Santa Barbara Venture Partners

Santa Barbara Venture Partners (SBVP) is a growth-stage venture capital firm founded in 2020 and headquartered in Santa Barbara, California. The firm was founded and is led by Managing Partner Dan Engel, a former Venture Partner at OCV Partners and NGEN Partners, two California funds of approximately $261 million and $250 million respectively. Partner Daniel Hedden leads sourcing and due diligence alongside Engel. SBVP targets capital-efficient, recurring-revenue software companies that have already achieved product-market fit and are generating at least $3 million in annual revenue — investing at Series A and Series B stages with checks averaging around $700,000 and a maximum of $2 million. The firm closed Fund II at $25 million in August 2025, backed by approximately 90 mostly individual limited partners, and had deployed roughly $7.1 million of Fund II capital, already marked up to approximately $11.6 million and placing the fund in the top decile by early performance. Across Fund I and Fund II, SBVP has made approximately 20 investments, producing one unicorn and three acquisitions. Notable outcomes include Jackpocket, acquired by DraftKings for $750 million in February 2024, as well as Apeel Sciences and Classy. Recent activity includes Rad AI (October 2024) and first-time investments in Orca AI and Hydrosat. SBVP's differentiation is deep operational expertise in customer acquisition, digital marketing, and revenue engineering. Engel's background leading marketing at multiple high-growth companies translates into hands-on help with the growth levers that matter most to post-product-market-fit software founders. The firm has also used secondaries to return liquidity to limited partners ahead of traditional fund timelines.