November 2021 Newsletter
Dan, Krista, and Ingrid got together in early 2020 to build upon what Dan started in 2009 and expand it into a fund model. With venture dollars increasing, many good companies are being orphaned by their equity and need an alternative path. Krista, having faced relatable obstacles in her founder path, recently published a blog on the experiences that led her to joining Stage as a General Partner.
Denver firm acquires startups unable to raise a Series B
There’s an expectation in the startup sphere that successful companies raise through the alphabet from Series A to B and on with little friction, hitting funding milestones with each passing year.
Coops & Feathers Add Amy Ranae Schwarz as VP of Sales and Marketing; Product Expansion Planned for 2022
Coops & Feathers is a U.S. based pet products company dedicated to improving the lives of animals and their pet parents. The Company offers unique chicken coops and functional accessories, as well as all-natural chicken treats, water additives and treatment sprays under its Healthy Hen product line. Coops & Feathers products can be found in big box retailers, eCommerce channels and major rural lifestyle retailers in North America.
Stage Acquires Coops and Feathers, a Global Provider of Specialized Chicken Products
Coops and Feathers is a US based chicken products company dedicated to improving the lives of animals and their caregivers. The Company offers unique chicken coops and coop accessories, as well as, all-natural chicken treats and behavioral sprays and powders under its Healthy Hen product line.
Stage Acquires ThirdChannel, a National Leader in Optimizing Retail Execution and In-store Customer Experience
“We are excited to be partnering with Stage, a firm with significant experience developing SaaS businesses,” said Brian Tervo, CEO of ThirdChannel. “With their operational expertise and support, we will be able to refocus on providing specialized products and services and growing our market share.”
Stage Agrees to Acquire Needle, a Leader in Ecommerce Live Chat
Needle is a technology and service platform for e-commerce brands who utilize advocates for live chat and customer engagement. Founded in 2010, Needle has an impressive list of brands that use their service to provide a differentiated ecommerce chat experience including TaylorMade, Stuart Weitzman, Sonos, and Bare Necessities.
Stage Closes Fund to Acquire Early-Stage Companies Moving off the Venture Path
Stage’s playbook is a hybrid model integrating best practices from venture capital, private equity, and the venture studio model for shared services. With five portfolio companies already part of the Fund, early performance has dictated Stage to close Fund I early and begin the process of raising Fund II to scale their unique approach.
How a failure to raise turned me into a GP
We had what I thought was good traction, unique competitive positioning, tech to help us scale, and a strong team. With nearly two years of hindsight, I now know that it’s not that we weren’t good, it’s that we weren’t good enough to raise our Series B.
Year in Review
As the door closes on a strange and unpredictable 2020 and the cramped hands of historians get a few moments rest – the world collectively breathes a sigh of relief and is cautiously hopeful. Now, in the quiet of the holiday season, which both eases the strain of the year and magnifies just how different our zoom-infused, socially distanced, sanitized world has become, we reflect.