Boris Wertz at the 2013 GeekWire Startup Day
Boris Wertz at the 2013 GeekWire Startup Day

Boris Wertz may not be the best known venture capitalist in the world.

That’s in part because the e-commerce veteran and former COO at AbeBooks is just as likely to be seen on Vancouver, B.C.’s Robson Street, as he is on Sand HIll Road.

Boris Wertz
Boris Wertz

Nonetheless, Wertz is finding success in a venture capital climate that’s often harsh on new entrants. And today the Canadian venture capitalist is showing off some of that support with Version One Ventures, announcing a fresh round of $35 million in funding for the firm’s second fund. .

In addition to hanging out in Vancouver, B.C., Wertz is a frequent visitor to Seattle, participating in events such as last year’s GeekWire Startup Day where he gave a talk: “There’s only two ways to build a $100 million company.” He also holds stakes in some up-and-coming Seattle area startups, including Julep, Front Desk and Outreach.

That makes Seattle the third most active market for Wertz outside of Toronto and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Wertz tells GeekWire that he met with success with the second fund because Version One has focused on specific verticals such as marketplaces and software-as-a-service in underserved geographic venture markets. The new fund will also focus on areas such as healthcare, cryptocurrency and Government 2.0.

In addition to running Version One, Wertz serves as a board partner for Silicon Valley juggernaut Andreessen Horowitz, helping the venture firm discover cool companies outside of the Bay Area echo chamber.

Not a bad part-time gig.

The new $35 million fund received capital from Northleaf Venture Catalyst Fund and BDC Capital, with existing investors also participating.

“Our investment strategy is simple, we’re looking for the best teams who solve big problems in a unique way,” said Wertz in a release. “It’s not necessarily enough to make something better, faster, or cheaper. We want to support entrepreneurs who are disrupting big categories or aiming to create entirely new ones.”

Wertz said that they will likely make 20 to 25 investments from the new fund, ranging in investment size from $500,000 to $1 million.

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