Grape Arbor VC

Grape Arbor VC is a New York-based angel investor group founded in 2006, comprised of friends who work professionally in technology and the startup ecosystem and pool their personal finances to make angel investments. The group is co-founded and operated by Raymond P. Thek, who serves as Co-founder and COO. Since inception, Grape Arbor has invested in more than 125 startups with over 30 exits, and has also committed capital as a limited partner in more than 60 venture capital and growth equity fund families. The group invests predominantly in the US, Europe, and Africa at the pre-seed and seed stages. Grape Arbor targets early-stage companies with a clear strategy for attacking a large and rapidly growing addressable market and a strong management team, typically with limited but growing revenue in the range of several hundred thousand to several million dollars trailing 12 months. Investment sectors include advertising and marketing, social networking and Web 2.0, financial services (both tech-enabled and traditional), and software and web-enhanced services. Notable portfolio companies include Flatiron Health (healthcare data and oncology, acquired by Roche for $1.9 billion), AppNexus (ad technology platform, acquired by AT&T), BlaBlaCar (European ride-sharing, a unicorn), StayTuned (business and productivity software), SkyFront, and Care+Wear (healthcare apparel). Grape Arbor has co-invested alongside First Round Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, Carlyle, Insight Venture Partners, Institutional Venture Partners, Khosla Ventures, Venrock, and Kodiak Venture Partners, among others. The group operates as both a direct investor and an active LP across the broader venture ecosystem, reflecting its founders' conviction that the best returns come from proximity to the best managers and founders.