Thrive Capital, a young New York-based venture firm that has backed companies like Warby Parker, Oscar and others, has doubled its most recent fund size to about $400 million. That’s more than twice the $150 million the firm raised just two years ago, a scalable $40 million fund from 2011 and an initial $10 million fund.
Created just five years ago, Thrive is a very young firm. It was started by Josh Kushner, who co-founded early social gaming player Vostu and health insurance startup Oscar. It then expanded with the help of other partners like Chris Paik and Will Gaybrick, who are all in their 20s unlike many of their Sand Hill counterparts on the West Coast. In my opinion, I think that their age and humility have helped them connect with scores of younger entrepreneurs.
Kushner and the firm have tried to keep a very low-profile, even as they’ve been able to get in some of the better-known deals of the last five years including Instagram and Twitch. Kushner is soft-spoken and generally media-shy while other partners like Paik have shown up on Secret, asking for anonymous feedback on how the firm can improve.
Those wins and that style have helped the firm increase its fund size and clout. Current LPs include Princeton University and the Wellcome Trust, along with several other institutional investors and universities. More recent deals include Harry’s, the men’s shaving service, and Spring, a mobile shopping service from David and Alan Tisch. They’ve been staunch supporters of the New York startup scene and their offices have even been co-located in the same building with companies like Oscar along with General Catalyst Partners down in SoHo.
While other firms like Benchmark have stuck to a consistent fund size, Thrive has grown to whatever size the firm believes it can deploy well.