Active Capital Raises More Than $20 Million to Lead Seed Rounds for B2B SaaS Companies

SAN ANTONIO, Jan. 31, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Active Capital, a venture firm designed to lead seed rounds for B2B SaaS companies, today announced it has raised $21.5 million for its debut fund.  Anchored by former Rackspace founders and executives, the firm was founded by Pat Matthews, co-founder of Webmail.us, which sold to Rackspace in 2007.  Matthews, an entrepreneur, executive, and angel investor in more than 50 startup companies, raised the capital and invested in 20 founder-led B2B SaaS companies in parallel over the last 18 months.

"I started Active Capital because I love working with founders," Matthews stated.  "I love working with ambitious, creative people who pour their lives into building amazing businesses.  As an entrepreneur who has been through the struggle on the way to success, I know what it's like to walk in their shoes.  And while I don't believe any investor can shape a company like a founder can, I do think a little outside wisdom and guidance can go a long way. I want founders to have the best possible chance of achieving their dreams and I have an incredible passion for doing what I can to help them out."

Rackspace founders and tech industry entrepreneurs and executives have bought into the Active Capital strategy:

"Pat is one of the rare founders that has built a successful company from scratch, had a great exit, and then had equal success as an executive in a large, fast-growing company," said Graham Weston, co-founder and former chairman of Rackspace, and an investor in Active Capital.  "Pat has a unique ability to relate to founders and really knows how to leverage his experiences to help them through the process of building a great company.  He really has a lot to offer today's entrepreneur."

"I've been working with Pat since I invested in Webmail in 2005," said Pat Condon, co-founder of Rackspace, board partner and investor in Active Capital. "Pat has an amazing way of connecting with entrepreneurs and I enjoy collaborating with him and the founders we invest in."

Active Capital employs the following key tenets:

Founder Led Capital for Founder Led Companies
Active Capital is led by founders of successful B2B SaaS and infrastructure companies.  Over the course of two decades, they have started and scaled companies from millions to billions in revenue and value, been through exits (private and IPO), and have invested in dozens of early stage SaaS companies that are still building today. Matthews states: "We want to help founders grow into great CEOs, which means they need to grow themselves even faster than their companies."

Leading Seed Rounds for B2B SaaS Companies
Active Capital is designed to lead seed rounds for B2B SaaS companies.   "We've spent our entire careers starting, building, and investing in B2B SaaS companies," said Matthews.  "Software continues to eat the world and we think it's still early days for SaaS in the enterprise.  We were early pioneers in building our own modern, recurring revenue business and we think it's the best business model in the world.  We will continue to seek out companies across the country building enterprise software with the SaaS business model and continue to invest in founders disrupting the old way of doing things.  We also believe the best B2B SaaS companies deserve a contextually relevant investor who is willing to step up and lead."

Raising the Right Amount of Money
While most VCs are raising bigger and bigger funds, Active Capital is strategically small and more relevant to the modern day seed round. Unlike years ago, B2B SaaS companies today can get to market without raising tens of millions in venture capital.  "Think of us as the $500k check in the million dollar seed round," said Matthews.  "Raising too much money, especially too soon, sets companies on the wrong path.  It quickly creates tension between founders, investors, and employees.  There may be a time and a place to raise a big round and really go for it, but I think it takes more thought and consideration than most companies give."

Investing Outside Silicon Valley 
Active Capital will invest in B2B SaaS companies in emerging tech ecosystems across the country, many of them outside of Silicon Valley.  "We love the valley but believe great companies are going to be built everywhere, not just in traditional tech hubs," stated Matthews.  "We've built companies in Virginia and Texas and have already invested in a dozen cities across the country.  We are going to spend our time with founders building B2B SaaS companies, regardless of where they're building." 

ABOUT ACTIVE CAPITAL
Active Capital is a venture firm designed to lead seed rounds for B2B SaaS companies.  The firm is founded by Pat Matthews, co-founder and former CEO of Webmail.us, a B2B SaaS company that was ranked #217 on the Inc. 500 fastest growing companies in America and sold to Rackspace in 2007. Active Capital is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas and invests in B2B SaaS companies in cities across America. 

To learn more, please visit www.activecapital.com.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Mario Ochoa, Sammis|Ochoa
210-390-5546
[email protected]

SOURCE Active Capital

Related Links

https://www.activecapital.com

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