- Venture capital firm Ridge Ventures recently announced that it added Brendan Baker as a partner on its team
Ridge Ventures — a venture capital firm that raised more than $150 million last year for investing in early-stage enterprise startups — announced it is adding partner Brendan Baker to its team. Baker is joining Ridge Ventures after spending several years working with early-stage venture funds like Ridge, Wing, and Hone Capital as well as companies and accelerators like Passport, Shift, Batch, AngelPad, Techstars, etc.
Before joining Ridge, Baker was a Director at Greylock where he founded a program to build new data and software systems to find and evaluate new investments. And earlier in his career, Baker was the second employee at AngelList where he oversaw 8,000 pitches and helped more than 300 startups raise tens of millions of dollars in total funding. Pitch circulation and startup introductions at AngelList increased 50% to 100% month-over-month while Baker was working at AngelList. And since AngelList, Baker worked with more than 1,000 founders on their fundraising narratives, strategy, and tactics.
“I’ve spent the past decade thinking about how venture can work better for more people and help founders access investment from great firms,” said Baker in a statement. “Joining the Ridge team is a perfect way to continue to tackle this—I get to help build a great firm over the long term, and find and support emerging teams as they build large, durable companies that matter. Ridge values data and relationships, and that perfectly captures how I see the world. It couldn’t be a better fit.”
Before receiving an MBA from the University of Oxford, Baker also launched and managed the distribution of low-cost water and energy products in Ethiopia and Senegal in tandem with Practica Foundation and EnterpriseWorks.
While at Ridge Ventures, Baker will work with a seasoned team of investors including co-founder and managing director Alexander Rosen, managing director Pat Kenealy, partner Gil Penchina, and principal Ben Metcalfe.
“We are beyond thrilled to have Brendan join the Ridge Ventures team,” added Rosen. “A flexible, founder-focused approach is central to our philosophy. Brendan’s vast experience on the frontlines of VC and Silicon Valley startups will only strengthen the multitude of ways in which we support our founders.”
Ridge Ventures’ portfolio companies have raised more than $1 billion in 2018. And the newest investments include InCountry, Grabango, MaintainX, and Jyve.
