Freestyle Capital
{{short description|Venture capital firm}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Freestyle Capital
| native_name =
| logo = FreestyleCapital-logo.png
| logo_size = 300
| type = Private
| founder = Dave Samuel
Josh Felser
| area_served =
| key_people = Dave Samuel, Co-Founder and General Partner
Jenny Lefcourt, General Partner
| industry = Venture Capital
| genre =
| products =
| services =
| operating_income =
| divisions =
| subsid =
| footnotes =
| foundation = 2009
| location_city = San Francisco, California
| location_country = U.S.
| location =
| locations =
| homepage = {{URL|http://freestyle.vc/}}
}}
Freestyle Capital is an early-stage venture capital firm based in San Francisco, California.Yuliya Chernova, [https://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2014/12/31/seed-investor-freestyle-capital-churning-out-exits/ "Seed Investor Freestyle Capital Churning Out Exits,"] The Wall Street Journal, December 31, 2014. General Partners Dave Samuel and Jenny Lefcourt are both entrepreneurs who entered venture capital after founding multiple companies. The firm was founded in 2009 and typically invests in 10-12 companies per year with an average investment between $1.5 million to $3 million.{{Cite web|last=Mascarenhas |first=Natasha|date=March 31, 2022|access-date=April 27, 2022|title=For Freestyle's newest fund, the growth hack is staying the same |url=https://techcrunch.com/2022/03/31/freestyle-fund-6-jenny-lefcourt-dave-samuel/ |website=TechCrunch}} Previous investments include Intercom, Patreon, Narvar, Digit, Betterup, Airtable and Snapdocs.Ryan Lawler, [https://techcrunch.com/2017/04/10/freestyle-capital-90m-fund-iv/ "Freestyle Capital raised a new $90 million fund and promoted Jenny Lefcourt to general partner,"] TechCrunch, April 10, 2017.
History
Freestyle was founded in 2009 by Dave Samuel and Josh Felser.Leena Rao, [https://techcrunch.com/2013/07/13/sweat-equity-from-co-founders-to-co-investors-freestyle-vc-invests-more-than-just-cash/ "Sweat Equity: From Co-Founders To Co-Investors, Freestyle.VC Invests More Than Just Cash,"] TechCrunch, July 13, 2013. Prior to Freestyle, Felser and Samuel founded two companies: Spinner, which they sold to AOL in 1999 for $320 million,{{cite news |title=HI-TECH'S NEW DAY |url=https://www.newsweek.com/hi-techs-new-day-116221 |accessdate=4 August 2019 |publisher=Newsweek |date=10 April 2005}}{{cite web |url=http://www.timewarner.com/newsroom/press-releases/1999/06/01/america-online-acquires-leading-internet-music-brands-spinnercom |title=America Online Acquires Leading Internet Music Brands -- Spinner.Com, Winamp and SHOUTcast |date=1 June 1999 |website=WarnerMedia |access-date=4 August 2019}} and Grouper (later renamed Crackle), which they sold to Sony Corp. in 2006 for $65 million.
In 2011, Freestyle announced a formal fund of $27 million. Freestyle raised its second fund of $40 million in 2013 and their third fund of $60 million in 2015.
Jenny Lefcourt joined Freestyle toward the end of Fund II and became an equal partner at the close of Fund III. Notable investments from the first three funds include Intercom, Patreon, Narvar, Digit, Wag, Betterup, Airtable and Snapdocs.{{cite web |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2019/11/08/the-funded-6-bay-area-startups-score-over-100m-at.html |title=The Funded: 6 Bay Area startups score over $100M at week's end|last=Schubarth |first=Cromwell |date=8 November 2019|website=Silicon Valley Business Journal |access-date=27 April 2019}}
In 2017, Freestyle raised $90 million for its fourth fund.
According to the firm’s website, Josh Felser stepped down as full-time general partner in the summer of 2020 to focus his efforts on companies that foster a more resilient planet.
In March 2022, Freestyle closed its sixth fund at $130 million, making it the firm’s largest fund to date. The fund was raised in a month from existing investors.
Partners
Dave Samuel earned his bachelor degree from MIT. In 1996, Samuel founded and was the CEO of Spinner, one of the first online radio services, which was acquired by AOL for $320 million in 1999. In 2004, he co-founded Crackle, one of the first internet video services, which was acquired by Sony Pictures Entertainment for $65 million in 2006. In addition to his work at Freestyle, Samuel is the founder and chairman of tech toilet seat company Brondell Inc.Benny Evangalista, [https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Bottom-line-means-more-to-this-firm-2700603.php "Bottom line means more to this firm,"] San Francisco Chronicle, February 7, 2005.
Jenny Lefcourt earned her B.S. in economics from Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania,{{Citation
| title =How to Pitch Your Startup to a Venture Capitalist
| publisher =Knowledge at Wharton
| date =22 March 2018
| url =https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/entrepreneurs-playbook-episode-01/
| access-date =17 May 2021 }} and attended the Stanford Graduate School of Business. In 1998 she left Stanford to found WeddingChannel.com, which was acquired by The Knot, and Bella Pictures, which was acquired by CPI Corp (now defunct).{{cite web |url=https://techcrunch.com/2014/05/30/weddingchannel-co-founder-jenny-lefcourt-joins-freestyle-as-partner/ |title=WeddingChannel Co-Founder Jenny Lefcourt Joins Freestyle |last=Rao |first=Leena |date=30 May 2014 |website=TechCrunch |access-date=7 July 2019}} In 2014, Lefcourt joined Freestyle and was promoted to general partner in 2015.{{Citation
| last =Wilhelm
| first =Alex
| title =Freestyle Capital Locks Down $60M For Its Third Fund, Adds Jenny Lefcourt As Its Third Partner
| publisher =TechCrunch
| date =2 April 2015
| url =https://techcrunch.com/2015/04/02/freestyle-capital-locks-down-60m-for-its-third-fund-adds-jenny-lefcourt-as-its-third-partner/
| access-date =17 May 2015 }} She is also a founding member and board member of All Raise,{{cite news |last=Sonnemaker |first=Tyler|title=Venture capitalists reveal the startups that changed everything in the past decade |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/startups-that-changed-2010s-uber-shopify-stripe-2019-12 |access-date=21 May 2021 |publisher=Business Insider |date=2 May 2020}} and an angel investor in Discord, Minted and Main Street Hub.{{cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/truebridge/2021/04/13/the-midas-brink-list-meet-venture-capitals-up-and-comers-for-2021/?sh=d91eadbee367 |title=The Midas Brink List: Meet Venture Capital's Up-And-Comers For 2021|date=13 April 2021|website=Forbes |access-date=21 May 2021}}
Notable Investments
References
{{Reflist|2}}
External links
- [http://freestyle.vc/ Freestyle Capital website]
Category:Financial services companies established in 2009
Category:Venture capital firms of the United States