Chris Farmer, Founder & CEO of SignalFire on reinventing the venture model with a many-to-many platform, powerful datasets and a full-stack team of engineers and data scientists

Seed to Scale

Chris Farmer, Founder and CEO of SignalFire speaks with Eniac Ventures’ Vic Singh on his early background as an investor and how he flipped the traditional venture model on its head with data-driven insights and a founder-centric thesis.

In this episode, Chris discusses, after years of research, what led him to build SignalFire on top of infrastructure that powers the fund and empowers their founders through data, talent and their expansive advisory network. SignalFire aims to offer founders maximum impact by opening doors to the expertise and services they need to move the needle through their many-to-many approach. He also speaks to their unique team, complete with engineers and data scientists, and how they are consistently building products and innovating their services.

Chris also digs into their barbell approach to investing, typically starting with an early stage - their sweet spot - and then being able to come back in with support during later stages, bringing their unique offerings to the table to complement the traditional firms.

Additionally, he talks through how the firm has scaled, what sectors they are currently interested in, their deal sourcing strategy and his advice for founders on finding the right investment partners.

SignalFire’s portfolio includes Uber, Lime, Zume Pizza to name a few. Prior to SignalFire, Chris was a Partner at General Catalyst and Bessemer Venture Partners.

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