Every Growth Equity Firm’s Money is Green

In just my second week since joining OpenView Venture Partners, I have found myself using one phrase over and over again. “Everyone’s money is green.” Let’s forget the axiomatic nature of the phrase for a moment and think about it in terms of expansion stage venture capital firms.

There are many firms that focus on expansion stage investments. They are looking to invest in quickly growing companies with a fully developed product or service. Most of these companies are at an inflection point in their growth, where expansion capital can be used to build sales teams, support marketing efforts, and increase their geographical footprint.

While most venture capital firms will support these efforts through funding and board-level guidance, tangible operational support is often lacking. My use of the title phrase stems from the fact that OpenView is quite different. While we offer board guidance and funding, our true value-add comes in the form of the operational leverage that OpenView Labs offers. OpenView Labs is the in-house strategic consulting arm of OpenView Venture Partners. OpenView Labs’ twelve professionals focus on sales and marketing build-outs, financial and legal analysis, and the product management process. They look to serve as a resource and be as hands-on as a portfolio company needs them to be. Labs allows a company to accelerate its growth and scale significantly.

Everyone’s money may be the same, but everyone’s value is another story.