Skip to main content

Investing in technology to
advance the industry.

About Us

Derive Ventures is an early-stage venture fund investing in the next generation of hospitality, experiences and real estate. Our mission is to bridge the gap between technology and travel by supporting entrepreneurs shaping the future.

Hospitality /images/content/home/tiles/about/Experiences1.jpeg?07433808543238107
Experiences
Real Estate

01

for investors

Returns are our number one product and our differentiated strategy generates asymmetric returns.

02

for entrepreneurs

We provide connections to the decision makers across the travel industry to drive sales and partnerships

03

for partners

We derive insights and best practices from all industries, categories, and verticals to advance our industry.

Portfolio

Our mission is to bridge the gap between technology and travel by supporting entrepreneurs shaping the future.

margin
mew

Our Leaders

Tyler Carrico
Managing Partner & Co-Founder

Tyler Carrico co-founded Derive Ventures in 2021 and currently serves as a Managing Partner. Prior to Derive, Tyler spent 4 years as an investment professional at Thayer Ventures. At Thayer Ventures, he was the first and only hire during his tenure responsible for investment execution, diligence, sourcing, portfolio support, fund management, and LP advisory. He was directly involved with the deployment of $50 million over 12 portfolio companies and oversaw follow-ons and management of over 40 companies. Prior to Thayer Ventures, Tyler was an investment banking professional in BoA Merril Lynch's Tech, Media and Telecom group. He graduated from the University of Virginia and holds a Bachelor of Science from the McIntire School of Commerce.

Mike Scott
Managing partner & Co-Founder

Mike Scott co-founded Derive Ventures in 2021 and currently serves as a Managing Partner. Prior to co-founding Derive, Mike spent over 3 years as a private equity investment professional at KSL Capital Partners. At KSL, he had over $4bn of transaction experience covering U.S. hospitality, timeshare, all-inclusive resorts, travel distribution, gaming and alternative accommodations. Prior to KSL, Mike was an investment banking professional in J.P. Morgan's Real Estate, Gaming and Lodging group. Mike currently serves as an advisor to Paradero - an experiential hospitality brand, operator and owner in Mexico. He graduated from the University of Michigan and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the Stephen M. Ross School of Business.

Jeff has spent the bulk of his career in executive roles within the transportation and distribution space. Based in Dallas, Jeff spent 14 years with American Airlines, managed the legal separation of Sabre, Inc. from AA and left to become EVP and Chief Financial Officer of the stand-alone company in 2000. Over his 11 years at Sabre, both as Chief Financial Officer and as EVP Corporate Development, Jeff managed the Sabre initial public offering, completed over 25 acquisitions and divestitures of over $8 billion in value, served on the Board of Travelocity, managed the globalization of the Sabre organization, and completed sale of the company to a group of private equity firms, thereby taking Sabre, Inc. private. Jeff serveds on the Boards of Rent-A-Center, a $2.8 billion public rent-to-own retail space company and of Getty Images.

Prior to becoming the chairman of Derive Ventures, Jeff was a General Partner at Thayer Ventures since 2012.  Thayer Ventures invests in travel and hospitality focused start-up tech companies, including hotels, restaurants, travel, cruise and gaming.

Jeff is a graduate of Dartmouth College and has an MBA from the Northwestern’s Kellogg Business School. He serveds as Chair of Parents Advisory Committee of Carleton College and as an ex-officio member of the Board of Trustees. He is Treasurer and Board member of Fort Worden Hospitality, a conference and events center for music, arts, nature, community, weddings, food and drink in Port Townsend, Washington.

Noah Fosse joined Derive Ventures in 2022. Prior to joining Derive, Noah worked at Eastdil Secured as an investment banker on the M&A/Corporate Advisory group. At Eastdil Secured, he worked on various transactions including the $3.6B sale of BlueRock Residential to Blackstone. Prior to Eastdil Secured, Noah earned his masters in real estate finance and sustainable development from the University of Michigan. Noah also earned his bachelors degree from the University of Michigan and was a member of the Stephen M. Ross Real Estate fund and the men’s varsity lacrosse team.

Michael has spent 10 years in travel technology and hospitality startups and is currently the founder of Storied Collection, a luxury accommodation soft brand for historic castles, estates, and chateaux hotels. Previously, he was director of business development at Rented.com (exit) and NoiseAware. He is a two time Phocuswright 35 under 35 leader and a host of Good Morning Hospitality, a top 5 Hospitality podcast globally.

