Defy Partners, a Woodside, California-based venture capital firm, closed its second fund, at $262m.
Led by Neil Sequeira and Trae Vassallo, Defy invests in entrepreneurs and companies looking to solve complex problems using leading-edge technology to create real business leverage. The focus is on early series A lead investments where it commits $3-10m in initial financing for real ownership while reserving significant capital for follow-on financing.
Defy broadly invests in market sectors undergoing disruption that include software companies in a variety of areas including:
– commerce,
– logistics,
– marketing platforms,
– media,
– education,
– network infrastructure,
– real estate,
– IOT, and
– fintech.
The firm aims to be an active board member, provide early customer introductions, offer strategic guidance, assist with team building, and create real value to backed entrepreneurs.
Defy also recently announced the addition of the Defy Sage program that brings successful multi-time CEOs, Brian Lee and Sujal Patel, on board to further expand the firm’s reach, domain experience, and ability to help portfolio companies scale.
Brian Lee is a multi-time founder and CEO behind LegalZoom, ShoeDazzle, The Honest Company, and is currently the Co-Founder of The Art of Sport.
Sujal Patel was CTO of Real Networks before founding Isilon, where he was CEO and eventually sold the company to EMC. He is now the CEO and Co-Founder of a stealth early stage company.
Since the launch of Fund I in early 2017, Defy has invested in companies including Airspace, Owlcam, and Securly. It has a total of $413M AUM.
FinSMEs
10/04/2019