Vertical Venture Partners

Vertical Venture Partners Research Investment Thesis Vertical Venture Partners (VVP) is a Palo Alto-based early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2015 by David Schwab, a former partner at Sierra Ventures and co-founder of Scopus Technology (acquired by Siebel Systems). The firm's core thesis is built around backing founders who possess deep, first-hand domain expertise in specific industry verticals — what they call founders who have lived the problem they are solving, accumulating the "scar tissue" that comes from years of operating within a particular industry. VVP was founded on the insight that enterprise software buyers — particularly CIOs — had grown frustrated with horizontal technologies that required significant customization to fit their workflows. Instead, VVP bets on vertical-first solutions: software purpose-built for a single industry, from roofing contractors and trucking companies to ophthalmology practices and dental offices. This specificity allows portfolio companies to achieve faster time-to-value and stronger retention in their target markets. Sector Focus VVP invests across a wide range of industry verticals including: Healthcare & Life Sciences : Patient billing, behavioral health, dental, ophthalmology, diabetes management, precision medicine tools Transportation & Logistics : Diesel fuel discount platforms, fleet management, freight audit, AR automation for trucking Insurance : Commercial insurance digitization, insurance-specific CRM Retail & eCommerce : Loyalty programs, prescriptive analytics for supply chains Construction & Real Estate : Construction monitoring, property management automation, house-flipping platforms Agriculture : AI farm management Cybersecurity : Deception-based threat detection, AI-powered SOC automation Biotech & Life Sciences Tools : Microfluidics, single-cell analysis, genome engineering, drug development platforms EdTech : AI reading tutors, student portfolio/career platforms Media : Podcast networks and ad marketplaces VVP explicitly avoids B2C investments and capital-intensive businesses with extended development timelines. They exercise caution around heavily regulated industries that create long sales cycles. Stage Focus VVP invests primarily in early-stage rounds: Seed and Seed+ : First checks of $500K–$2.5M for companies with working products and pilot customers. Pre-revenue investments are considered if the product is functional. Series A : $3M–$4M checks for companies demonstrating product-market fit and revenue traction. They reserve follow-on capital for their best-performing portfolio companies and prefer to be among the earliest institutional investors. Check Size Seed/Seed+: $500K – $2.5M Series A: $3M – $4M Total range: $500K – $4M Geographic Focus VVP invests nationwide across the United States, with a deliberate emphasis on companies located outside the Bay Area — markets where "access to capital is more constrained." This differentiated geographic thesis gives VVP access to strong deal flow from overlooked markets. Their headquarters is in Palo Alto, CA (853 Alma Street). Team David Schwab, Founder and Managing Director : David founded VVP after seven years as a partner at Sierra Ventures, where he built the Sierra CIO Advisory Board — a network that gave him direct insight into enterprise buyer pain points. Before VC, he co-founded Scopus Technology, an early CRM software company that IPO'd within seven years and was later sold to Siebel Systems. David holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in Aerospace Engineering from UC San Diego and Stanford. Brad Corona, Managing Director : Brad joined VVP in early 2016, bringing a Wall Street background to complement the engineering-heavy founding team. He is known for VVP's collaborative culture — describing the firm as operating "more like a band" with no deal attribution, collective ownership, and a non-hierarchical partnership structure. Dr. Paul Conley, PhD, Venture Partner : A builder and serial entrepreneur, Paul entered VC in 2007 after one of his startups was backed by an investor who then invited him to join. He specializes in deep tech at the frontier of physics, chemistry, and biology, and focuses on backing technical founders with novel approaches to complex problems. Decision Process VVP operates as a collaborative partnership. All investment decisions are made collectively by the team — Brad Corona describes the firm as functioning "more like a band" where deal attribution doesn't exist and all successes and failures are shared. Initial meetings are founder-focused, followed by team evaluations. Diligence emphasizes market opportunity and customer feedback, with extensive conversations with existing and prospective customers to validate the opportunity and go-to-market strategy. Recent Activity VVP has been actively investing through 2024 and 2025: Barti (August 2025): $12M Series A for AI-powered EHR tech for ophthalmology Inbox Health (September 2025): $20M funding round (cumulative $55M raised) Zuub (July 2024): $9M Series A for dental practice RCM automation Backflip (April 2024): $15M Series A; house-flipping SaaS exceeding $10M net revenue run rate Alida Biosciences (June 2024): Series A with product launch Portfolio Highlights VVP has backed 50+ companies across their fund history. Notable investments include: SOCi (Realized): Multi-location enterprise social media management — major exit Embroker : Digital commercial insurance platform for small/mid-sized businesses Mudflap : Diesel fuel discount platform for owner-operators in trucking Roofr : Sales platform with proposals and measurements for roofing contractors Concert Health : Collaborative care behavioral health integrated with primary care Acalvio : Advanced deception-based cybersecurity for threat detection Inscripta : Scalable digital genome engineering platform Amira Learning : AI intelligent reading assistant (named Fast Company Most Innovative 2025) JASK (Realized): AI-powered cybersecurity threat analysis (acquired) Profitect (Realized): Prescriptive analytics for retail (acquired) Portfolium (Realized): Higher education career platform (acquired) Post-Investment Involvement VVP tailors involvement to each founder's preferences. Support includes recruiting assistance, strategy development, and leveraging their extensive Strategic Advisory Board — 12 senior industry executives with backgrounds at Khosla Ventures, McKinsey, BMC Software, Merck, and the US Army — to open enterprise doors for portfolio companies. Founder Preferences VVP backs founders who have direct, personal experience with the problem they're solving — ideally having worked for years within the vertical they're addressing. They value execution focus, customer obsession, and founders motivated by building great products rather than by fundraising milestones. Technical founders are well-represented in the portfolio, particularly in deep tech and life sciences.