Founding Partner
CurrentThe 81 Collection is a Founders Fund for un-sexy industries (Founders and leaders of Tide Cleaners, Grubhub, ShipBob, Industrious, Farmer's Fridge, Cubii, others). We built companies in hard industries, and it was lonely when we started. Most seed venture capitalists said our industries were too low margin, capital intensive, and difficult to scale. We were outsiders.Now, we can look back at the $20 billion of value created and the 10,000 employees whose financial trajectory we altered. The same qualities that made our businesses unattractive at seed stage are now our greatest strengths. Our entrenched hardware is a barrier to entry, our revenue is inextricably tied to our customer’s daily needs, and our loyal employees who once made $20 per hour now make $100K per year.We chose the harder path, built the right kind of businesses, and improved America. As we look around, 19% of GDP still attracts a majority of venture capital activity. We believe 81% of the U.S. GDP is starved of innovation. Tackle a real, often very difficult, problem and we'll have your back. We exist to lighten your load.
