Twelve Years Later, DocuSign’s Big Believer Gets His Glory
Pete Solvik made an early bet on the software company, which went public on Thursday.
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The biggest winner of DocuSign Inc.’s long-awaited initial public offering isn’t well-known. The venture capitalist has never appeared on a Midas List, and his firm isn’t one of the venerable investment firms on Sand Hill Road in Silicon Valley.
But 12 years ago, Pete Solvik made a bet on a startup that lets people securely sign contracts online. So sure of the idea, he kept buying shares over the years for his firms, Sigma Ventures and San Francisco-based Jackson Square Ventures, where he’s a partner. On Thursday, DocuSign went public at $29 a share, and the stock rose 37 percent in the first day of trading on Friday. Solvik’s funds hold the biggest stake in the company, with a combined 13 percent now worth $687 million.