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On January 19th, 2021, I added myself to the waitlist for a paid sneaker enthusiast community called “SoleSavy”. A quick Twitter search revealed hundreds of posts from members raving about what the platform enabled them to do: acquire hard-to-find sneakers at reasonable retail prices. Once I was accepted off the waitlist by the CEO and co-founder – Dejan Pralica, who has personally processed more than 5,000 members – I discovered ...

Reviewing my monthly credit card bill is a chore I often dread as my eyes scroll through the rows on the statement. But there is always one glimmer of joy, with a charge I'm delighted to pay – my monthly membership in Vivrelle. For $99 per month, I have access to a shared closet of luxury fashion accessories and a large network of benefits from brand partners. I love fashion ...

One of the most unsettling shows I’ve ever watched is Hoarders. Each episode is a journey into a condemned living space, choked with unnecessary trinkets and papers. The show is personal for me, as my aunt was a hoarder. After she died, while piecing together her financial life was a painstaking archeological affair, it revealed the singular advantage of hoarding: every piece of information we needed was in her townhome. ...

Every ant knows the formula of its ant-hill, every bee knows the formula of its beehive. They know it in their own way, not in our way. Only humankind does not know its own formula. – Fyodor Dostoevsky As investors who are obsessed with the Future of Work, Origin Ventures has invested in its fair share of companies that are revolutionizing the workforce. For the vast majority of VCs, this ...

  At Origin Ventures, we like to invest in companies that make the world “the way it should be.” The average American family has a median checking account balance of $2,000 and younger generations have an average credit limit of <$10,000. Putting a hold down of even a few hundred dollars can meaningfully pinch the available credit or bank balance for wide swaths of Americans. Enter BlackCart, which allows online ...

A Glimpse of the Future of Product Placement   Showrooms and malls have been in decline as the share of retail spending via e-commerce steadily grows year-after-year – a trend that the COVID-19 pandemic has only accelerated. The opportunities for consumers to sample products in showrooms and stores are becoming scarce and brands need new ways to place products in front of consumers for sampling, feedback, and impressions. Origin Ventures is ...

The campus at the University of California at Berkeley includes an oversized bulletin board, where students and organizations can post a variety of announcements – ride sharing, concerts, stand-up comedy nights, and kitesurfing lessons are just a few examples. Known as the “blueboard,” it has become a vital source of entertainment news and information for students. The original “Blueboard” on the campus of the University of California (Berkeley) In 2015, ...

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 ...

COVID-19 has created widespread impact for startups. Perhaps no functional area has been disrupted more than the sales organization for B2B software companies. Origin Ventures recently facilitated a sales leadership discussion with our B2B SaaS portfolio companies to discuss and share strategic and tactical shifts in their sales processes. The questions we used to frame the discussion included: For benchmarking purposes… what’s your Q1 and Q2 updated forecast vs. your ...