Greycroft

Greycroft is a premier venture capital firm that partners with world-class entrepreneurs from seed-to-growth to build transformative companies. It is widely considered one of the world's leading venture capital firms with $2 billion under management and over 200 investments in iconic companies such as Bird (company), Bumble (app), HuffPost, Goop, Scopely, The RealReal, and Venmo.[1][2][3][4] It was founded in 2006 by legendary venture capitalist Alan Patricof, Dana Settle, and Ian Sigalow.[5][6]

Greycroft

Type	Private
Industry	Venture Capital
Founded	2006
Founder	Alan Patricof
Headquarters	New York, New York
Number of employees	26
Website	greycroft.com

The firm invests globally and is dual-headquartered in New York City and Los Angeles.[7] They partner with daring founders at any point in their journey through a multi-stage approach. Unlike many other venture capital firms, Greycroft does not have ownership targets and has never voted against management on an exit.[8] This approach is unique but helps align both sides of the table. It grants founders protection from dilution and provides flexibility during circumstantial downturns.

History

Greycroft was founded in 2006 by venture capital pioneer Alan Patricof. He previously founded Apax Partners, one of Europe's largest private equity groups with $50 billion under management.[9][10] Patricof's transition is linked to a renewed desire for early-stage investing.[11] Patricof is known for his investments and involvement with companies such as AOL, Apple Inc., Office Depot, and New York (magazine).[12]

Funds

Greycroft raised its first fund (Greycroft I) with $75 million of investor commitments in 2006,[13] its second $131 million fund (Greycroft II) in 2010,[13] its third $175 million fund (Greycroft III) in 2012,[14] its fourth $200 million fund in 2015,[15] and a fifth $250 million fund in 2018.[16] In 2014, Greycroft raised its first growth fund, Greycroft Growth.[17]

The company’s growth funds allow for investment in growth stage deals with commitments starting at $10 million and scaling up to $35 million. After the success of the firms later stage investments, Greycroft raised a second growth fund of $250 million in 2017.[18]

The firm is actively investing from two funds today:[19]

• Greycroft V: $250 million venture fund
• Greycroft Growth II: $256 million growth-stage fund

The venture fund (Greycroft IV) invests between $100,000 and $5 million in a first check, while the growth fund invests up to $35 million in a company. These two funds enable the firm to support entrepreneurs at any stage, from inception through exit.[19]

Investments

Greycroft has invested in over 200 companies located in 45 cities internationally, with the majority of these companies headquartered in the United States.[20]

Investments

The firm's notable investments include:

• Braintree, acquired by PayPal for $800 million in 2013[21]
• Buddy Media, acquired by Salesforce.com for $800 million in 2012[22]
• Candid, raised a $63.4 million Series B round in 2019[23]
• Maker Studios, acquired by Disney for $950 million in 2014[24]
• Plated.com, acquired by Albertsons for $200 million in 2017[25][26]
• Munchery, ceased operations in 2019[27]
• Osmosis, raised a $4 million Series A round in 2019[28]
• Selerio, acquired by Streem in 2019[29]
• Trunk Club, acquired by Nordstrom for $350 million in 2014[30]
• Venmo, acquired by PayPal for $800 million in 2016[31]
• SEMrush, raised $40M in 2018[32]
• Boxed, raised $6.5M in 2014[33]
• Scopely, raised $200M Series D round in 2019[34]
• Yeahka, IPO executed on Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2020[35]
• BrightHealth, raised $200M Series C in 2018[36]
• Anine Bing, raised $15M Series A in 2018[37]
• App Annie, raised $63M Series E in 2016[38]
• Thrive Market, raised $111M Series B in 2016[39]
• The Real Real, whose IPO was executed in June 2019 and listed to Nasdaq[40]
• Flutterwave, raised $35M Series B in 2019[41]
• Acorns, raised $105M Series E round in 2019[42]
• Icertis, became a "unicorn" and raised a $115M Series E in 2019[43]
• Public.com, raised $15M Series B in 2020[44]
• LEX Markets, raised $4M Seed in 2019[45]
• Axios, raised $20M Series B  in 2017[46]
• Huffington Post, sold to AOL for $315M in 2011[47]

