Today, Ridge Ventures, a venture capital firm that raised more than $150 million last year to invest in early-stage enterprise startups, announced that it is adding Partner Brendan Baker to its team. Baker joins the firm after spending the past few years working with early-stage venture funds like Ridge, Wing and Hone Capital, as well as companies and accelerators like Passport, Shift, Batch, AngelPad, Techstars and more.
Prior to this, Baker was a Director at Greylock, founding a program to build new data and software systems to find and evaluate new investments. Earlier in his career, Baker was the second employee at AngelList, overseeing 8000 pitches and helping more than 300 startups raise tens of millions of dollars in total funding. During his tenure, pitch circulation and startup introductions at AngelList increased 50-100 percent month over month. Since AngelList, he has worked with more than 1000 founders on their fundraising narratives, strategy and tactics.
Before acquiring his MBA from the University of Oxford, Baker also launched and managed the distribution of low-cost water and energy products in Ethiopia and Senegal, in tandem with Practica Foundation and EnterpriseWorks.
“I’ve spent the past decade thinking about how venture can work better for more people and help founders access investment from great firms,” said Baker. “Joining the Ridge team is a perfect way to continue to tackle this—I get to help build a great firm over the long term, and find and support emerging teams as they build large, durable companies that matter. Ridge values data and relationships, and that perfectly captures how I see the world. It couldn’t be a better fit.”
At Ridge Ventures, Baker will work alongside a seasoned team of investors. Led by Alex Rosen (early investor in Braze, Fastly, Krux, Minted, Vidible, ThirdLove, Trifacta), other partners include Pat Kenealy, former IDG CEO; Gil Penchina, angel investor in Paypal, LinkedIn, Dollar Shave Club, Discord; and Ben Metcalfe, co-founder of WP Engine, and former Product Lead at Uber.
“We are beyond thrilled to have Brendan join the Ridge Ventures team,” said Rosen. “A flexible, founder-focused approach is central to our philosophy. Brendan’s vast experience on the frontlines of VC and Silicon Valley startups will only strengthen the multitude of ways in which we support our founders.”
The addition of Baker is indicative of Ridge Ventures’ steady momentum over the past year, with its portfolio companies raising more than $1 billion in 2018. Newest investments include InCountry (data-residency-as-a-service), Grabango (checkout-free shopping), MaintainX (workflow automation) and Jyve (skills economy platform).
Heading into 2020, Ridge Ventures plans to bolster its portfolio and continue to assist with the business needs of its founders. Baker’s expertise will help build out new support frameworks for the firm’s portfolio companies, and amplify existing complementary programs, including a CXO advisory council consisting of more than 75 Fortune 500 executives.
About Ridge Ventures
Founded in 2007, Ridge Ventures is an early-stage venture capital fund investing in founders who are redefining how the world interacts with data and code. Ridge takes a fast, flexible and founder-focused approach, and backs companies delivering advanced technologies, new distribution models and incredible user experiences. To learn more, visit www.ridge.vc and follow us @ridgevc.
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