# Maveron

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Maveron
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Maveron.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maveron
> Source revision: 1356927309
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

American venture capital firm

Maveron Type Private Industry Venture capital Founded 1998; 28 years ago (1998) Founder Dan Levitan Howard Schultz Key people Dan Levitan Jason Stoffer Anarghya Vardhana David Wu AUM US $1.3 billion (2020) Website www.maveron.com

**Maveron** is an American [venture capital firm](/source/Venture_capital) that invests in consumer-only and [early-stage](/source/Startup_company) companies, with offices in [Seattle, Washington](/source/Seattle) and [San Francisco, California](/source/San_Francisco). The firm was co-founded by [Dan Levitan](/source/Dan_Levitan) and former Starbucks chief executive [Howard Schultz](/source/Howard_Schultz) in 1998.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

Maveron invests in consumer-only businesses centered on technology-enabled products and services in commerce, education, and health and wellness. As of 2020, the firm had a total of $1.3 billion in [assets under management](/source/Assets_under_management) (AUM).[1]

## History

The firm was co-founded in Seattle by [Dan Levitan](/source/Dan_Levitan), former investment banker at [Schroder Wertheim & Co.](/source/Schroder_Wertheim_%26_Co.), and [Howard Schultz](/source/Howard_Schultz), former CEO, president, and chairman of [Starbucks](/source/Starbucks).[2] During his time at Schroder Wertheim & Co., Levitan helped take Starbucks [public](/source/Initial_public_offering) in 1992, which is where his relationship with Schultz was formed.[3] By 1993, Levitan and Schultz began investing together in several consumer businesses. In 1997, Levitan decided to leave New York and head west to Seattle to start Maveron with Schultz.[4] The firm opened its doors in January 1998. Maveron's name is a combination of "maverick" and "vision".[5] During the early 2000s, the fund and Schultz in particular, was criticized for investments in [for-profit universities](/source/Proprietary_colleges), namely [Capella University](/source/Capella_University).[6] Maveron opened its San Francisco office in 2009.[7] Maveron's early investment in [zulily](/source/Zulily) led to November 2013 public offering of 22% of shares (for $4.5 million) worth over a billion dollars by December.[8] In 2014, the fund was featured on *[Forbes](/source/Forbes)*' top venture capital firms in the U.S., ranked #54 out of 100.[1] In 2019, the fund raised an additional $180 million to finance investments.[9] The firm often turns down surplus capital in order to ensure consistent [investment delta](/source/Delta_neutral) (margin by which fund outperforms the stock market).[10]

## Portfolio

Maveron's early investments include [eBay](/source/EBay),[11] [Drugstore.com](/source/Drugstore.com),[12] and [Potbelly Sandwich Works](/source/Potbelly_Sandwich_Works).[13]

Active Maveron companies include [Allbirds](/source/Allbirds), AllStripes, Bookclub, BrewBird, [Booster Fuels](/source/Booster_Fuels), CapHill Brands, [Common](/source/Common_(company)), [Co-Star](/source/Co-Star), Daring, DollsKill, Dolly, [Eargo](/source/Eargo) (NASDAQ: EAR), Engageli, [Everlane](/source/Everlane), Flywire (NASDAQ: FLYW), Gallant, Illumix, Imperfect Foods, Inkbox, Landing, [Lovevery](/source/Lovevery), Modern Fertility, Nécessaire, Otis, Pacaso, Parade, Peach, Pluto VR, [Pro.com](/source/Pro.com), [Spyce](/source/Spyce_Kitchen), Tempest, The Guild, [The Wrap](/source/The_Wrap), Thirty Madison, Two Chairs, and Wave.[9]

Exits include August Lock, Capella Education, [CircleUp](/source/CircleUp), CourseHero, Cranium, Darby Smart, Decide, [Earnest](/source/Earnest_(company)), General Assembly, Good, [Groupon](/source/Groupon), [Julep](/source/Julep_(company)), Koru, [Lucy Activewear](/source/Lucy_Activewear), [Madison Reed](/source/Madison_Reed), Newsle, NextFoods, PayNearMe, Periscope, [Pinkberry](/source/Pinkberry), Quellos Group, [SeatMe](/source/SeatMe), [Shutterfly](/source/Shutterfly), [Trupanion](/source/Trupanion), and [zulily](/source/Zulily).[9]