Michael is a graduate from Auburn University.

senior advisors

Brian De Lowe is currently President and Co-Founder of Proper Hospitality, which operates and brands high-end lifestyle hospitality experiences under its Proper, Avalon, and Hotel June brands. He is also President and Co-Founder of Kor Real Estate Partners, a fully-integrated real estate investment, development and management firm that is well regarded for its use of creative design and distinctive branding to bring enhanced value to its investments in hotels, multifamily, and other lifestyle real estate assets. As President at Proper Hospitality, Brian De Lowe is responsible for overall corporate strategy and the conceptualization and development of the Proper and Hotel June brands. He also oversees all operational divisions and leads the sourcing and execution of new business and strategic partnerships. At Kor, Brian leads corporate strategy and the sourcing and execution of all real estate acquisitions & partnerships, having successfully closed over $1 billion of lifestyle real estate projects since re-launching Kor in 2012.

Brian is a graduate of University of Southern California Marshall School of Business. He is also a member of YPO Santa Barbara Chapter.

Rob is currently the Co-Founder and Executive Vice Chairman of the José Andrés Group (f/k/a Think Food Group), an innovative management company that has grown over decades into a global leader in food hospitality. The José Andrés Group is responsible more than 30 restaurants in DC, New York, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, Orlando and the Bahamas. Rob was twice named the Restaurateur of the Year by the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington and received the Richard Melman Award for Innovation by Restaurant Hospitality. Rob also Co-Founded with José Andrés and serves as the Chairman to World Central Kitchen, a not-for-profit non-governmental organization devoted to providing meals in the wake of natural disasters. In 2015, Rob founded FoodTech Angels to fund and support innovative early-stage companies that leverage technology to change the world of food. Rob has also been an advisor and mentor to several early-stage tech and food companies at Halcyon Incubator, TechStars, FTW Ventures and Yale Entrepreneurial Institute.

Rob is a graduate of Yale University and has an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business. He is also a member of YPO/WPO and served as the Chapter Chair of the US Capital Chapter. He serves as Trustee & Finance Chair at Shakespeare Theater Company and Director of Duane Wilder Foundation.

Rick Hoffman is a tenured hospitality executive after serving a 22-year career at Marriott. In March 2022, he retired from his position as Global Officer Business Development. From 2004 through 2021, Rick held the title of Executive Vice President – Mergers, Acquisitions & Business Development, where he was responsible for leading and supervising the Company’s mergers and acquisition strategy and execution, and developing new business opportunities for the Company. He led the Marriott team in successfully negotiating and closing the Company’s acquisition of Starwood Hotels & Resorts in 2016, the largest M&A transaction in the hospitality industry at over $13 billion. Rick had a lead role in the Company’s acquisitions of Delta Hotels & Resorts (Canada), Protea Hotels (Sub-Saharan Africa), Gaylord Hotels (United States) and AC Hotels (Spain and Italy). Rick also negotiated the Edition brand partnership with Ian Schrager, the Moxy Hotel brand agreement with Inter IKEA, and led the Marriott team in creating the Autograph Collection concept.

In addition to his M&A work, Rick was Marriott’s lead representative on the business side in start-up technology investments and innovative partnerships. He led the Marriott team in creating an industry consortium on hospitality procurement that became Avendra and participated in the sale of Avendra to Aramark in 2019 for $1.2 billion. Following the Starwood merger, Rick led the Marriott team in negotiating new co-brand credit card agreements with J.P. Morgan Chase and American Express. He has supervised the Company’s investment in more than a dozen technology-related companies and funds, including fund investments with leading hospitality industry participants Thayer Ventures, Fifth Wall and Valor Siren funds. Most recently, Rick lead and industry consortium (with Hilton, IHG and Accor) in taking a majority investment in Groups 360, and technology-based solution for efficient booking of group business in the hotel industry and then served on the Company’s board.

Prior to joining Marriott, Rick was an attorney for 19 years with the Washington, D.C., law-firm of Williams & Connolly. His practice included complex commercial litigation and media related matters for print, motion picture and television clients. He served as Marriott’s lead counsel in several litigation matters prior to joining the Company.

Rick graduated from the University of Michigan Law School (Magna Cum Laude) and received his undergraduate degree from Washington University (St. Louis) (Suma Cum Laude). Rick currently sits on the mid-Atlantic regional board for the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and previously served on Executive Committee as Chairman of the Finance Committee University of Maryland Medical System.

