Tipatat Chennavasin, General Manager and Co-Founder of The Venture Reality Fund: Episode 12, Execution is King
In this episode, Josef and Rob talk about the Metaverse, and how important it is for founders and investors to learn about it. They are joined by Tipatat Chennavasin, General Manager and Co-Founder of The Venture Reality Fund. Tipatat is a former founder, creative innovator, and VR/AR developer. His background in Metaverse runs deep, including the […]
Portfolio raises $125M + talking fundraising with Branch CEO
Welcome back to the Great North Ventures newsletter! We have a couple of big raises to report, along with updates and job listings from our portfolio. Branch has raised $75M in Series C funding. With $133M raised to date, Branch has grown 2,000% in the last three years and has had 700% year-over-year platform growth in 2021. […]
Omnia Fishing closes $4M round, joins Great North portfolio!
Omnia Fishing, a new Great North investment, has raised a $4M round! Omnia is the fastest-growing online store in the fishing tackle industry. Omnia’s sales grew 400% in 2021 and are currently on a similar pace this year. Omnia Fishing is the first e-commerce store that allows anglers to find, buy, and organize their fishing gear […]
Atif Siddiqi, Founder/CEO of Branch: Episode 11, Execution is King
In this episode, Rob and Josef talk about the newly launched venture studio project that’s a social app for trading card collectors. They are joined by Atif Siddiqi, Founder and CEO of Branch. Atif is a former EIR of Idealab, a venture studio that has generated multiple unicorns. Branch came out of Atif’s time at Idealab, […]
Michael Martocci, CEO and Founder of SwagUp: Episode 10, Execution is King
In this episode, Rob and Josef talk about bootstrapping. Rob shares his experience bootstrapping to $70M in revenue by age 32 with his startup, NativeX. They are joined by Michael Martocci, who is the Founder and CEO of SwagUp. SwagUp is a company that sells curated swag packages to startups. Michael has bootstrapped his company […]
Yardstik new to portfolio, closes $8M Series A
Yardstik is a technology company offering screening, verification, and training solutions tailored to gig marketplaces and SaaS platforms. Yardstik is new to the Great North Ventures Fund II portfolio. The company announced on Feb. 3rd, 2022 a $8 million Series A raise led by Grotech Ventures with participation from Great North Ventures and continued funding […]
First venture studio startup comes out of stealth!
NextGem has $1.8M+ raised and $2B+ in trading card assets The first Great North venture studio startup, has come out of stealth! The company has come out of stealth mode with $1.8M in pre-seed funding, and 3,500+ trading card enthusiasts signed up for the service and with over $2 Billion in trading card assets. The […]
Insights for founders from a data guru, + FactoryFix raises a Series A!
Welcome back to the Great North Ventures newsletter! We have some great funding news, insights for founders and investors from our partners, and a former Yahoo and Disney exec on our podcast, Una Fox! FactoryFix has raised a $10M Series A. The company has grown it’s revenue by over 400% in the past year, and expanded […]
Una Fox: Episode 9, Execution is King
In this episode, Rob and Josef talk about a new book out about network effects, “The Cold Start Problem” by Andrew Chen. They speak with Una Fox, who works as a Chief Global Data & Analytics Officer. Una was previously a VP at Disney and a Director at Yahoo, and is a truly data-driven leader. […]
2ndKitchen acquired by SoftBank-backed REEF + advice from an early Googler
Welcome to the Great North Ventures newsletter! We have exit news! And for founders, we have a former Googler talking about the importance of being data-driven, and sharing other advice. 2ndKitchen has been acquired by SoftBank-backed REEF Technologies. REEF is the largest operator of delivery kitchens, logistics, and proximity hubs in North America. The existing businesses will combine […]