Angela Smith

I am thrilled to join the Origin Ventures Team as the first hire in Utah, helping Brent Hill grow Origin’s presence in both Utah and the Western United States.  My path to Origin Ventures was nontraditional. I spent the first 6 years of my career as a social studies teacher in Houston, TX and East San Jose, CA. Teaching low-income communities forced me to confront the many issues my students ...

The COVID-19 pandemic and its economic fallout drastically changed Americans’ attitudes and behavior at home and at work. Business and consumer practices have shifted substantially under COVID-19 as people and businesses adapt to a socially-distanced world. Origin Ventures attempted to gauge the impact of the pandemic and economic fallout on businesses and consumers and see which changes were likely to persist, and which would fall back to “business as usual.” ...

The past months have changed the way we live, work, and play. Companies of all sizes, including those in Origin Ventures’ portfolio, are re-assessing their internal processes. The focus on capital efficiency shifts the focus from rapid sales growth to sustainable sales. Now is a good time to redesign go-to-market strategy in the increasingly competitive SaaS market. Shake up the sales team, focus on customer personas, redefine territories, or build ...

In July, the Origin team hosted marketers from across our portfolio and extended network to our 2018 Summer Marketing Summit here in Chicago. The 30-odd attendees drove the day’s content by leading conversations around topics they selected ahead of time. The daylong event included robust discussions on marketing best practices, areas for improvement, recommended tools and resources, and more. Find key takeaways below. Powering Up: Marketing Tech Stack Mastering software ...

I recently sat down with serial entrepreneur, marketer, and startup executive Stella Garber to discuss her experience as a startup founder, as well as her time leading marketing for Trello before, during, and after its acquisition by Atlassian in 2017. Our conversation touched on marketing strategy and tactics, the blurred border between product and marketing, scaling a team and the frameworks it necessitates, and managing a remote team. Read highlights ...

We are excited to announce that Origin Ventures co-founders Steve Miller (through his family’s REAM Foundation) and Bruce Barron have provided the naming gift for the Origin Ventures Academy for Entrepreneurial Leadership within the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois. Read more about the gift. The mission of the Origin Ventures Academy for Entrepreneurial Leadership is to infuse entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial thinking across every academic discipline of ...

In March, Origin Ventures invited portfolio company sales leaders and guests to our 2018 Sales Summit in Park City, UT. The 25+ attendees discussed sales strategies, hiring, organizational structure, sales tools, and much more. We expect the sales summit to be a launching pad for continued conversations among portfolio company sales leaders. We would like to thank the attendees for spending the day with us, and the presenters for sharing ...

Engaging with customers is fundamental for every company and their brands. Creating a positive and rewarding customer experience has been shown to increase both revenue and customer loyalty. So what are tangible ways companies can improve their customer experience? Origin portfolio company Apptentive, a market leader in enabling the world’s best brands to manage and measure customer experience, recently held its inaugural Customer Love Summit. Seattle-based Apptentive hosted leaders in ...

Building a business is a rough and lonely road. I know from experience: I co-owned a business in college, founded an LLC at 22, was an early employee at a successful startup, and spent the last two years at an incubator. I’ve learned what resources are important as a business scales, and when a small amount of assistance has a huge impact. That’s why I am thrilled to join Origin ...