Krissy is a visionary, influential hospitality leader and active participant in the REIT industry for 25+ years. Krissy retired from her role as COO of Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE: APLE) in 2020 to focus on corporate board work, impactful philanthropic leadership and venture investing and advising. She is an experienced public company board member, serving on the Apple Hospitality REIT (APLE) and Spirit Realty Capital (SRC) Boards of Directors. She was previously recognized as one of the most influential women in lodging by Hotel Management and Lodging magazines. She served ten years as the President of the Courtyard Franchise Advisory Council and was also a founding member of the Hilton and Marriott Distribution Advisory Councils. She continues to provide thought leadership as a member of the Consumer Innovation Forum, the Forward Women's Initiative and the Hospitality Investment Roundtable.

She currently serves on the boards of the YMCA of Greater Richmond (Chair), UVA Foundation, McIntire School of Commerce Foundation, Startup Virginia and NextUp. Ms. Gathright holds a Bachelor of Science degree, Graduate with Distinction, in Accounting from the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia.

Peter is a lifelong hospitality veteran and started his career at Marriott in the world of finance supporting the company’s M&A efforts. Peter gained a deep understanding of the luxury industry and international operations during his time as the CFO of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company.  Later, his knowledge and wealth of expertise enabled him to successfully lead the Marriott/Starwood integration as Managing Director. Most recently, Peter was the CEO of Design Hotels, a highly curated portfolio of independent, design-driven hotels that function as social hubs and spaces for purposeful experiences.  Under his leadership the company launched Further, a laboratory for collaborative culture, and won a Skift Innovation award for its original Virtual Retreats. Through these experiences Peter saw an opportunity to help forward-thinking entrepreneurs capture emerging trends by leveraging his background and expertise.  Consequently, he formed the Eclectic Companies, an advisory firm offering a wide variety of strategic services, across industries, all rooted in hospitality.

Peter is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin and holds an MBA from the University of Maryland.  He is an avid swimmer and cyclist, and loves to travel and explore new places. He also enjoys a strong espresso, a good glass of wine or a neat pour of bourbon while listening to an eclectic collection of music.

Rob is seasoned executive and advisor in marketplace and tech-enabled services businesses. He’s deeply familiar with vacation rental and home services markets from his roles as CFO of Evolve (the largest vacation rental property management platform in North America with >30,000 homes) and in several leadership positions at HomeAdvisor. Both companies grew multi-fold during his tenure to hundreds of millions in revenue. He’s also been an advisor, investor, and board member to several startups and CEO of one (Sustainable Beverage Technologies - a beertech company!), so appreciates the challenges companies face from pre-revenue through to larger scale.

Currently, Rob is CFO of OpenLoop, a marketplace/software/services hybrid in the rapidly growing and evolving digital healthcare space. Before jumping into industry, Rob spent his early career at global management consulting firm, L.E.K. Consulting, and a large mid-market private equity firm (Audax).

Rob is a graduate of Harvard University and has his MBA from Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. As a Boston native, Rob is still basking in the glow of the Patriots' Tom Brady years and the Red Sox breaking the curse in 2004. He now lives in Denver with his wife and two daughters. They love to travel as a family and have stayed in Airbnbs all over the world while Airbnbing out their own home.

Ellen is an accomplished executive, board member, and start-up advisor with a proven track record in leading companies of all sizes. Ellen has served on over 10 private and public company boards primarily in the travel technology and hospitality industries (including CWT, Extended Stay America, PROS, Farelogix, Travel & Transport, and Routehappy). Currently, she chairs the Human Resources & Compensation committee for CWT, a leading Business-to-Business travel management platform, and also serves on the Technology Committee. Ellen is the chair of the Audit Committee for Sojern, a direct demand engine for travel. In 2022, Ellen was named to the PhocusWright Hall of Fame in 2022, joining a group of 8 leaders who have helped transform the travel technology industry.

Ellen’s unwavering dedication to philanthropic endeavors underscores her holistic approach to making a positive impact within and beyond the business realm. Ellen is a lifetime member of the Advisory Council of the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin. She served for eight years on the board North Texas Public Broadcasting, chairing the finance committee and serving on the Executive Committee. She served on the board of Trustees of Preston Hollow Presbyterian School for 6 years, including as Vice President. She was on the board of the National Business Travel Association Foundation for three years and served for two years as its chair and has served several terms on the Business Travel News Advisory Board. She has also served as a mentor at Menttium, an organization dedicated to improving professional performance of high potential female executives.

