Yesterday, Overwater Ventures, a venture capital firm established by Kristina Simmons – a veteran of Andreessen Horowitz and Khosla Ventures – announced that it was able to raise $20 million towards its debut venture capital fund. This was especially significant due to the current economic uncertainty and limited partners having decreased investment into venture capital funds. Additionally, a woman heading a venture fund – an anomaly in the tech industry and even more so in venture capital – was another component of what made this development noteworthy.
Indeed, its impact was reinforced by the report from Pitchbook and the National Venture Capital Association. Having been endowed with such resources, Kristina Simmons will focus on aiding creators in developing and commercializing different technologies that can improve human and ecological health. To date, Overwater Ventures has made 10 investments, and plans to create a fund that the future generation of entrepreneurs calls home.
For the fundraising process, Simmons shared that it was certainly challenging during this time, given the situation that all VCs face. To make things worse, big endowments and corporations were not that enticed to become limited partners. Nevertheless, she found success in prosperously teaming with prominent family offices amongst others. With the funds secured, Simmons looks to make sure that she is capital efficient and that finding success in funding startups is possible during these times.
When it comes to the focus of the fund, Simmons and Overwater Ventures would like to apply a holistic approach when it comes to their portfolio companies. The firm also understands how being mentally, physically, and emotionally healthy is essential for success, and thus launched initiatives to support entrepreneurs reach their maximum potential. As examples, some of the companies funded by Overwater Ventures include Overstory, Conceive, Gameto, Zero Acre Foods, Prose Foods, and Overture Life.
Kristina Simmons’ activity in the venture capital world began while working at Andreessen Horowitz and Khosla Ventures. She even had the experience of launching the ecommerce, social, and digital platforms at Lululemon Athleta, and further co-establishing the firm’s Emerging Products & Concepts efforts before joining either A16z and Khosla Ventures. The combination of her expertise in both the business and investing world shines through her style as a fund manager at Overwater Ventures.
All in all, it is inspiring to see investors continuing to back promising ideas and teams even in the present uncertainties. With such supports, and with the groundwork laid out by firms such as Overwater Ventures, the vision of nurturing and commercializing revolutionary concepts can become a reality.
