2022 Year in Review

2022

Year IN REVIEW

THANK YOU

We are grateful for our community of visionary entrepreneurs, co-investors, business partners, and staff for another memorable year. Let’s take a scroll down memory lane to reflect on our journey together.

$1.1B

Total Invested Capital in 2022

96

New and Follow-On Investments
230

Active Portfolio Companies

Notable
Liquidity Events

Congratulations to all the Norwest portfolio companies that announced significant liquidity events in 2022, including:

A World-Class NPS

From day one, we stand side by side with our companies. NPS is one way to measure how well we support them. Today, we’re proud to share that we scored top marks among Norwest CEOs.

Net Promoter Score

Navigating
the Downturn

Economic downturns pass, but the disruptive businesses built during them endure. 2022 was Norwest’s latest opportunity to offer steady guidance to our portfolio and fund the next class of great companies.

01 A Return to Fundamentals

Macroeconomic trends triggered a market correction, bringing a sharp focus back to first principles.

OUT (2021)

Growth at all costs
Sky-high valuation multiples
High burn rates

IN (2022)

Capital-efficient growth
Realistic valuation expectations
Maintaining cash runway

02 Fortune Favors the Bold

Downturns are breeding grounds for disruptors and durable businesses—like those we funded in 2022.

03 The Time to Act Is Now

Business leaders across roles should prepare for the potentially challenging times ahead. Here's some guidance to help executives weather the storm.

Investing in diverse leaders

Investing is our most broad-reaching opportunity for fostering diversity—that’s why we back founders from traditionally underrepresented groups and funds that invest in them. Here are some of the changemakers we’re proud to have partnered with in 2022.

Company & Fund-to-Fund Investments

More to come in 2023!

Our Team Keeps Growing

Meet Our Six New Healthcare Investors

The healthcare team nearly doubled in 2022 with six new members joining our mission to fund innovative teams and research that will have a lasting impact on the industry.

Tiba Aynechi, PhD General Partner

Biotech investor with 20+ years of research and investment experience

Meet Tiba

Zack Scott, MD General Partner

Healthcare investor with 15+ years of experience

Meet Zack

Irem Rami Principal

Healthcare investor with 10+ years of VC/GE experience

Meet Irem

Brian Matesic, MD Principal

Healthcare VC investor focusing on early- and mid-stage biotech companies

Meet Brian

Ehi Akhirome, MD, PhD Investor

Healthcare and biotech investor focusing on venture investments

Meet Ehi

Joe Amato Investor

Growth equity investor focused on healthcare

Meet Joe

Meet Our First CMO

Lisa’s appointment followed six promotions and two advisory team hires on the Portfolio Services team, expanding our capacity to deliver strategic value and meaningful connections to our portfolio companies.

Lisa Ames Principal, CMO & Operating Executive

Get to know Lisa

Awards & Recognition

8 Investor Insights for 2023

Our investors always have their fingers on the pulse of business trends across industries. Here’s what they expect to happen in the next 12 months.

Sonya Brown

General Partner

Problem-solution oriented brands will continue to grow through a recession. If consumers are proactively looking for you, that will translate to lower advertising costs.

Dave Zilberman

General Partner

There will be continued investment in the democratization of software development. A growing number of budding software developers who don't have the deep expertise to build full-stack applications will need development tools.

Priti Youssef Choksi

Partner

As hiring slows and workers have to operate with fewer resources, companies will look to automation tools that drive efficiency and effectiveness to help employees offload tasks and focus on more meaningful work.

Stew Campbell

Partner

Consumer investment in the home will persist and even accelerate in 2023. COVID and changing demographics of home ownership have thrust home services and home improvement into the forefront for the consumer, and now with a more difficult real estate environment, consumer investment will stay home.

Sean Jacobsohn

Partner

2023 will be a great year to start a company, especially companies that can replace legacy solutions, automate key business processes, or help companies generate revenue—those mission-critical needs don’t slow during an economic downturn.

Ed Yip

Partner

As the economy falls deeper into a recession and inflation stays stubbornly high, consumers will be open to more side hustles and gig jobs. Look for a resurgence in collaborative consumption habits driving a renaissance of sharing economy companies akin to 2008-2012.

Rama Sekhar

Partner

Cloud cost management will take off in 2023. Cloud and SaaS costs skyrocketed last year as companies operated in a growth-at-all-costs mode. With tougher economic times ahead, startups that help manage these costs will rise to the top.

Scott Beechuk

Partner

Automation will play a huge role in the customer service space in 2023. As contact centers face rising costs, unpredictable call volumes, and labor shortages, the need for self-serve and human-assisted automation will only grow.