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  We are pleased to announce that Origin Ventures has led Utah-based Carketa’s $6M Seed round, with participation from Crosslink Capital, Hack VC, Lancaster, and I2BF.   The investment is our second in auto tech, following our 2018 investment in BacklotCars.  When we made that initial investment, we joked in our blog post that “we finally met a used car salesman that we like.”  Well now… we’ve found another one!   In ...

Origin Ventures Closes Oversubscribed Fifth Fund at $130M Today we announced the launch of our newest fund, Origin Ventures V, with a final closing of $130M. We will continue to invest in innovative, rapidly growing companies that are defining the Digital Native Economy - and backing the ambitious entrepreneurs that found them. We initially set a target on the fundraise of $100M - then came Covid-19 and all of the ...

We are hiring a Chief Financial Officer to join our executive team and to help us shape Origin Ventures' next phase of growth. Interested candidates should apply here. About Origin Ventures Origin Ventures is a leading early-stage venture capital firm that has backed market leading software and marketplace companies like Grubhub (NYSE: GRUB), Cameo, Fountain, Tock (acquired by NYSE: SQSP), Tovala, 15Five, BacklotCars (acquired by NYSE: KAR), and many others.  ...

A few months ago, I was at a post-wedding brunch (my first big event since getting vaccinated!), when a friend came scrambling in just as the event was winding down. She was late because she was finishing her taxes… an arduous process that involved 14 separate 1099s and a mountain of receipts.  This friend is a Creator. In the traditional sense of the word, she is a professional singer and ...

Venture capital is a team sport. A great team makes better decisions, wins more deals, and provides more resources to companies. Investing in startups is like whitewater rafting. A great team navigates rapids by playing different roles on the boat. There is a navigator, the paddlers, and the fearless souls in front surveying obstacles while getting drenched. Should the adventurers harness the current of the river at the right spot, ...

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 ...

Ty Blunt would endlessly scour online marketplaces, stores, and estate and garage sales for hidden gems – Nintendo games, antiques, arbitrage products – anything he thought could fetch a decent premium. He quickly grew his reseller business to almost $2M a year in revenue, living out of the warehouse that held his inventory. But as he scaled, the administrative burden of running his business – listing and delisting products across ...

I initially approached the Origin Ventures team out of curiosity: I wanted to learn about venture investing and I was impressed with their portfolio, thesis, and values. I asked if I could volunteer my time in exchange for being a fly on the wall in their meetings and discussions. They agreed, and after a few weeks I was hooked. The fit was mutual, and, shortly thereafter, I joined the investing ...

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 ...