Phil Black

Co-Founder at True Ventures · Joined 2005

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Biography

Phil Black is an early stage venture capitalist and co-founding partner at True Ventures, which his bio says brings over two decades of experience in venture capital and entrepreneurial leadership. He learned venture investing at Summit Partners, where he met co-founder Jon Callaghan and served as a general partner for eight years, before running Blacksmith Capital, a small angel fund. He and Callaghan built True Ventures on what the firm describes as a deep belief in the power of curiosity, expansive thinking, and respect for one another. He is an Oklahoma native and a Stanford alumnus, and appears on Automattic's Board Emeritus list.

Education

Previous Experience

Notable Investments

AutomatticHelpshiftNarrativeApply Financialabout.me

Career Timeline

2005
Co-founded True Ventures, whose site describes it as providing early stage capital for founders since 2005.
2012
Wrote the True Ventures post Why We Invested in Helpshift.
2013
Wrote the True Ventures post Capturing the Moment with Narrative announcing True's early stage investment in Narrative.
2014
Wrote that Brad Feld of Foundry Group would be joining him on about.me's Board of Directors.
2025
Listed in Automattic's Board Emeritus section, indicating his board tenure there has ended.

Sources & References

True Ventures - Phil Black ↗True Ventures - Team ↗True Ventures - About ↗Automattic - Board of Directors ↗True Ventures - Why We Invested in Helpshift ↗True Ventures - Capturing the Moment with Narrative ↗True Ventures - Welcoming Apply Financial ↗True Ventures - Congratulating about.me ↗