We’ve been investing in talented people with great ideas before we even knew what venture was. It started back in 1998 — something important was happening in Silicon Valley and we were inspired to be a part of it. In the beginning, we were just bringing people together, connecting with leaders in tech, and giving founders a platform to pitch. That passion for building people turned into more than a decade of angel investing and some early big wins, like Zappos. In 2010, we decided it was time to create our own fund. Base was born.
Since then, we’ve grown and evolved, invested alongside leading venture capitalists, including NEA, Bain Capital, Google Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, and Sequoia, and built a dynamic portfolio punctuated by big exits, like PlanGrid, Cognea, and OLLY. We’ve developed a network of incredible leaders, like Tony Hsieh, Chris and Crystal Sacca, Mitch and Freada Kapor, and Google Ventures. And we’ve done it all while moving differently, taking smart chances, committing early, and being a champion for non-traditional thinkers.
Erik Moore is the founder and managing director of Base Venture Partners, an early stage tech fund. Prior to Base Ventures, Erik spent 15 years in investment banking at Merrill Lynch and 10 years as a successful angel investor. He made early investments in Zappos (sold for 1.2B to Amazon in 2009) and Plangrid (sold to Autodesk for $875mm in 2018) among others.
In the 11 years since its inception, Base Ventures has raised three funds and invested in more than 100 startups, including three unicorns ($5.2B, $4B and $1B), and six companies worth $500MM+. Notable investors include: Tony Hsieh (Zappos CEO), Prakash Janakiraman (Founder of Nextdoor), Harper Reed (former CTO of the Obama campaign), Eric Ryan (Co Founder of Method Home, Olly Vitamins, Welly, Cast Jewelry and Will Perform), Google Ventures (GV), Partners at Welsh Carson, Greenspring and Berkshire Partners, and Serena Williams.
Featured in publications such as the WSJ and USA Today, Erik is regularly referred to as one of the most prominent African Americans in technology. In 2013, Business Insider named him one of the ten most influential blacks in Silicon Valley, along with David Drummond (Chief Legal Officer at Google) and John Thompson (Chairman of Microsoft). In 2016, the Silicon Valley Black Chamber of Commerce awarded Erik with their Next Generation of Excellence Achievement Award. In 2017, he was the recipient of the Entrepreneur of the Year Award from The Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce and he was named a Ford Man of Courage.
Erik is a sought out board member for arts, business, and social change including being on the board of the Common Ground Foundation (which empowers youth from high potential communities), founded by Grammy, Oscar and Emmy award winning artist, Common. He is a former board member of Russell Simmons' Art For Life (which exposed disadvantaged youth to the arts). He currently serves on the board of the Oakland Museum of California and serves on the advisory board of the Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD), a Smithsonian Affiliate. Erik serves on the board of The Black Ambition Prize, founded by Pharrell Williams. Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf recruited Erik to the City of Oakland’s Fund Advisory Board, and finally, he was named to the Alumni Advisory Council at his undergraduate alma mater, Dartmouth College. Erik earned his MA in French from the University of Pennsylvania, and his MBA from The Wharton School of Business. Through all his work, his most important role is father to Blair, who is a freshman at Spelman College and whose accolades and accomplishments put Erik’s to shame.
Prior to partnering to found Base Ventures, Kirby served as Vice President at a boutique private equity firm focused on project finance and alternative energy investments. Over the course of his career, Kirby built a reputation for his keen investment analysis. His knack for simplifying complex ideas and filtering information to surface the most critical signals about a business’s potential for success made him a sought-after advisor for investors of all kinds. He applies learnings from a long career in private equity investing to inform his work with startup companies, especially as it relates to business model development.
Kirby is a Kauffman Fellow, a selective fellowship program for high-performing venture capitalists. His time as a Fellow served to solidify the convictions that form the investment thesis for Base Ventures, where he focuses on portfolio management and operations.
Kirby received his MBA in finance from California State University Hayward and studied finance at Middlesex University in the UK. He received his B.A from Morehouse College.
Ryan loves identifying consumer trends and solving problems. Ryan works with the team to source and help diligence investments and supports with operations. Prior to working at Base Ventures, Ryan founded a travel technology startup. Ryan came on board in late 2019 after a year building in the Kapor Center Innovation Lab. Prior to that Ryan graduated with a degree in Computer Science from Colgate University, where he was a varsity athlete in Basketball.
