Dave Richards, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Capria Ventures and Unitus Ventures. Dave is an experienced entrepreneur, operating executive, and an emerging market early-stage startup and fund investor. In 2012, he co-founded Unitus Ventures, now the leading early-stage venture fund investing in startups innovating for the masses in India. In 2015, Dave co-founded Capria to invest in and advance the next generation of local fund managers in emerging markets. Capria is an affiliate of Unitus Group, a premier financial services group operating in South & Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America since 2000.
Dave was an early investor in microfinance and other fast-growing businesses serving low-income populations. Since 2005, he has been involved with the Unitus Group, helping to lead efforts to raise capital and invest in entrepreneurs serving developing markets. Dave led the Unitus Labs incubator for 2 years including the successful research and spinout of two venture firms: Patamar Capital and Capria Ventures. He also led Unitus Investment Management, the general partner of Unitus Equity Fund, a pioneering microfinance venture fund, and was a board member of Unitus Capital, a leading Bangalore-based investment bank.
Previously, Dave developed and led multiple high-growth technology businesses at RealNetworks, Sybase and Symantec from startup to multiple hundred million dollar global enterprises. He is also the co-founder of the Social Venture Partners Fast Pitch, a pioneering program accelerating social innovation in the Seattle area. Dave received his Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of British Columbia.