The biggest winner of DocuSign’s long-awaited initial public offering isn’t well-known.
The venture capitalist has never appeared on a Midas List, and his firm isn’t one of the venerable investment firms on Sand Hill Road in Silicon Valley.
But 12 years ago, Pete Solvik made a bet on a start-up that lets people securely sign contracts online. So sure of the idea, he kept buying shares over the years for his firms, Sigma Ventures and San Francisco-based Jackson Square Ventures, where he’s a partner. On Thursday, DocuSign went public at $29 a share, and the stock rose 37 per cent in the first day of trading on Friday. Mr Solvik’s funds hold the biggest stake in the company, with a combined 13 per cent now worth $687 million.
His commitment to the San Francisco-based software company outlasted even co-founder Thomas Gonser, who now holds just 1.5 per cent of shares. The pay-off for Mr Solvik and other investors didn’t come fast or easy. Most start-ups go public or get bought in about half the time. DocuSign changed strategies a few times, shifting the sales focus from small to large customers and expanding from real-estate customers to other industries. Results in those new sectors took longer than expected to materialise, said Mr Gonser. “We expected crazy growth. It didn’t happen."
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Another factor that complicated decision making was DocuSign’s unusually large board. The company had entertained acquisition discussions with IBM, Microsoft, Oracle and other potential suitors. But the directors, a dozen in total, frequently disagreed over the years, people familiar with the interactions have said. Mr Gonser and early investors would push for a sale, while later investors advocated for an IPO. This dynamic intensified during the company’s fraught search for a chief executive - a 15-month process completed last year with the hiring of Dan Springer. Mr Solvik, who had known Mr Springer since 2004, led the CEO search.
Mr Solvik, 59, has quietly worked his way around the Valley for decades. He worked at Apple in the early 1980s and Cisco Systems in the 1990s, where he rose to chief information officer. He left Cisco in 2002 to become a VC. He joined Sigma Partners, based in Campbell, California, on the outskirts of San Jose. (Whether the location classifies as Silicon Valley would be a matter of some debate.)
Before DocuSign, Mr Solvik had few deals of note. His most successful investment was in a data company called Topio, which NetApp acquired in 2006 for $160m. To accumulate a 13 per cent DocuSign stake for his funds, Solvik spent $17.5m. He declined to comment, citing legal restrictions ahead of his company’s debut.
DocuSign counts some of the technology industry’s more recognisable names among its backers, but their wins won’t be substantial. Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Alphabet’s GV each invested later in DocuSign’s life and own less than 5 per cent.
Mr Gonser, the last of the three founders to leave, has been reducing his DocuSign holdings for years. He still owns $82m of stock but relinquished an operational role at the company more than two years ago to do venture investing and is now a partner at Seven Peaks Ventures in Oregon. He had been selling shares for years to the company. The most recent transaction was in 2016, when he sold $3.3m in stock at half the current price.
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
HER%20FIRST%20PALESTINIAN
%3Cp%3EAuthor%3A%20Saeed%20Teebi%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EPages%3A%20256%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EPublisher%3A%C2%A0House%20of%20Anansi%20Press%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
TEACHERS' PAY - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Apple product price list
iPad Pro
11" - $799 (64GB)
12.9" - $999 (64GB)
MacBook Air
$1,199
Mac Mini
$799
THE%20SWIMMERS
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Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
Company%20Profile
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Results
United States beat UAE by three wickets
United States beat Scotland by 35 runs
UAE v Scotland – no result
United States beat UAE by 98 runs
Scotland beat United States by four wickets
Fixtures
Sunday, 10am, ICC Academy, Dubai - UAE v Scotland
Admission is free
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,00
On sale: Available for preorder now
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
Fixtures
Wednesday
4.15pm: Japan v Spain (Group A)
5.30pm: UAE v Italy (Group A)
6.45pm: Russia v Mexico (Group B)
8pm: Iran v Egypt (Group B)
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Top Hundred overseas picks
London Spirit: Kieron Pollard, Riley Meredith
Welsh Fire: Adam Zampa, David Miller, Naseem Shah
Manchester Originals: Andre Russell, Wanindu Hasaranga, Sean Abbott
Northern Superchargers: Dwayne Bravo, Wahab Riaz
Oval Invincibles: Sunil Narine, Rilee Rossouw
Trent Rockets: Colin Munro
Birmingham Phoenix: Matthew Wade, Kane Richardson
Southern Brave: Quinton de Kock
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
'I Want You Back'
Director:Jason Orley
Stars:Jenny Slate, Charlie Day
Rating:4/5
Essentials
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct from the UAE to Geneva from Dh2,845 return, including taxes. The flight takes 6 hours.
The package
Clinique La Prairie offers a variety of programmes. A six-night Master Detox costs from 14,900 Swiss francs (Dh57,655), including all food, accommodation and a set schedule of medical consultations and spa treatments.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Company%20Profile
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Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl, 48V hybrid
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 325bhp
Torque: 450Nm
Price: Dh289,000
