Venture and growth equity investment firm Norwest Venture Partners has had a banner two years. Twenty-three companies in its portfolio became public or were acquired, including Spotify and Uber, and it’s made almost 50 new investments. The Bay Area firm has just added a $2 billion fund to its purse — its largest to date — bringing the total capital commitments for the 58-year-old firm to $9.5 billion.
NVP has built a reputation for spotting and developing technology-enabled direct-to-consumer brands. It recently bet on shoe brand Birdies, luxury handbag label Senreve, swimwear maker Jolyn and men’s fitness clothing brand Vuori, in addition to fashion jewellery company Kendra Scott — a later stage company that has “bootstrapped to achieve profitability”, but needed help in developing its physical retail presence, says general partner Sonya Brown.