Masha Bucher worked in PR and marketing before becoming a VC. That experience shaped how she operates Day One Ventures.
After years of working in the communications field, including a management position that gave him deep insight into how startups operate, Butcher realized he could use his business acumen to evolve into one of the most effective PR people in the industry, if not more.
“I was looking at what was going on in the business, and I could understand the context, so I understood the business, and because I understood the business, my PR pitch would be very business-focused,” Bucher told TechCrunch on today's episode of Equity.
She founded Day One Ventures in 2018 after realizing that she could create more impact and generate greater returns by investing in startups and providing comprehensive PR support. Combining these two capabilities allows her to more meaningfully support her portfolio companies while only championing the stories she truly believes in.
“The structure of PR services is very misaligned,” Butcher said, noting that PR firms working on a contract basis tend to work at a slower pace in order to extend payments to clients. “For startups, it is very important to move quickly.”
In addition to speed, there is also a cost barrier. “Early stage companies shouldn't have to pay $10, $20, or $30 a month for six months to get one announcement on TechCrunch. I don't think that's fair, and I don't think it's sustainable.”
Day One's integrated model allows Bucher to work with startups in the critical early stages when they need the most support. Young startups may change direction or experience founder restructuring, and “need to be trusted to advise and support their decisions.”
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By supporting companies financially, she is able to offer something that many traditional PR firms cannot. It's that she's literally invested in the story.
“I have an ambition to ideally be the first investor in the most important and ambitious ideas and companies of our time,” Butcher said. “I think it starts with understanding the field, understanding the business and having a conviction about the business. And once you have this conviction, which is evidenced by your investment in the company, you have the right to present it to reporters with a much higher degree of integrity.”
A spokesperson with access to everything from investor materials to a startup's data room has a huge advantage in positioning the company and understanding what's at stake. And for Butcher, that makes the work all the more compelling. Promoting a company big enough to pay for it may be good business, but “that doesn't mean it's a good story.”
Like any venture capitalist, Butcher answers to investors. Day One has more than 70 investors, including institutions, individuals, and more than 15 in-house portfolio founders. That means her bets need to be carefully considered. When Butcher chooses a company, she not only asks if they want to see the vision become a reality, but also whether the founders have the ethics and moral compass to maintain their values as the company expands.
She cited Valar Atomics, a startup developing advanced nuclear reactors, as an example. Day One co-led a $130 million round into the startup last month.
“I can't think of a better founder,” she said, referring to Valar CEO Isaiah Taylor, whom she trusts to make “literally life-and-death” decisions.
That moral filter means there are companies she won't support, even if the hype is there. Butcher said he is unfazed by AI startup Cluley's incendiary “cheat-all” marketing strategy. Rather, she is proud to have invested in the most innovative technologies in areas such as reproductive technology (Orchid's embryo selection technology), accessible healthcare (Superpower), and law enforcement software (Abel's AI-optimized reporting tools).
Day One's portfolio includes early investments in companies such as Sam Altman's World, email app Superhuman, and remote work platform Remote.com, and is home to at least 12 unicorn companies with a portfolio value of more than $115 billion. Last year, Day One closed Fund III, which targets early-stage founders “solving humanity's most pressing problems,” for $150 million, and over the past six years has grown assets under management from $11 million to well over $450 million today, Butcher said.
“We want to use communications to help companies solve their business objectives, develop new opportunities and ultimately increase shareholder value,” said Butcher.