Defy.vc

Defy is a venture firm that works from Woodside, the horse-country town in the hills above Palo Alto and Menlo Park. It began with a clear niche: the early Series A, the round after seed money runs out but before growth investors arrive. Its founders came from two of the best known firms in the business. Its portfolio mixes enterprise software and health tech with consumer brands built by celebrities.

This page is a neutral profile for founders and readers who follow the local venture scene. It is based on the firm's own website and on dated press releases and legal announcements, with sources named where figures appear. For background on how venture funds work, start with our venture capital guide.

Founding and founders

Neil Sequeira and Trae Vassallo launched the firm publicly on November 16, 2017, under the name Defy Partners. The launch release said the firm was founded in 2016 and called it an equal partnership, with both founders serving as co-founders and managing directors. The firm now uses the name Defy.vc and styles itself in lowercase as "defy."

Both founders came from large, older firms. Sequeira had been a managing director at General Catalyst, where the release said he was an early investor in The Honest Company, Vitrue and Elemental. Vassallo had been a general partner at Kleiner Perkins, where she was an early investor in Nest, Dropcam and Opower. Our Kleiner Perkins profile covers the firm she left.

The team has changed since then. The current team page lists Neil Sequeira along with Medha Agarwal, Amy Yin, Adam Park, Noah Lin and Vik Singh, plus CFO Purvi Shah and Phebe Chen Tran. Agarwal joined as a general partner in November 2023, as fintech press reported at the time. Vassallo is not listed on the current page.

Based in Woodside

Defy's contact page says simply: "We are located in Woodside, CA." The firm does not publish a street address, so we do not either. Its 2017 launch release carried a Woodside dateline. Its 2019 fund release described Woodside as its headquarters.

Woodside is an unusual place for a venture firm. It is a small, semi-rural town of horse trails, redwoods and large estates, reached from Palo Alto by Interstate 280 or Sand Hill Road. Defy is not alone there; Benchmark also lists a Woodside Road address. Our guide to Woodside and Atherton covers the town. Because the firm lists no public office, confirm any meeting place in advance.

Stage and focus

The launch release described Defy as "exclusively focused on early Series A." It argued that many traditional firms had moved toward later deals, leaving a gap between seed money and growth capital. The 2019 release added numbers: Defy said it leads rounds with $3 million to $10 million in initial financing and reserves significant money for follow-on rounds.

Today the homepage says Defy backs "exceptional early-stage entrepreneurs" and values authenticity over hype. Its companies page can be filtered by sector and industry:

• Sectors: AI, consumer, crypto and blockchain, deep tech, enterprise and SaaS.
• Industries: business productivity, direct to consumer, data and commerce infrastructure, education tech, fintech, healthcare, IT, logistics, marketplaces, media and gaming, vertical software.
• Regions: Northern and Southern California, the Northeast, the Pacific Northwest and the Southeast.

Founders and sages

Defy leans on a network it calls "sages," which it describes as serial founders, investors and CEOs who share their experience with portfolio companies. The team page lists Bryan Goldberg, Brian Lee, Steve Miller, Sujal Patel, Christa Quarles and Ben Wolin. The 2019 release said Brian Lee and Sujal Patel were among the first sages.

The firm's founders page shows the range of people it backs. It features Derek Jeter and Brian Lee of Arena Club, chef Giada De Laurentiis of Giadzy, Padmasree Warrior of Fable and Sujal Patel of Nautilus Biotechnology, along with founders from logistics, defense, health care and fintech.

Notable investments

Defy's companies page marks public listings and acquisitions. The table below uses only those markings and the firm's own news feed.

Airspace Technologies, Honorlock and Securly were among the Fund I companies named in 2019. The companies page also lists several startups that were later bought by larger firms. In those entries the buyer's name appears next to the startup Defy backed, so read them carefully: a well known name in the list is sometimes the acquirer, not the company Defy funded. As with any portfolio, the list highlights outcomes and says nothing about returns.

Funds and size

1. Fund I, 2017. $151 million, up from a $125 million target, per the launch release.
2. Fund II, April 2019. $262 million, bringing assets under management to $413 million, per the firm's release.
3. Fund III, February 2023. $300 million, per an announcement from the law firm Cooley.

We did not find a later fund announcement. These are reported sizes, not performance figures. This page makes no claims about returns.

How founders reach Defy

The contact page lists a general email address and nothing else. That is the channel the firm offers. Defy's news feed also features interviews with its partners about what stands out to investors, which is useful background. Use the firm inbox or a warm introduction rather than partners' personal accounts.

1. Read the companies page to see whether Defy already backs a competitor.
2. Explain your traction for an early round: customers, revenue and why the round is the right size.
3. If you know a Defy founder or sage, ask for an introduction with context.

Our guides to pitching investors and seed funds cover the stages around an early Series A.

Defy in the local ecosystem

Defy is part of a long tradition of venture investors who work from the hills rather than from an office park. Woodside sits at the western end of Sand Hill Road, so the town is a short drive from the famous corridor and from Stanford. Its founders' careers also connect it to the older firms on that road. For founders, the main practical point is distance: a meeting in Woodside usually means a car, since public transit up the hill is very limited. Our page on car rentals helps visitors plan.

Frequently asked questions