Capital+ Connectivity

Our thesis around investing behind core services – everything from pharmacy to pet care products to waste hauling – is foundational to Volition Capital. In today’s day and age, wireless connectivity is among the most vital core services, powering the way we work, go to school, and maintain relationships.

All too often, providers of core services take for granted the fact that consumers view them as literally indispensable. Coupled with the monopolistic dynamics that often take hold in industries like telecom, this can lead to complacency and a sub-par consumer offering. We view this as whitespace to introduce a disruptive offering, and we are actively seeking to partner with entrepreneurs who are innovating around product, price, and experience in the connectivity industry.

Technological tailwinds, ranging from 5G to eSIM, are pushing the limits of what is possible across broader B2B and B2C connectivity. We believe this is a fountainhead moment to innovate in the sector, and we are eager to partner with entrepreneurs who are taking advantage of this seminal moment to build transformative businesses.

At Volition, we are not afraid to be a little contrarian with our investments. In fact, we love finding opportunities to go against the grain. One of our first investments in the connectivity industry was in US Mobile, a leader in the Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) category. At the time of our investment, the MVNO segment was much hated by many capital partners. The industry had a veritable graveyard of failed entrants, including brands backed by large corporations such as Disney and MTV. It seemed almost impossible to imagine that an independent, predominantly bootstrapped challenger brand could find success in a space dominated by the likes of AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile. And yet, this is exactly what US Mobile (and other companies within our connectivity portfolio) has accomplished. Building on strong business fundamentals – highly recurring revenue, elite retention dynamics, robust unit economics, focus on superior service, and a product-led growth strategy – US Mobile has become a true breakout story in a category that many investors refused to even look at on principle.

We believe that VCs and growth equity firms continue to overlook the connectivity industry, encumbered by preconceptions about the category: perceptions of capital intensiveness, insurmountable barriers to entry, entrenched monopolistic incumbent competitors, and more. We see these misconceptions as our opportunity to keep an open mind and find unique investments in a category that we remain incredibly bullish on.

We are always excited to meet teams who are disrupting across all categories of the telecom and broader Internet and connectivity industries. We particularly value businesses with recurring revenue business models that deliver a core service to businesses and/or consumers. Our team is experienced evaluating opportunities across both hardware / connected devices, as well as software and tech-enabled services, serving both consumer and enterprise applications.

Volition has been investing in subscription business models across software and Internet since the firm’s inception. Our deep understanding of subscription dynamics has underpinned our thesis in the connectivity industry, which has continued to evolve as our industry portfolio, which includes US Mobile and ButterflyMX, has grown.