Chris Sacca | Crystal Sacca | Clay Dumas
Chris Sacca
Chris is the co-founder of Lowercarbon Capital and an accomplished venture investor, company advisor, and entrepreneur, managing a portfolio of countless technology and consumer startups through Lowercase Capital. Chris and his wife Crystal Sacca grew Lowercase — primarily known for its investments in early stage technology companies like Twitter, Uber, Instagram, Twilio, Stripe, and Kickstarter — into one of the most successful funds ever.
In early 2017, Chris announced that he and Crystal were stepping back from day-to-day investing to focus exclusively on their ongoing efforts to rescue our democracy, heal the planet, promote diversity within venture capital and technology, and reform our criminal justice system.
Chris began angel investing in 2006 and over the following decade Lowercase’s portfolio grew from a handful of early stage startups to include some of the most iconic brands in tech. The performance of the fund made Chris one of youngest members of the Forbes “Midas List” in 2011 and vaulted him to the #2 spot before his retirement in 2017.
Before setting out as an investor, Chris served as Head of Special Initiatives at Google, Inc. For his groundbreaking work In that role, Chris was among the first Google employees ever given the Founders’ Award, Google’s highest internal honor.
Earlier in his career, Chris was an attorney at the Silicon Valley firm of Fenwick & West, where he handled venture capital, mergers & acquisitions, and licensing transactions for technology giants. He then served in various executive roles at one of the world’s largest streaming and digital media companies, Speedera Networks (acquired by Akamai Technologies).
Alongside his professional pursuits, Chris was deeply involved in Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. He worked as an advisor, field office volunteer, Co-Chair of National Finance, and a Trustee of the Presidential Inaugural Committee. During the reelection campaign in 2012, he continued his work as a National Finance Committee member, a host of the President’s technology roundtable series, and as Co-Chair of Tech for Obama. Since the events of November 2016, Chris counts himself as a proud and active member of the #resistance and dedicates countless dollars and hours in the hope of helping this country through some dark days.
When he’s not on the road, Chris lives with Crystal and their three gutsy girls in the mountains and near the ocean. He is an avid alpine and nordic skier, kitesurfer, recovering Ironman triathlete, average-proficiency crossword puzzler, and he has bicycled coast-to-coast across the United States of America.
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Crystal English Sacca
Crystal is the co-founder of Lowercarbon Capital, and a partner at Lowercase Capital where she co-led early investments in Uber and Blue Bottle, among others.
When selecting and advising portfolio companies she often relies upon her prior career as a globally renowned advertising creative helping outfits like Audi, Intel, Barclays, HBO, Sprint, and even Napster speak to a worldwide audience with thought-provoking wit. Her time in advertising was hallmarked by a Cannes Lion, Two Gold Cannes Cyberlions, some One Show Pencils, and a pile of ADCs, D&DADs, Kellys, Andys, Effies, Webbys, and ADDYs.
You might also know Crystal as the New York Times Bestselling co-author of “The Essential Scratch & Sniff Guide to Becoming a Wine Expert” and “The Essential Scratch & Sniff Guide to Becoming a Whiskey Know-It-All.”
When not investing in startups, Crystal can be found using her talents as a designer, artist, and storyteller to advance progressive and philanthropic causes, including the fight for access to clean water, solutions to the climate crisis, an end to mass incarceration, and the rights of women and girls. This includes serving on the Board of Trustees for the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum and as a founding member of Design Vanguard. On top of all this, she is a trained Muay Thai fighter, certified yoga instructor, winemaker, artist, and mom to three daughters under seven splitting her time living in a blue state and a red state.
You can read more about Crystal and her work outside of Lowercarbon Capital at crystalenglishsacca.com.
Clay Dumas
Clay is a partner at Lowercarbon Capital where he invests in startups and research organizations developing technology to reduce emissions, suck carbon out of the air, and cool the planet. He is also a partner at Lowercase Capital. Previously, Clay served as an Executive in Residence at the Pramana Collective, a strategic advisory firm in San Francisco. Before that, he was the Chief of Staff for the White House Office of Digital Strategy, a team tasked by President Obama with connecting people with purpose. In 2017, he was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list. At the start of President Obama’s second term, he served as an aide in the Chief of Staff’s office. Before joining the White House, Clay worked on President Obama’s 2008 and 2012 campaigns. He graduated from Harvard in 2011.