Expanded Investment Team of ‘CEO-VCs’ and EQ-Forward Founder Platform Differentiates Firm

PALO ALTO, Calif., March 16, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Early-stage venture capital firm True Ventures was awarded Venture Firm of the Year at the National Venture Capital Association’s 2018 Leadership Gala last evening in Menlo Park, California. For over 43 years, the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) has been the venture industry’s flagship trade association. The award recognizes firms for strong fund performance, fostering innovation and their commitment to advancing entrepreneurship. This is the second year in a row True Ventures has been nominated for the award.

“We are incredibly honored to be named Firm of the Year,” said Jon Callaghan, co-founder of True Ventures. “For the entire True team, the award isn’t only about prestige or financial return. Rather, it serves as validation of our commitment to the creativity of True community founders, whose ideas and conviction have had a positive effect on the world. We’re so proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish together over the past 12 years.”

“We couldn’t be happier for the True team and are honored to recognize them as the 2018 Venture Firm of the Year,” said Bobby Franklin, President and CEO of the National Venture Capital Association. “Since True’s founding in 2005, Jon, Phil and the rest of the team have established themselves as leaders of our industry through their investments, support for entrepreneurs and commitment to creating a more inclusive ecosystem. We congratulate them on this achievement and wish them the best of luck as they continue to lead our industry into the future.”   

After four years on the NVCA Board of Directors, Callaghan was appointed board Chairman for the 2015-2016 term. During his term, Callaghan furthered the initiatives of the NVCA Diversity Task Force, advocated for the innovation economy and unofficially recoined the venture capital initialism DPI (“Distributed to Paid-In Capital”) to “Diversity, Purpose and Impact,” a new ethos and metric for measuring the impact of entrepreneurship.

“When we founded True, we had an aspirational goal of shifting the power dynamic between the VC investor and entrepreneurial founder,” said Phil Black, co-founder of True Ventures. “At the time, firms were concerned with extracting value even at the expense of human relationships. Instead, we asked ourselves how we could contribute value to the startup ecosystem. For us, it’s always been about serving our customer (the entrepreneurial founder) and doing our part to help each company be its very best.” 

True’s network of startup founders, signature educational events and investment team of active ‘CEO-VCs’ have differentiated the firm and attracted entrepreneurs looking for holistic support and emotionally intelligent counsel, which Callaghan explained is the “missing piece” in venture capital. True community founders include Matt Mullenweg of Automattic (maker of WordPress), James Freeman and Bryan Meehan of Blue Bottle Coffee, Ayah Bdeir of littleBits, John Foley of Peloton, Jamie Siminoff of Ring and Amy Errett of Madison Reed, the last of whom joined True’s investment team in February 2018.

About True Ventures

Founded in 2005, True Ventures is a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm that invests in early-stage technology startups. With more than $1.4 billion under management, True provides seed and Series A funding to the most talented entrepreneurs in today’s fastest growing markets. The firm maintains a strong community that supports founders and their teams, helping True companies achieve higher levels of success and impact. To date, True has helped more than 250 companies launch and scale their businesses, creating over 10,000 jobs worldwide. To learn more about True Ventures, visit www.trueventures.com.

About National Venture Capital Association

Venture capitalists are committed to funding America’s most innovative entrepreneurs, working closely with them to transform breakthrough ideas into emerging growth companies that drive U.S. job creation and economic growth. As the voice of the U.S. venture capital community, the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) empowers its members and the entrepreneurs they fund by advocating for policies that encourage innovation and reward long-term investment. As the venture community’s preeminent trade association, the NVCA serves as the definitive resource for venture capital data and unites its member firms through a full range of professional services. For more information about the NVCA, visit www.nvca.org.

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