Key Takeaways
- • Canal Partners, a Scottsdale-based venture capital firm founded in 2008, added two new partners, Chad Horstman and Perry Jacobson, according to a Business Wire release dated October 21, 2020.
- • The firm expanded its investment thesis to include high-growth, anything-as-a-service (XaaS) and subscription-based, recurring revenue companies, moving beyond its historical focus on B-to-B and SaaS technology.
- • Canal Partners is actively seeking investments in Arizona and southern California and said it is already evaluating several early-stage companies in the Phoenix area.
- • Horstman previously founded and led Yandy, an online retailer that exited in 2015 after scaling to $50 million in revenue; Jacobson was a managing partner at Brookstone Partners for more than 15 years.
Summary
Canal Partners, a venture capital firm founded in 2008 and based in Scottsdale, Arizona, has added two experienced investors as partners and broadened its investment mandate, according to a Business Wire announcement. The firm now targets high-growth, anything-as-a-service (XaaS) and subscription-based, recurring revenue companies, a move the firm describes as a way to diversify its portfolio. Canal Partners is actively seeking investments in Arizona and southern California.
The two new partners, Chad Horstman and Perry Jacobson, will help source investments, raise capital and serve as board members for portfolio companies. Horstman is the founder and former CEO of Yandy, an online retail company he launched in his garage in 2006 and scaled to $50 million in revenue before exiting in 2015. He is now the majority owner of three new startups. Jacobson was a managing partner at New York-based private equity firm Brookstone Partners for more than 15 years, where the release says he sourced several major deals that generated 9x returns on invested capital and served on several portfolio company boards. Before Brookstone, Jacobson spent nearly two decades on the NYSE trading floor as a floor governor, specialist and owner.
They will join current partners Todd Belfer and Robert Lunny, who have focused on Software-as-a-Service and B-to-B technology companies. The release cites WebPT, Picmonic, PetDesk, CallRail, Attribytes and Allbound among portfolio companies that have grown year over year and, in several cases, realized exits.
Belfer, managing partner at Canal Partners, said the firm sees opportunities to be capital efficient in the consumer market given current high valuations in SaaS and B-to-B technology. He added that the firm is already evaluating several early-stage companies in Phoenix and surrounding markets. The release does not disclose fund size or deal values.
The two new partners, Chad Horstman and Perry Jacobson, will help source investments, raise capital and serve as board members for portfolio companies. Horstman is the founder and former CEO of Yandy, an online retail company he launched in his garage in 2006 and scaled to $50 million in revenue before exiting in 2015. He is now the majority owner of three new startups. Jacobson was a managing partner at New York-based private equity firm Brookstone Partners for more than 15 years, where the release says he sourced several major deals that generated 9x returns on invested capital and served on several portfolio company boards. Before Brookstone, Jacobson spent nearly two decades on the NYSE trading floor as a floor governor, specialist and owner.
They will join current partners Todd Belfer and Robert Lunny, who have focused on Software-as-a-Service and B-to-B technology companies. The release cites WebPT, Picmonic, PetDesk, CallRail, Attribytes and Allbound among portfolio companies that have grown year over year and, in several cases, realized exits.
Belfer, managing partner at Canal Partners, said the firm sees opportunities to be capital efficient in the consumer market given current high valuations in SaaS and B-to-B technology. He added that the firm is already evaluating several early-stage companies in Phoenix and surrounding markets. The release does not disclose fund size or deal values.
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