 3, 2022

This September, the metro area convened for DC Startup Week — a five-day, 180+program occasion hosting more than 11,000 entrepreneurs. The event showcased just how robust DC’s tech community has grown — but that wasn’t always the case. Just ask our Chairman and CEO, Steve Case, who built AOL in Northern Virginia in the 1990s. Over the next few decades, the company served as a tech engine throughout the region.

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Revolution

SEPTEMBER 29, 2022

This article originally appeared in Harvard Business Review on September 28, 2022. “ For Startups, a Bleak Year for IPOs and Acquisitions ”  — Fast Company “ Venture capital investing plunged in 2009 ”  — The Washington Business Journal “ Venture investments fall 61 percent in Q1 ”  — Associated Press Though these alarming headlines seem all too familiar today, each originally ran from 2007–2010: The Great Recession dramatically slowed venture capital fundraising for many companies, just as rece

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Revolution

SEPTEMBER 28, 2022

A Glimpse Inside The Rise of the Rest: How Entrepreneurs in Surprising Places are Building the New American Dream Today, my second book, The Rise of the Rest: How Entrepreneurs in Surprising Places are Building the New American Dream , was released by Simon & Schuster?—?but its message has been more than a decade in the making. If you’ve followed my journey as an investor and advocate, it’s likely one you know well: Great companies can start and scale anywhere.

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Revolution

AUGUST 17, 2022

SparkCharge Founder, Josh Aviv, gives opening remarks during the signing ceremony for the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) The CHIPS and Science Act ?—?an initiative poised to strengthen American manufacturing, supply chains, and national security by investing in research and development, science and technology, and the workforce of the future?

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Revolution

AUGUST 2, 2022

Revolution’s team put rubber to the road this spring, traveling more than a collective 12.5K miles to visit founders, college campuses, co-investors, ecosystem builders, and communities in rising cities. While we may not show up on a big red bus every time, showing up?—?figuratively and literally?—?is core to our investment thesis. Why? Because there’s no replacement for meeting people where they are and experiencing innovation economies in real life.

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Revolution

JULY 21, 2022

The new funding for the meat alternative startup will support rapid retail expansion, continued product development and product capabilities Meet Meati ?—?the Boulder-based company creating a new category of clean, whole-cut alternative meats and the latest addition to Revolution Growth’s portfolio. What They’re Solving For: Meat substitutes have gained traction as planet-friendly alternatives to their animal-based counterparts, but few check all the boxes on consumers’ wishlists.

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Revolution

JUNE 21, 2022

Last month, we gathered more than 150 investors across 42 states with more than $180 billion in assets under management to explore new frontiers in regional investment. Our inaugural Beyond Silicon Valley Summit was timely for several reasons. First, 2022 marked ten years of Rise of the Rest?—?a decade-long commitment to closing the funding gap between coastal tech hubs and rising cities, creating a more inclusive entrepreneurial future.

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Revolution

MAY 6, 2022

The esports and gaming startup partners with industry leaders to create best-in-class shared digital experiences for fans and players alike. Meet aXiomatic ?—?the leading esports and gaming enabler and latest addition to Revolution Growth’s portfolio. Who They Are: aXiomatic was founded by a group of iconic entrepreneurs with a mission to build a dynamic esports and gaming portfolio.

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Revolution

MAY 4, 2022

Convening with CEO and co-founder Ryan Simonetti By Steve Murray and Patrick Conroy , Partners at Revolution Growth Convene’s London location at 22 Bishopsgate In 2018, Revolution Growth led an investment in Convene , an emerging leader in flexible work, meetings and events, and premium venues. When we backed the company, we were betting on a reimagined future of work.

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Revolution

MAY 2, 2022

Originally published in The Hill on April 23, 2022 America faces a host of pressing economic challenges today?—?but if inflation dominates the public discourse for the moment, we can’t lose sight of the profound role the startup economy will play in driving tomorrow’s prosperity. Washington needs to help the nation’s entrepreneurial community stay ahead of our increasingly aggressive global competitors.

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Revolution

MARCH 23, 2022

As the imperative to tackle climate change mounts and more consumers seek brands that align with their environmental values, major companies have sustainability firmly on their radar. But implementing green initiatives is easier said than done?—?which is why we assembled a panel of founders paving the way for a more proactive future in their industries.

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Revolution

FEBRUARY 17, 2022

“Place Matters”?—?Rise of the Rest’s 2022 Annual Report By Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund Managing Partners Anna Mason and David Hall Our first-ever annual report is here. Rise of the Rest has always been about backing companies that prove it’s possible to scale a startup in cities outside of Silicon Valley. This report serves to further illustrate that thesis by breaking down what we look for in what we call “tentpole companies”: local startups that are the standout successes of a com

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Revolution

JANUARY 24, 2022

This article originally appeared on Fortune.com [link]. Superstar athletes have always commanded power and prestige through their celebrity status. But today, players want to capitalize on their personal, multi-million-follower brands at the peaks of their careers rather than afterwards. In the digital age, they are among the biggest social media influencers, and that won’t stop any time soon.

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Revolution

JANUARY 18, 2022

The Maryland-Based Startup Offers a Fix Now, Pay-at-Closing Solution for Optimal Sale Outcomes Say hello to Curbio ?—?the proptech company seizing an untapped opportunity within the $85B pre-sale home improvement market and the latest addition to the Revolution Growth portfolio. What They’re Solving For: Today’s consumers want a move-in-ready home. However, current inventory is in short supply due to an aging housing market and slow renovation timelines.

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