Expa

Expa Research Investment Thesis Expa is a venture studio and early-stage venture capital firm founded by Garrett Camp, former co-founder of Uber. The firm takes a unique approach to venture capital by combining design, product development, operational support, and capital to build "category-defining companies." Expa operates under the philosophy of "Where Ideas Expand Into Ventures" — providing not just capital, but a comprehensive toolkit including branding, design, team formation, and access to an extensive network of advisors, operators, and investors. Investment Model Expa's distinctive model sets it apart from traditional venture capital: Studio Services: Expa provides hands-on support across multiple dimensions: Ideation : Structured brainstorming, market research, and identifying market gaps through analysis of industry trends and consumer behavior Branding & Design : Mockups, UI/UX design, systems design, prototypes, brand identity development, and integration with product and marketing Team Formation : Support with company formation, legal strategy, marketing, operations, and recruiting top talent Resources : Tested playbooks, processes, and go-to-market strategies to accelerate time-to-market Network : Activation of advisors, founders, operators, investors, and designers to provide guidance and reduce roadblocks Stage Focus Expa invests at the earliest stages: Pre-seed and Seed : $1M-$5M for companies with ideas or early prototypes Series A : Follow-on investments for portfolio companies with traction Occasional Series B : For exceptional portfolio companies The firm is known for being founder-friendly and providing operational hands-on support, which differentiates it from traditional VCs. Check Size & Investment Patterns Expa typically invests: Initial checks : $500K - $2M for seed/pre-seed investments Follow-on reserves : 30-50% of initial fund to support portfolio companies Average deal size : $5-10 million across the portfolio lifecycle Sector Focus Expa operates across diverse sectors without strict specialization. Portfolio demonstrates strength across multiple verticals including consumer fintech (Current, Collective), marketplaces and logistics (Convoy, BlueCargo), developer tools (Metabase, OpenReplay), AI-powered enterprise tools (Pin, Norm), healthcare and biotech (3DBio, Torch, Forward), and climate tech (Farm, Commons, Prometheus). Portfolio Highlights Scale & Growth: 69+ portfolio companies total 2 unicorns: Current and Fabric Multiple companies achieving 100M+ revenue or significant exits $350M total capital raised across fund vehicles Notable Exits & Acquisitions: Torch: Acquired by OpenAI for $100M (2026) Cmd: Acquired by Elastic Dadi: Acquired by Ro Interseller: Acquired by Greenhouse Gitalytics: Acquired by GitHub Primer: Acquired by Shopify Physera: Acquired by Omada Health Reserve: Acquired by Resy Kit (Recommendations): Acquired by Patreon Kit Health: Acquired by Ro Merlin Guides: Acquired by NewtonX Drip: Acquired by Kickstarter Recent Activity (2025-2026): Torch (health records) acquired by OpenAI for $100M (January 2026) Layer (digital art) featured in major publications (2025) Continued active deployment from Fund III Team & Leadership Founders & Leadership: Garrett Camp (Founding Partner): Serial entrepreneur, co-founder of Uber, founder of StumbleUpon Roberto Sanabria (Founding Partner): Operational expert Vitor (Founding Partner): Design and product-focused Venture Partners: Milun Tesovic (Partner): Former founder, former CEO of Cmd Naveen Selvadurai (Venture Partner): Co-founder of Foursquare Sofia Linden (Operations Partner): Operations strategy Zach Lipson (Venture Partner): Founder background Angelo Sotira (Venture Partner): Founder and CEO of Layer Hooman Radfar (Venture Partner): CEO of Collective David Clark (Venture Partner): Investment focus Philosophy: "By Builders for Builders" The team comprises primarily former founders and operators who understand startup challenges from first-hand experience. Lead vs. Follow Tendency Expa demonstrates a "leader and co-leader" tendency : Leads initial seed rounds for new companies Provides significant pro-rata reserves for follow-on funding Actively involved in Series A and Series B rounds Works in syndicates with top-tier VCs Decision Process & Timeline Decision Structure : Partnership-based with Founding Partners and specialist partners Timeline : 1-2 weeks for initial seed decisions Process : Strong emphasis on founder fit, market opportunity, and Expa operational value-add Geographic Focus Primary: US (San Francisco, Los Angeles, NYC, Austin, Seattle) Secondary: Mexico/LATAM, Canada, Europe, Asia Founder Preferences Expa seeks: Operator-Founders : Prior operating or founder experience Category Creators : Building new categories, not incremental improvements Product-Obsessed : Deep focus on user experience Resilient : Track record pushing through challenges Coachable : Open to mentorship and operational guidance Mission-Driven : Solving real problems Fund Status Current Fund : Fund III ($200M+) Fund Status : Actively deploying capital Recent Pattern : 2-6 investments annually Capital Raised : $350M total Last Known Activity : January 2026 Typical Involvement Board Seat : Yes, for most seed investments Observer Rights : Yes, for larger rounds Operational Advisory : Extensive studio resource involvement Introductions : Active connector with customers and future investors