Anna Barber is Everywhere!
Anna Barber has been a founder, operator and long-time investor and now she’s joining Everywhere Ventures as a General Partner to help us expand our mission and reach.
Welcome to Founders Everywhere where today, we have a special profile on our new partner, Anna Barber!
Why are you excited to join forces with Jenny and Scott at Everywhere?
Jenny and Scott have built something rare and valuable - a global early-stage platform with some key advantages, including one of the strongest operator networks out there and an exciting portfolio of deeply technical companies. The timing was right for them to grow the partnership, and it’s an unmissable opportunity for me: joining something that’s already fundamentally working, alongside people I’ve known for a decade and trust deeply. And where I’m adding a distinctive perspective - my five years as a lead investor in a more institutional setting.
That was at M13 - tell us more about M13 and your time there.
M13 is an early stage venture firm that’s grown quickly to be a real force in the market with strong leadership and I’ve had an incredible five years working with founders Carter and Courtney Reum and all my partners there. We’ve built a portfolio I’m proud of and I am going to be continuing on with M13 as a board partner. M13 and Everywhere have a longstanding relationship and that’s going to continue.
What originally inspired you to make the leap from founder to investor?
When I exited my last startup in 2016, I knew I wanted my next chapter to be working with other founders - helping other people build great companies and scale themselves as leaders. I got the opportunity to launch Techstars LA that year. It’s been a great ten-year journey so far. Investing offers the right combination I was looking for: real stakes, aligned incentives, and deep connections with people.
What is the next stage of venture going to look like?
Venture is at an inflection point - AI has made it easier for companies to launch and easier to get traction. So venture timelines are accelerating and so is competition. To succeed in this new environment you need a few things: access, insight and speed to conviction. I think Everywhere is perfectly positioned to succeed in this environment. On a personal level, I have a high risk tolerance and thrive in the excitement of building something myself while I support early builders. There’s nothing better than building something great with the right partners.
What’s your North Star or guiding thesis?
When I look across my portfolio, the most successful companies have four things in common: strong founder fundamentals, founder-market fit, market tailwinds and timing. In terms of verticals, I’ve always been interested in complexity as a moat, and highly verticalized solutions in boring, technical or overlooked industries. Some of my investments that reflect my thesis well are MavenAGI, Norm AI, Avantos, Source, Max Retail and Replenysh.
As an investor, how do you win in today’s competitive venture landscape?
It’s essential to do your homework and show your value from the first minute. I don’t drop into a founder meeting uninformed. I want to bring something to each interaction that helps build a shared understanding of the market and the company’s position in it. And I’m a listener. Listening skills are core to creating that shared understanding and are highly underrated. Finally, other founders I work with tell the story better than I can - when I’m looking to win in a competitive deal, my current portfolio CEOs making calls is the best thing in my toolkit!
What advice do you most often give founders—and strive for yourself?
A few quotes that summarize the core principles I go back to again and again:
“Listening is really different from waiting for your turn to talk.”
“Get the small things right, and the big things will take care of themselves.”
“Strong opinions, loosely held.” You need to have a clear point of view AND you need to be willing to change that point of view in the face of new information.
“If it’s not HELL YES, it’s a no.”
“I’m here to get it right, not to be right.”
Favorite book/podcast/newsletter?
I’m an Acquired junkie. I love the deep storytelling, and the hosts’ enthusiasm and curiosity is contagious. I’m also a big listener of the Moth - there’s nothing better than a well-told story. Businesswise, I read Tomasz Tunguz and Rex Woodbury and find their newsletters insightful. And my friend Robyn Ward has a great weekly newsletter on leadership.
Fun Facts:
I once slept in an igloo for 30 days.
I co-founded the US Air Guitar Championships.
I met my last co-founder on a cross-country flight.
Listen to Anna Barber, with Jenny Fielding and Scott Hartley on the Venture Everywhere podcast: Anna is Everywhere! Now on Apple & Spotify. Check out to all our past episodes here!
