Strategy

Forerunner Ventures invests in technology-enabled consumer companies, with a focus on the digital commerce landscape, broadly speaking. We look to partner with ambitious management teams that are leveraging technology and social media to define and dominate the next generation of retailers. We also invest in companies that are building enabling tools and technologies that will disrupt, advance, and transform the digital commerce experience.

“Digital Retailing is the Most Dramatic Change to Hit the Retail Industry in the Last 50 Years. Ecommerce Sales are Approaching $200B Annually in the United States [alone] and Eventually are Expected to Reach 15% to 20% of Global Retail Sales.”
   
    —Bain & Company, Retail Holiday Newsletter, 2011

Shifting consumer behaviors and the integration of technology into both the front and back ends of businesses are enabling a new generation of commerce companies that have the ability to know their customer more intimately then ever before, and can use these insights to better inform their business strategies.

The Forerunner team possesses a thorough understanding of what it takes to succeed in digital commerce. Backed by over a decade of experience in partnering with entrepreneurs across a wide spectrum of stages and business models, Forerunner has a distinctly competitive advantage in navigating the retail landscape, anticipating consumer behaviors, and helping scale development-stage companies.

Our sector commitment means that everything we do relates back to a general theme, furthering a well-rounded and thorough perspective on developments, opportunities, and best practices within the digital commerce landscape. Our team is equipped with a highly relevant network of relationships to leverage meaningful advantages for our portfolio companies in a rapidly evolving consumer arena.

Forerunner’s investment team and network bring a powerful combination of investment, operating, and functional experiences to our portfolio companies.

Placing a premium on technology-enabled consumer companies, Forerunner works with businesses that are often well supported by tech-savvy investors with extensive experience in their respective domains.

What is often absent around the investment table is a focus on brand building, consumer behaviors, evolution of the retail marketplace, and even the physical product. Forerunner’s strategy encompasses all these considerations, helping businesses to ramp smarter, faster, and with lower risk. We have an open-door attitude and welcome as much interaction as the founders need.

We seek to partner with ambitious management teams that possess potential to become industry leaders.  We highly value founders with a profound understanding of their target audience, as well as the problems they solve for this constituency.  We look for disruptive business models that are leveraging online relationships and customer insights to drive better business decisions, deeper customer relationships, and greater scalability and profitability.  We believe that product is “king” and consumers are increasingly savvy; we review every product and service through that lens, each must be: compelling and differentiated.

We have a strong preference for companies that have a demonstrated leadership advantage over other businesses operating at a similar stage.  Forerunner looks for achievements in early customer traction, strategic distribution/marketing partnerships, a strong management team, and first-mover advantage.

We target companies that can best benefit from Forerunner’s domain expertise, networks, and hands-on commitment.

Forerunner makes initial investments primarily in seed and Series A rounds of funding. On a select basis, we also invest in later-stage opportunities.

Our typical initial investment in a company ranges from $250 to 500K. We have the ability to lead (on a select basis), co-lead, and follow other firms. We prefer to invest alongside other active investors who are looking to support the founders in their business building efforts.

To give our entrepreneurs the most personal attention from the entire Forerunner team, our preference is to partner with companies based near us in the Bay Area.

However, we’ve also cultivated relationships in select “hot bed” markets, particularly in New York and Los Angeles.  When a key company is not based in the Bay Area, we endeavor to invest alongside an active local investor.