Dan Reed founded American Family Ventures as managing director a decade ago and has retained his position as leader as it has grown in size and expanded to take on additional investors.
The firm was formally launched as US-based insurance provider American Family’s strategic investment arm in 2013. It took on external limited partners for its most recent funds and now counts insurers with some $35bn in annual premiums among its backers, while maintaining its focus on bringing the ‘insurance carrier perspective’ to startups.
Reed was a strategy director at American Family and oversaw its first venture investments in 2010, having previously been a strategy consultant with Boston Consulting Group. Go back further and you will see a career that began with sharpening a competitive edge in professional baseball as a minor league pitcher.
Reed was a strategy director at American Family and oversaw its first venture investments in 2010
American Family Ventures has expanded over the years to become a 22-strong team and Reed has been joined by three more managing directors – Kyle Beatty in 2018, Katelyn Johnson in 2020 and Brittany Clements last year – who have brought expertise in areas including fintech, ecommerce, data analytics, enterprise software and property technology.
The firm accordingly invests across a range of areas. Some of its most prominent historic exits have been through home and consumer- focused offerings such as Ring, Life360 and, last August, Vesper, but its biggest deals over the past year have been in more core areas: SME-focused health insurance provider Sana and bundled insurance unicorn Branch.
Reed has a BA from Stanford University and an MBA in strategic management from University of Chicago.