Uncork Capital is a seed-stage venture capital firm that focuses on SaaS, consumer, marketplaces, hardware, and new technology startups.
External link for Uncork Capital
4 Palo Alto Square
2nd Floor
Palo Alto, California 94306, US
Uncork Capital reposted this
We have been nominated for the 2024 Product Awards, presented by Products That Count! Each year, the most influential and innovative products transforming the digital revolution are honored, and we are thrilled to celebrate being a part of this esteemed group. Congratulations to all of the nominees! #2024productawards #productawards #productmanagement
Uncork Capital reposted this
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🌟 Calling All Innovators! 🌟 Join the AI My Life - Hackathon supported by YSecurity and c/side! Create an AI-powered project, judged by leaders like Sarah Du (Uncork Capital) and Alayzain (Zain) Rizavi (Ridge Ventures). 🛠️ 🗓️ September 14-15, 2024 📍 Ridge Ventures, SF & Virtual 🏆 Prizes by: Create and Lunar 🍕 Don’t miss out—Register Here https://lu.ma/gfbkd0x3 #AI #Hackathon #YSecurity #TechEvents #Innovation
Exciting news! The 2024 SaaS Benchmarks survey is live. 📈 We're thrilled to share that High Alpha, in collaboration with Paddle and report founder Kyle Poyar, is continuing the legacy of this invaluable industry resource — trusted by SaaS founders for nearly a decade. This year's survey explores: - Pricing models - Churn analysis - AI adoption - Financial performance - Founder health (new for 2024!) 👉 Take the 2024 survey now and gain early access to the report, packed with the latest benchmarking data to power your business decisions. The survey takes just 15 minutes to complete. Your input shapes the industry! https://lnkd.in/ekHy4uNK
Exciting news! The 2024 SaaS Benchmarks survey is live. 📈 We’re pleased to announce that High Alpha, in partnership with OpenView, Paddle, and report founder Kyle Poyar, will now produce and distribute the annual SaaS Benchmarks report — a resource that’s been trusted by SaaS founders for nearly a decade. 👉 Take the 2024 survey now and get early access to the report, including the latest benchmarking data to help you make better business decisions: https://lnkd.in/g38gzdTk #SaaSBenchmarks
Mission, vision, and values: setting your startup up for success Amy Saper just dropped a fantastic piece on why these foundational elements matter from day one. Drawing from her experiences at Twitter, Stripe, and Uber, Amy shares some great insights: 🐦 How Twitter's "communicate fearlessly to build trust" led to some amusing oversharing 💳 Why Stripe's "we haven't won yet" value kept the team humble and hungry 🚗 The double-edged sword of Uber's "toe-stepping" philosophy This is definitely worth a read: https://lnkd.in/gtMMiHQx What do you think? Have you seen mission, vision, or values significantly impact a company's trajectory?
Uncork Capital reposted this
One of my favorite lectures I gave for Stanford's Entrepreneurial Leadership course (with Tina Seelig, Tom Byers, Mo Fong, and Steve Loughlin) was called "Mission, Vision, and Values". Having spent time building and launching products, markets, and teams at Twitter, Uber, and Stripe, I've thought deeply about how important it is to carefully craft your startup's foundational reason for being and mechanisms to operate from the very beginning. Reflecting on my time at those organizations, I shared some examples of how your mission, vision, and values need to accurately reflect the environment in which you operate and the type of company you want to build. It's a meaty topic, so it's my longest blog post yet. In it you'll find some snippets including: - The difference between mission, vision, and values, and why each matters - How to navigate values that seem to contradict each other (my fellow Tweeps will remember "Be rigorous, get it right" and "Ship it.") - How to create and share values that are meant to be a little controversial so prospective new hires can self-select in or out appropriately (shoutout to Eeke de Milliano for helping craft Stripe's first "culture site") - How to balance humility and healthy skepticism with long-term optimism (something I learned from Shreyas Doshi' practice of pre-mortems) - The way in which your competitive environment can impact the values you craft in order to shape which behaviors get rewarded - And what happens when those values have unintended consequences that necessitate a major update If you get through the whole post, would love to hear what you think! https://lnkd.in/gKJMCHG7
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“Not everybody sees it yet, but they will. And when they do, they’re going to be able to invent things we could never imagine in the old centralized world.” Absolute banger of a post by Avery Pennarun, CEO of our portfolio company Tailscale
Super proud of Torii's recent recognition in Gartner's SaaS management report. ☁️ Managing dozens of cloud apps is a real challenge for many businesses 💪 Torii's approach is making a tangible difference for IT teams 💡 It's great to see innovation addressing everyday business problems Hats off to the Torii team for their hard work. This kind of practical innovation is what moves our industry forward.