Press

  • 2024
  • 2023
  • 2022
Cents Announces $40M Series B Funding to Support SMBs in the Garment Care Industry
Cents, the largest leading all-in-one business management platform powering the way garment care SMBs grow, manage, and understand their businesses, today announced the close of its $40M Series B funding round. The round was led by Camber Creek with participation from previous investors Bessemer Venture Partners and Tiger Global. Additional strategic investors in this round include Tech Pioneer Fund, RXR (RADV), Derive Ventures, Alumni Ventures, as well as executives at best-in-class SaaS companies like Toast, Jobber, Squarespace, and Stripe.

Link to announcement

Bilt Rewards Secures $150 Million in Additional Funding Led by Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Growth
Derive is excited to support Bilt Rewards, the nation's largest loyalty program for the home and neighborhood, on its latest round of funding. Bilt has changed the game on rent payments by allowing tenants the ability to pay rent with a credit card fee-free and earn rewards. They have also added numerous partnerships across real estate, restaurants, consumer categories to drive network value and community driven loyalty.

Link to announcement

Derive and Thayer Ranked as the Top Investors in Travel Tech by Phocuswire
The combined Derive Ventures and Thayer Ventures platform ranked as PhocusWire top investors in travel tech for 2024! Through Thayer's investment in Derive, we have become the most active investors in travel tech. Together we are stronger and with more resources to capitalize on the opportunities in our sector.

Link to article

Directo Launches From Stealth to Make Booking Lodging Direct Easier
Directo helps travelers find the best deals by booking vacation rental and hotel lodging direct on the properties' website with the help of a Chrome browser extension. The Chrome extension works on a variety of top travel sites, like Airbnb, Booking.com, VRBO, Expedia and Abritel, with more being added in the future. It identifies the properties where you can book directly with a yellow-and-black “D” icon.

Link to announcement

Derive Ventures featured in Commercial Observer
Derive Ventures discusses the opportunities of hospitality technology across real estate categories in the Commercial Observer article "Hospitality Proptech: It’s Always Peak Season Now"

Link to article

Canary Technologies Raises $50M to Accelerate AI Guest Technology in Hospitality
Canary Technologies, the global leader in hotel guest management technology, announced today that it has closed a $50 million Series C funding round. The round was led by global software investor Insight Partners, who also led the company's Series B, with participation from F-Prime Capital, Thayer Ventures, Y-Combinator, Derive Ventures and Commerce Ventures.

Link to announcement

Derive Ventures Closes Fund I with $42 million of total AUM
Derive Ventures, the most active investor in early-stage travel and hospitality technology, announces the close of its first fund with total committed capital of $42 million. This amount includes $21 million committed to Fund I and $21 million of direct investment capital. Investors in Derive's first fund include Lincoln Property Company, Thayer Ventures, partners at KSL Capital and other strategic investors and high net worth individuals from the travel industry.
Executive Interview with Derive Partner Mike Scott
At the Phocuswright Conference 2023, Mike Scott was joined by Mia Morisset, a principal at Inovia, both sharing insights on how 2024 might play out for travel startups.

Link to video

Derive Ventures Phocuswire Exclusive
After meeting at a Phocuswright conference, Tyler Carrico and Mike Scott formed Derive Ventures, a spin-out of Thayer Ventures and KSL Capital Partners, in 2021. PhocusWire speaks to Scott about the opportunities, what the fund is looking for and the current investment landscape.

Read More

Derive Thought-Piece
Consolidating the $50 Billion U.S. Short-term Rental Market
Over 72 percent of all hotels in the United States are affiliated with large brands like Marriott, Hilton, IHG, and Hyatt. In contrast, the largest operator in the short-term rental (STR) market, Vacasa, manages less than 1 percent of the total market. With around $53.5 billion in gross booking value, or about 25 percent of the entire U.S. lodging industry, the STR market presents an enticing consolidation opportunity.

Read More

Topkey Notches $5.2m in Seed Funding Round
After initially starting out as a marketplace to connect owners and property managers, Topkey pivoted its model in mid-2021 to become a financial operation system. The platform is currently in a beta phase, offering everything from billings and payments to expense management with an aim to simplify the process for property managers when it comes to paying for goods and services and making the overall workflow less fragmented in terms of payments, banking, business intelligence and invoicing.

Read More

Operto Guest Technologies Raises US$25 Million in Series-B Financing
Proceeds from the round will be used to further fuel Operto’s aggressive expansion in the global short-term rental and hotel markets, where it already works exclusively with Accor Hotels to power its global digital key program. This includes luxury hotel brands such Fairmont and Raffles, where Operto’s revolutionary contactless digital solutions can be leveraged to remove common friction points in the guest journey, while lowering operating costs and driving new sources of revenue for the hotel.

