87 Investments

In 2020, we made 87 new and follow-on investments across Revolution Growth, Revolution Ventures, and Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Funds including: Orchard, Good Buy Gear, Rheaply, MilkRun, and ClassEDU.

Seven Acquisitions

Our portfolio saw 7 major exits: Homesnap acquired by CoStar, Framebridge acquired by Graham Holdings, Playa bought by Made Beauty Brands, Backlot Cars sold to KAR Auction Services, LaneHub acquired by Transplace, LiveSafe sold to Vector Solutions, and Pear Deck joined GoGuardian.

Two Companies Going Public

As the pandemic fueled explosive online shopping, BigCommerce (a SaaS startup helping companies build and manage online stores) went public on the Nasdaq. Despite a temporary shutdown among major sport leagues, DraftKings, the world’s leading daily fantasy sports brand, also debuted on the public market through a three-way SPAC merger. In September, Agtech startup AppHarvest announced its plans to go public via a SPAC.

Revolution Growth Takes the Virtual Stage

Revolution Chairman and CEO Steve Case joined Convene CEO Ryan Simonetti (Collison), CLEAR CEO Caryn Seidman Becker (Web Summit), and Revolution Foods CEO Kristin Groos Richmond (Techonomy) to highlight each company’s efforts in the face of the pandemic. Steve also discussed how RG companies were succeeding amidst the pandemic on Bloomberg Tech, CNN, and CNBC. Revolution Growth Co-founder Ted Leonsis talked the future of sports with Axios and CNBC. Managing Partner Steve Murray shared his advice on sustainable growth in Investor’s Business Daily and his career success in Protocol.

Expert Opinion from Revolution Ventures

On CNBC’s Squawk Alley, Revolution Ventures Managing Partner David Golden highlighted several of our early-stage companies and their accelerated growth due to pandemic-related trends. Clara Sieg, Revolution Ventures Partner, joined Steve Case on TechCrunch’s Extra Crunch Live to discuss how founders can pull through the downturn. Read Revolution Ventures Managing Partner Tige Savage’s take on hospitality startups in TechCrunch and on ecommerce and retail in Protocol’s Braintrust.

Championing Diverse Startup and VC Leadership

Kristin Groos Richmond, Chairman & CEO of Revolution Foods, and Lori Coulter, CEO of Summersalt, were featured on this year’s Inc. Female Founders 100 list. Congratulations to Caryn at CLEAR, Shivani at Tala, and Eric at Tempus for being recognized by CNBC as the next generation of billion-dollar businesses. We’re proud to see Rise of the Rest listed as a top investor in Black- and Latinx-founded companies in Crunchbase’s Diversity Spotlight and Partner Anna Mason included on this year’s Fortune 40 under 40 list.

Rise of the Rest Virtual Tour: Equity Edition

Unable to hit the road on our yearly bus tour to emerging startup ecosystems, Revolution hosted the Equity Edition Tour, a virtual event with OHUB, 100 Black Angels & Allies and Morgan Stanley’s Multicultural Innovation Lab. The week included a series of panels with nationwide leaders on how to best support Black founders and concluded with a $2M pitch competition.

The Path Forward in Food Tech

Proud investors in companies like sweetgreen, CAVA, Bright Cellars, Revolution Foods and more, Revolution hosted a series of events with players across the foodtech ecosystem in 2020. Featured speakers included Beyond Meat Executive Chair and Honest Tea Co-founder Seth Goldman, Chef and humanitarian José Andrés, and Union Square Hospitality Group CEO and founder Danny Meyer.

How Revolution Supported our Portfolio during Covid-19

As businesses initially emerged from lockdown this spring, Revolution held a series of virtual events, hosted by former Executive Vice President and General Counsel Ron Klain (who was recently asked by President-Elect Joe Biden to serve as White House Chief of Staff). These roundtable discussions highlighted the plans and efforts of our founders to reopen safely and retool their operations. Founders, investors, and press were in attendance.

Our Connectivity to Policymakers in DC and Beyond

This month, Steve Case and John Delaney, former Congressman and Senior Advisor at Revolution, wrote a commentary for CNN on how a Biden administration can support founders and innovation across America. Steve also wrote about a new era of more equitable entrepreneurship in the Washington Post and called for more federal funding for startups on CNBC. In virtual events hosted by Fast Company, Steve joined Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo to discuss how to build the next Silicon Valley and chatted with Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar about how the U.S. can keep its competitive edge.