Some founders are cut from a different cloth — those you know you want to back within the first thirty minutes and with whom you aspire to partner over the next decade. They are opinionated about problems: they are the ones with a unique perspective, often solving them in novel ways or identifying issues others have overlooked. They’ve figured out something important and unknown, something hard to do but doable.

Their obsession isn’t with solutions, which they understand are never final. They continuously refine their approach to product, striving for new upgrades that are more effective, efficient and elegant. This is the essence of being a Product Founder.

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Our Journey with Madeline and John

In July 2019, I had the fortune of meeting Madeline and John when they visited our office in Shoreditch, pitching their obsession: solving the problem of unsold inventory by re-inventing e-commerce.

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The company name was originally Peach, quickly changed to Purple Dot.

The proposition also changed during their first year of iteration.

But the product founder mindset never changed and never will.

We partnered with Madeline and John leading their pre-seed and joined the board. We continued to invest in the seed round led by our friends at Unusual. We’ve been amazed by their relentless execution, one brand at a time, one building block of their new e-commerce stack at a time. Brands love Purple Dot. Consumers love Purple Dot.

Today, I’m thrilled to announce our continued partnership with them through their new Series A funding round led by OpenOcean.

The best has yet to come.