Read More

Derive Thought-Piece
Incentivizing Innovation in the Hotel and Lodging Industry: How the Standard Hotel Management Agreement Inhibits Tech Adoption
In 2011, Marc Andreesen wrote that “software is eating the world.”1 That same year, Gartner estimated global enterprise software spending was $269 billion.2 For 2023, Gartner estimates global enterprise spending will be $790 billion.3 The 3x growth since then and the accompanying rise of unicorns4 have confirmed that software has indeed eaten the world.

Read More

Nestment raises $3.5M to help friends and family buy homes together
For many segments of the population, home ownership is as elusive as ever. A recent report by the National Association of Realtors found that 26% of homebuyers are first-time buyers, and of this group, an overwhelming majority — 88% — are white.

Read More

Vend Park Shows Significant Market Traction in Unlocking The True Value of Parking for Real Estate Owners
Today, the company announced the close of its Series Seed funding round, raising a total of $3.8 million. Additionally, the company announced the signing of several new customers, partnerships with top parking operators, and immediate availability of new product features. Led by Floating Point Advisors, and with investments from Crossbeam Venture Partners, APA Venture Partners, and Alumni Ventures, among others, the financing will be used to further develop Vend's product offerings and continue expanding the team with key hires in marketing, customer success, operations, and engineering.

Read More

MarginEdge Secures $45 Million in Series C Funding to Empower Restaurateurs with Actionable Data and Insights
MarginEdge, the leading restaurant management and bill payment platform, today announced it has raised a $45 million Series C investment led by Ten Coves Capital with participation from Fiserv, Derive Ventures, and all previous institutional investors. This funding, which more than doubles funding to date to over $70 million, not only validates MarginEdge's significant growth to date and market-leading solution, but also highlights the market's continued excitement for restaurant technology.

Read More

Chef-Led Startup meez Raises $11.5M to Place Recipes at The Heart of Hospitality
Today, meez, the first-of-its-kind digital professional recipe tool, has closed an $11.5M Series A funding round led by Craft Ventures with participation from Struck Capital, FJ Labs, AME Cloud Ventures, Moving Capital, Max Mullen, Lenny Rachitsky, Mike Montero, Bobby Lo, Austin Rief, Louis Beryl, James Beshara, and Allison Pickens and the Todd & Rahul Fund. This latest investment follows a $6.5M Seed round in January 2022, bringing the company's total funding to $18M.

Read More

Way Takes Brand Activations in a New Direction, Leading Companies into the Experience Economy, while Closing Series A at $100 million valuation
Way, the centralized software platform that helps businesses unlock the power of brand activations, today announces its expansive global launch as part of its commitment to reimagining how consumers and brands connect. This commitment is fueled by the company's $20 million Series A round led by Tiger Global, with participation from a broad range of hotel executives and ownership groups, including MSD Capital, and several new hires across Way's leadership team.

Read More

Runwise Raises $19M in Series A funding Led by Fifth Wall
Runwise, a leading building control company, today announced that it has raised $19 million in Series A funding, led by Fifth Wall with participation from several large real estate owners including Rudin Management, SOJA Ventures (The Swig Family / Halstead / Brown Harris Stevens), and The Strykers of Friedman Management and MCJ Collective, Derive Ventures, Helium-3, Silence VC, The Cannon Project as well as Waterman Ventures. Existing investors include Initialized Capital, Notation Capital, Susa Ventures and NextView Ventures. This round brings the total equity funding to $24 million.

Read More

LATAM's newest PropTech company Naya Homes raises $5M seed round to empower property owners to maximize the profitability of their real estate through short-term rentals
Naya Homes, LATAM's newest PropTech company specializing in vacation and short-term rental management, has raised a $5-million seed round that will fuel its growth throughout Mexico. With its core focus on creating value for real estate investors and homeowners, the company leverages its robust technology stack to help owners maximize the profitability of their properties, minimize their operational stress and provide them with greater visibility into real-time financial performance.

Read More

Travel Tech Firm Skipper Raises $5 Million to Help Indie Hotels
Skipper, a hospitality tech startup that offers direct booking tools for hotels, came out of stealth on Friday with a $5.8 million seed round.

Read More

CLIMATE TECHNOLOGY COMPANY SENSIBLE WEATHER SECURES $12M SERIES A
Sensible Weather, a climate risk technology company, today announced its $12M Series A funding round, bringing its total financing to over $20M. The round was led by San Francisco-based Infinity Ventures with participation from Certares Ventures, Derive Ventures, and existing investors Wonder Ventures and Group1001.

Read More