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VCs who cast a wider net have double backed to CA, says this ex-Sequoia Capital partner



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Investor Chris Olsen knows the West Coast VC scene. He spent six years with Sequoia Capital in California before co-founding Drive Capital in Columbus, Ohio, in 2013 based on the theory that the “most compelling emerging market is America, just outside of Silicon Valley,” as he told us early last year.
Institutional investors have bought into that pitch. At least, they apparently trust that Olsen and firm cofounder Mark Kvamme — who logged more than twice as many years at Sequoia than Olsen — know what they’re doing. This past summer, Drive’s limited partners committed to invest $1 billion more with Drive, bringing assets at the firm to $2.2 billion.
Still, Drive hoped to sell more of its traditional peers on its vision, and wh …

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