I LOVE working with founders who are unapologetically bold and willing to do the really hard things to solve problems that others shy away from. Jeremy Smith, CEO of Civitech, is an embodiment of this. Civitech is a company that uses very sophisticated data tools to create a fairer and more equitable democracy by increasing civic participation, particularly around voter registration. As you can imagine this was a monster year for them and I’m so proud of everything Jeremy, Stephanie Fisher, and their teams accomplished this year. Outside of great startup metrics, they also engaged with over 10 million new voters who had never voted before. But solving problems in fragmented, overlooked markets takes a different approach than building a traditional software company. Here are some key things I’ve learned working alongside Civitech for the past few years: • Having a CEO who is a respected thought leader in the sector and also has a unique approach to solving a well-understood problem is key. • Hiring a team who understands that problem AND knows how to build a scalable tech company is vital. This is especially important if you plan to raise venture capital dollars. No matter how big the problem you’re solving is, at some point in your company journey your metrics have to be able to justify a VC investing in you versus another “safer” market bet. • Having the right group of advisors and board members can be super valuable. Civitech has brought in serial entrepreneur Dan Graham; one of the smartest people I’ve met on voter registration Tamer Mokhtar; entrepreneur, ex-Google and professional board director Kurt Abrahamson; and most recently, Aileen Allen, a former Atlassian operator who helped develop their go to market strategies over multiple iterations of the company. (Huge shoutout to our lender Zack Ellison, CFA, CAIA who has helped us with capital formation strategy throughout this entire year.)
Civitech
3mo
That's a great team right there! Thank you for the support!
Zack Ellison
3mo
Thanks for the shoutout, Samantha Lewis! It’s been a pleasure partnering with Civitech through Applied Real Intelligence LLC ("A.R.I.") and collaborating with you and the other board members to provide the team with the capital and strategic insights needed to fuel their incredible growth. I’m excited to see the impact that Civitech will continue to make in driving civic participation and innovation!
Love this!
Todd Green
3mo
Sounds like they've earned your vote! Great to see so many talented people rallying around such a thoughtful concept and team.
VC at Mercury | Kauffman Fellow | Software, Digital Assets and Fintech
3moIf you’re interested in working as a sales leader for this high-growth impact-oriented company, check out Civitech’s new job description: https://jobs.lever.co/civitech/0399ae96-7845-46d9-bdc1-e3d500ea0a0f