References

1. "43 NYC Venture Capital Firms You Should Know". Built in NYC. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
2. "17 Los Angeles venture capital firms you should know". Built in LA. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
3. "Top 10 venture capital firms". FinTech. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
4. "What are the top venture capital firms in Los Angeles, CA?". Quora. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
5. Crunchbase (July 28, 2020). "Greycroft". Crunchbase. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
6. "An 82-Year-Old VC Makes a Splash With Young Startups". Forbes. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
7. Noto, Anthony (July 18, 2018). "Greycroft: 'Our most successful investments weren't in NYC or LA'". New York Business Journal. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
8. "Greycroft Story". Greycroft. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
9. "Patricof Goes Back To Early-Stage Investing". Reuters Buyouts. March 16, 2006.
10. "Legendary media investor Alan Patricof's new Web 2.0 life". Fortune. September 11, 2007.
11. "The World According to Alan Patricof". American City Business Journals. December 4, 2007.
12. "No More Shuffleboard. New VC Firm Targets Aging Boomers". WSJ Magazine. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
13. "Early-Stage VC Greycroft Closes $200M Growth Fund". The Wall Street Journal. June 19, 2014.
14. "Greycroft Partners' Third Fund Closes at $175 Million". Business Wire. November 26, 2012.
15. Boslet, Mark (30 November 2015). "Greycroft raises $200 mln fourth fund". PE Hub Network.
16. "Greycroft raises $250M for its fifth early-stage fund". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2020-04-30.
17. Chernova, Yuliya (June 19, 2014). "Early-Stage VC Greycroft Closes $200M Growth Fund". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
18. Roof, Katie (February 9, 2017). "Greycroft Announces $250 Million Growth Fund". TechCrunch. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
19. "Our Story". Greycroft Partners. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
20. "Our Companies". Greycroft Partners. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
21. "EBay's PayPal Acquires Payments Gateway Braintree For $800M In Cash". TechCrunch. September 26, 2013.
22. "Salesforce in talks to buy Buddy Media for over $800M, report says". VentureBeat. May 29, 2012.
23. "Investors continue to pour money into dental startups". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
24. "Disney to Buy Maker Studios in Deal Worth Up to $950 Million". TIME. March 24, 2014.
25. Buhr, Sarah (September 20, 2017). "Albertsons snaps up meal kit startup Plated for $200 million". TechCrunch. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
26. "Investing in the Grocery Industry's Future: A Venture Capitalist's Perspective". Winsight Grocery Business. April 6, 2020. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
27. "After raising $125M, Munchery fails to deliver". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2019-01-22.
28. "Providing supplemental educational videos for healthcare online nets Osmosis $4 million". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2019-06-11.
29. "Streem buys Selerio in effort to boost its AR teleconferencing tech". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
30. "Nordstrom Will Pay $350 Million for Trunk Club". Re/code. July 31, 2014.
31. Rao, Leena (July 13, 2016). "PayPal Is Okay If Millennials Don't Know It Owns Venmo". Fortune Magazine. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
32. "SEMrush Raises $40M in Funding". FINSMES. April 24, 2018. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
33. Slade, Hollie (May 13, 2014). "'Costco Of Mobile Apps' Boxed Raises $6.5M To Take On Amazon Prime". Forbes Magazine. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
34. O'Malley, Gavin (October 29, 2019). "Scopely Raises $200M Earmarked For M&A, Game Expansion". MediaPost. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
35. Zhong, Carol (November 20, 2019). [Tencent-Backed Yeahka to Seek $300 Million in Hong Kong IPO "Tencent Backed Yeahka Said to Seek $300 Million Hong Kong IPO"] Check |url= value (help). Bloomberg.
36. Clark, Kate (November 29, 2018). "Insurance startup Bright Health raises $200M at ~$950M valuation". TechCrunch. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
37. Chitrakorn, Kati (September 6, 2018). "How Anine Bing Is Avoiding the Nasty Gal Trap". Business Of Fashion. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
38. Loizos, Connie (January 14, 2016). "Analytics Firm App Annie Raises $63 Million in Series E Funding". TechCrunch. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
39. Roof, Katie (June 27, 2016). "Thrive Market raises $111 million for its online organic grocery store". TechCrunch. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
40. Savitz, Eric J. (June 26, 2019). "The Next Big IPO Is Trying to Be Tiffany, Amazon, and a Pawn Shop Rolled Into One". Barron's. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
41. Bright, Jake (January 21, 2020). "African fintech firm Flutterwave raises $35M, partners with Worldpay". TechCrunch. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
42. Rooney, Kate (January 28, 2019). "Fintech start-up Acorns valued at $860 million after latest funding round". CNBC. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
43. Singh, Manish (July 17, 2019). "Contract management startup Icertis becomes unicorn with $115M new round". TechCrunch. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
44. Spangler, Todd (March 2, 2020). "Social-Investing App Startup Public Raises $15 Million From Will Smith, JJ Watt, Sophia Amoruso and Others". Variety. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
45. Baer, Justin (September 29, 2019). "Now You Can Build Your Own Real-Estate Empire, $100 at a Time". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
46. Mullin, Benjamin (November 17, 2020). "Axios Raises $20 Million to Fund Newsroom Expansion". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
47. Adams, Richard (February 7, 2011). "Huffington Post sold to AOL for $315m". The Guardian. Retrieved July 28, 2020.