Investing in deep tech applied at scale.
PARTNER
Calibrate VC
CATEGORY
Venture Capital
Gallery
01
Where we started
Calibrate is an LA-based boutique venture firm run by long-term friends and business partners Jason Shottler and Kevin Dunlap. Their focus is on automation technologies that stand to revolutionize large sectors of industry in the next decade. However, their challenge was in describing this focus so that it not only stood up to more audacious, moonshot-style venture opportunities in terms of potential outcome for LPs, but also allowed them to be able to confidently talk about Calibrate’s focus – even if it meant letting go of some of their successful exits that may not fit their future.
02
What we did
The paradox of venture is that VCs want to stand apart from the crowd, and LPs love original and big thinking. But LPs also need investor’s language to snap to certain industry expectations. West therefore decided that the best way to get to heart of their positioning was to spend multiple hours with Jason and Kevin, as well as the founders in their portfolio that best represented the investment opportunity.
While both Jason and Kevin are truly experts in robotics and automation technologies, we needed something bigger. Our insight was that rather than seeing industrial automation as a threat to workers and low-skilled jobs, it actually stands to be the basis of a new industrial revolution – one that would create safe working conditions for many and be a much-needed solve for chronic labor shortages. We took this positioning and crafted a brand platform, identity, and messaging that then became the foundation for their website and other LP and founder communication tools.
03
Where are they now
Today, Calibrate has a new brand that is elevated, clear, and consistent. Most importantly, our work with Calibrate equipped the Partners with tools to bring in front of LPs in order to raise their next fund.
See where you can go with West.
West has over 12 years of experience working with venture-backed startups in nearly every B2C and B2B sector.
We know how to work under resource constraints and adapt to changing conditions.
We focus on strategies that grow enterprise value in the eyes of the market and investors. We bring the rigor of a consulting firm to the creative process.
@2024 West Global