Introducing Praxis

A lead seed investor for manufacturing and industry

Apr 21, 2022

Praxis (from Ancient Greek: πρᾶξις) is the process by which a theory, lesson, or skill is enacted, embodied, or realized.

Greetings!

I’m a seed investor and founder, based in San Francisco.

I’m originally from small-town Minnesota. I’m always down for shore lunch.

Most days, I walk and speak with founders in San Francisco’s Outer Richmond neighborhood.

I am presently the Chairman of Parallel Fluidics, a Board Member of Prodport, and the Founding Investor and Chairman of Thurgood Industries (in stealth).

How Praxis was born

From 2003 - 2020, I invested growth equity at venture capital and private equity firms in Boston and San Francisco. I invested in software and software-powered companies in the U.S. and Europe.

In 2008, I fell in love with manufacturing, especially the orchestration of physical and digital systems. That year, I became an early investor in Proto Labs, the industry pioneer in digital manufacturing (NYSE: PRLB).

Proto Labs is an excellent business that proved well-orchestrated software applied to manufacturing generates both 1) high returns on invested capital through strong profitability and 2) venture capital returns through accelerated revenue growth.

In 2014, I left the board of Proto Labs after joining Vector and moving to San Francisco. I held my Proto Labs shares until May 2020 (nearly 12 years) to compound.

In 2014, seed investing - both direct and as an LP - became my primary personal investing strategy.

In 2015, I personally co-invested in Xometry’s Series A. My experience with Proto Labs helped me clearly see its potential. I am a proud shareholder and advisor to the CEO with a long-term thesis (NASDAQ: XMTR).

I’m also an entrepreneur. I co-founded Put Me In! in 2020 with Robyn Glaser.

Put Me In! is a software-powered nonprofit that increases access to sports for children of incarcerated parents through recurring annual financial aid grants, distributed through a mobile app. We’re a fast-growing startup executing with a clear investment thesis and a great team.

In 2021/early 2022, while building Put Me In!, I personally invested in five start-ups building in manufacturing and industry. Here’s what I learned.

American manufacturing and industry represent the single largest market opportunity for greenfield software investing in the next 20+ years.
Manufacturing and industry need software that builds, not software that disrupts.
The quality, depth, and quantity of founders and entrepreneurs building software companies in manufacturing and industry is rapidly increasing.
- Previously, these ambitious engineers pursued stable, comfortable, long-term careers in conglomerates, OEMs, or consulting.
Founders building in manufacturing and industry need lead seed investors who think like owners.

In September 2021, I began prototyping a new investment firm for very early-stage manufacturing and industry startups with family offices in the U.S. and Europe.

Praxis was born.