SAN MATEO, Calif., Feb. 10, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Sierra Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm investing in core enterprise and next-gen technologies, announced the promotion of Vignesh Ravikumar to Partner and Brendon Schmidt to VP - Business Development.
In Vignesh's expanded new role, he will invest in and support portfolio companies in three areas: Enterprise Apps, Vertical Apps, and Digital Health. In addition, he will continue to build out the firm's theses in new verticals like climate tech. Brendon's new role will expand his responsibilities to lead Sierra's outbound deal sourcing team, while continuing to lead the firm's CXO Advisory Board and Portfolio Company Go-To-Market Support Operations.
Vignesh Ravikumar joined Sierra in 2013 and has been a key member of the Investment Team. During his time at Sierra, Vignesh has sourced unicorn investments including Reify Health and Phenom People. Vignesh also led the investment in Lemonaid Health, which was recently acquired for $400M by 23andMe. He currently serves on the boards of Decoded Health, Hammoq, and a stealth stage company. Vignesh holds a BS in Management Science (cum laude) and a Minor in Math from UC San Diego.
"Vignesh has been an integral member of the investment team since he joined Sierra 8 years ago," said Ben Yu, Managing Partner at Sierra Ventures. "As Vignesh has grown from Analyst to Partner, he has demonstrated exceptional ability in sourcing, analyzing new opportunities, and becoming a valued partner for portfolio founders and CEOs. He has invested broadly in vertical SaaS and started our initiatives in digital health with great success."
Brendon Schmidt has been a Sierra team member since 2017. While his primary focus has been managing the expansion of the Sierra Ventures CXO Advisory Board and leading and running the firm's last five Annual CXO Summits, Brendon has also sourced promising deals including Quillbot (acquired by CourseHero), Paro, Balto, and VISO Trust. Prior to Sierra, Brendon spent 4 years at Gartner, supporting CIOs in the healthcare industry and investors in the Venture Capital & Private Equity sectors. Brendon holds a MS in Entrepreneurship from the University of Florida.
"Over the past 5 years, we have been impressed with Brendon's ability to impact the firm in many ways," said Mark Fernandes, Managing Partner at Sierra Ventures. "From leading our CXO Advisory Board and supporting Sierra's Entrepreneurs to sourcing deals for the Investment Team, he has been an integral member of the firm."
About Sierra Ventures
Sierra Ventures is a Silicon Valley-based early-stage venture firm investing globally with a focus on Core Enterprise and Next-Gen Technologies. With over three decades of experience and over $2 billion of assets under management, Sierra has created a vast network of successful entrepreneurs, Global 1000 CXOs, operational executives, and deep domain experts, providing a platform for entrepreneurs around the world. Learn more at sierraventures.com and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter for updates.
Contact
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