Living Our Values
Why Jake Saper is Now a General Partner and Lotti Siniscalco is Now a Principal
We are proud to announce that Jake Saper has become the sixth General Partner of Emergence Capital and that Carlotta “Lotti” Siniscalco has been promoted to Principal.
At Emergence, we’ve always promoted investment professionals from within our firm. This allows us to teach the "Emergence Way” of practicing venture capital as folks come up the curve. Rather than bringing in more senior investors, we prefer to hire people earlier in their careers who we feel are a great match for how we work and who have the potential to grow into world-class investors, helping us and our founders win big in the long run.
A big part of that match revolves around shared values. Going back to our earliest interactions with Jake and Lotti, we had a strong sense that our values were closely aligned with theirs. Both of them believe in the power of focus: that doing just a few things exceptionally well pays dividends. They prioritize being dedicated partners to others: bringing empathy and true commitment to every relationship they maintain. And they take a long-term perspective on their work and on life: knowing that it often takes patience to create things that are truly exquisite. Having now worked with Jake for six years and with Lotti for two, we see them living these values every day. In fact, Jake and Lotti are helping all of us at Emergence live our values more fully than ever.
Jake is a tireless advocate for finding ways we can be the “most important partner” to the entrepreneurs we work with and to each other at Emergence.
Jake is a tireless advocate for finding ways we can be the “most important partner” to the entrepreneurs we work with and to each other at Emergence. Whether there’s great news to celebrate, or a tough problem to crack, Jake is the first board member founders call. This isn’t just because he’s responsive or that he’s a great thought partner. It’s also because founders know that he truly cares about them as human beings. Similarly, within Emergence, Jake is always there for each of us, both providing support when work needs to be done or lending a caring ear. He’s helping all of us gain greater appreciation for how important it is to be vulnerable with one another and, as a result, we’ve become more closely connected within the firm.
Rick Nucci, Co-Founder and CEO of Guru, truly values his relationship with Jake, “Since he joined Guru’s board over 3 years ago, I have personally seen Jake live the values that Emergence has built their firm around. I have never hesitated to share news with him, good or bad, because he works as a partner to myself and Guru in figuring it out. We talk every week, and I always look forward to our conversations. Whether it's critical talent we need to add to Guru, challenges around product or to-to-market, or advice on SaaS best practices, he brings a valuable lens to those conversations. He always thinks with a long view, focused on what is the best path to set Guru up to be an enduring company. I couldn’t be happier having his support and partnership!”
Lotti brings incredible long-term perspective to the work she does. When it comes to helping us evaluate new investments at Emergence, she enables us to imagine what a company could blossom into even when risks abound.
Lotti brings incredible long-term perspective to the work she does. When it comes to helping us evaluate new investments at Emergence, she enables us to imagine what a company could blossom into even when risks abound. Lotti starts by building conviction herself. She does this by truly listening to founders, understanding their vision, and then assessing what might happen once that vision becomes reality. Likewise, Lotti has brought a long view to a wide range of important efforts inside our firm. From leading efforts to build a stronger firm culture, to helping us enhance our due diligence process, to being an advocate for Emergence becoming more involved with community service initiatives, Lotti has helped us raise our sights in terms of what we can be as a firm.
Nick Sorensen, CEO of Whistic, where Lotti is a board member echoed these thoughts. "Lotti was my first conversation at Emergence and I'm so pleased to say that she's now a valued member of the Whistic Board of Directors. Lotti has been so helpful on a number of different levels, including customer introductions, deep dives into analysis projects, and team-building. She's the type of person that you feel truly values doing what is best for the company. I love working with Lotti and know she's making a difference for Whistic.”
We’re grateful to have Jake and Lotti as part of the Emergence family. Congratulations to you both for your well-deserved promotions!
The Partners of Emergence
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