## See also

- [List of venture capital firms](/source/List_of_venture_capital_firms)

- [List of companies based in Seattle](/source/List_of_companies_based_in_Seattle)

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:0_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:0_1-1) Cook, John (2014-03-26). ["Maveron's Dan Levitan has the Midas touch: Seattle VC named to list of top 100 investors"](https://www.geekwire.com/2014/maverons-dan-levitan-midas-touch-seattle-vc-named-one/). *GeekWire*. Retrieved 2020-04-19.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Arnold, Glen (2008). *Corporate financial management*. [Pearson Education](/source/Pearson_Education). p. 496. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-273-71041-7](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-273-71041-7).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Acquired | Starbucks IPO with Dan Levitan"](https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/episode-34-starbucks-ipo-with-dan-levitan). *www.acquired.fm*. April 3, 2017. Retrieved April 10, 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Miguel, Renay San. ["Maveron's Levitan: Fortune favors the bold entrepreneur"](https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2014/06/10/maveron-dan-levitan-seattle-entrepreneurs/10304471/). *USA TODAY*. Retrieved 2020-04-19.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Venture Capital for Seed and Early-Stage Consumer Companies"](https://www.maveron.com/about/).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Cadelago, Christopher (6 February 2019). ["Schultz's toxic investments: For-profit college, tax shelter for the rich"](https://politi.co/2Soxxaz). *POLITICO*. Retrieved 2020-04-19.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Venture firm Maveron opens San Francisco office"](https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Venture-firm-Maveron-opens-San-Francisco-office-3280754.php). 18 November 2009.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Cook, John (December 23, 2013). ["Maveron joins the billion-dollar club, one of 10 VC firms to generate big returns in 2013"](https://www.geekwire.com/2013/maveron-joins-billiondollar-club-10-vc-firms-generate-big-returns-2013/). *GeekWire*. Retrieved April 10, 2020.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:1_9-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:1_9-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-:1_9-2) Clark, Kate (May 29, 2019). ["Allbirds, Everlane investor Maveron turned away more than $70M for its latest fund"](https://techcrunch.com/2019/05/29/allbirds-everlane-investor-maveron-turned-away-more-than-70m-for-its-latest-fund/). *TechCrunch*. Retrieved April 10, 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Vardhana, Anarghya (May 31, 2019). ["Why Maveron Turned Down More Than $70 Million to Stay Small"](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2019-05-31/why-maveron-turned-down-more-than-70-million-to-stay-small-video). *www.bloomberg.com*. Retrieved April 10, 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** [Gardner, David](/source/David_Gardner_(The_Motley_Fool)); [Tom Gardner](/source/Tom_Gardner) (2002). [*The Motley Fool's What to Do with Your Money Now: Ten Steps to Staying Up in a Down Market*](https://archive.org/details/motleyfoolswhatt00gard). [Simon & Schuster](/source/Simon_%26_Schuster). p. [33](https://archive.org/details/motleyfoolswhatt00gard/page/33). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-7432-3378-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-7432-3378-1).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** Moe, Michael (2007). *Finding the Next Starbucks: How to Identify and Invest in the Hot Stocks of Tomorrow*. Portfolio. p. 144. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-59184-189-0](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-59184-189-0).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** [Rubinfeld, Arthur](/source/Arthur_Rubinfeld); Collins Hemingway (2005). [*Built for growth: expanding your business around the corner or across the globe*](https://archive.org/details/builtforgrowthex00rubi/page/161). [Wharton School Publishing](/source/Wharton_School_Publishing). p. [161](https://archive.org/details/builtforgrowthex00rubi/page/161). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-13-146574-9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-13-146574-9).

## External links

- [Official site](https://www.maveron.com)

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Maveron](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maveron) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maveron?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.