𝗧𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗶 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿! Exciting news! Gartner released its first-ever Magic Quadrant™ for SaaS Management Platforms (SMPs), and Torii was named a Leader! This report evaluates 15 SMPs based on their Vision and Execution. We think it’s a must-read for IT pros navigating the fast-evolving SMP industry. Curious how SaaS Management can help you discover, manage, and optimize your applications? This report is your new go-to resource. Check out the full report to learn more about SaaS management 👉 https://okt.to/xrJ4ql
Uncork Capital reposted this
I am so impressed with the All Raise team, led by the amazing Paige Hendrix Buckner! I am thrilled to see All Raise's 2023 Annual Report and the industry trending in the right direction. Spoiler Alert: We've nearly doubled the number of female decision-makers, from 9% to 17.4%. This is great, but it's not enough! I am grateful to have had the opportunity to contribute to All Raise this year. We have a mission—to make the tech ecosystem more accessible, equitable, and diverse! #WomeninVenture #Investment #VentureCapital #WomeninVC #GPs #LPs #EmergingManagers
This year has been monumental for All Raise, and our CEO Paige Hendrix Buckner is eager to share our collective progress! Here are some takeaways: 1️⃣ We’re trending in the right direction and outpacing the expected time to achieve our goals. The proportion of women decision-makers in VC firms has nearly doubled to 17.4%! (For firms with $50M AUM or greater) 2️⃣ Diversity leads to triumph! Research confirms that diverse teams yield better returns. As noted by Harvard Business Review, venture capital firms that increased their proportion of female partner hires by 10% saw, on average, a 1.5% spike in overall fund returns each year and had 9.7% more profitable exits. 3️⃣ Male allyship is essential. Our community survey reveals that 98% of respondents acknowledge the positive impact of male allies in hiring, funding, and mentorship endeavors. As a collective, we can rewire the industry from the inside. We've made substantial progress, but we still have much work ahead. We are deeply grateful to our team, volunteers, and Board members for their steadfast commitment. For full details, read our comprehensive 2023 Annual Report: https://lnkd.in/gbbZabdr #Investment #VentureCapital #GPs #LPs #EmergingManagers Kirsten Green Ita Ekpoudom Madeline Darcy Caitlin Herling Byron Deeter J.C. Lopez Anna Barber Elise King Erin Harkless Moore, CFA Candice Morgan Karen Toste
Exciting news from our portfolio: Human Interest has secured $267M in fresh financing! When we led their seed round in 2015 (then known as Captain401), we recognized the potential to transform retirement benefits for small and medium-sized businesses. Today, Human Interest is doing exactly that, making 401(k) plans accessible and manageable for companies of all sizes. This latest round, led by Marshall Wace and Baillie Gifford, is a testament to the team's vision and execution. As seed investors who've participated in every round since, we're thrilled to see Human Interest's continued growth and impact. Congratulations to Jeff Schneble and the entire Human Interest team! https://lnkd.in/dgBc2BPF
Over a decade ago, the concept of a VC Platform was almost nonexistent. Today, it’s a game-changer. At Uncork Capital, we’ve harnessed relationship intelligence, automation, and AI to build a comprehensive support system for our portfolio companies. Key highlights: 📊 Adoption of Affinity CRM for a unified relationship management system 🚀 Elimination of manual tasks, enabling us to focus on providing value 📈 Significant increases in engagement with portfolio founders, executives, and key network individuals Our technology-driven approach has not only enhanced efficiency but also fostered strong, nurturing relationships with our portfolio companies. This support is crucial in today’s competitive VC landscape. Our platform’s services are indispensable to our Seed-stage companies and continue to be valuable even for our later-stage companies, proving the effectiveness of our team and offerings. Check out the blog post to learn more about our journey and commitment to the success of our portfolio companies.