Garrett Camp

Background

Garrett Camp is a Canadian-born entrepreneur and investor, born and raised in Calgary, Alberta, Canada ¹². He graduated from the University of Calgary with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering in 2001, then earned a master’s degree in software engineering with a focus on collaborative systems, evolutionary algorithms, and information retrieval ¹².

In 2002, while still in graduate school, Camp co-founded StumbleUpon, a content discovery platform ¹². The company relocated to San Francisco in 2006 after receiving funding from Silicon Valley angel investors. In 2007, eBay acquired StumbleUpon for $75 million, though Camp bought the company back in 2009 ¹². StumbleUpon later evolved into Mix, a content discovery platform ³.

In 2009, Camp conceived and designed the first version of what became Uber, co-founding the company (originally called UberCab) with Travis Kalanick ¹². Kalanick became CEO while Camp joined the board of directors, serving as chairman for several years ¹. Uber has since grown to serve over 120 million users globally ³.

In 2013, Camp founded Expa, a startup studio designed for entrepreneurs to create and launch new companies ³⁴. Expa has raised $350 million in total across multiple funds — initially $50 million, then $100 million in 2016, and a $200 million fund in 2022 (with more than half being Camp’s own capital) ⁴⁵. The studio has created more than 20 companies and invested in over 100 startups since its founding ⁶.

Camp was named to MIT Technology Review’s TR35 list of Top Innovators Under 35 in 2007 and Bloomberg Businessweek’s Best Young Entrepreneurs in 2008 ¹. He is a member of The Giving Pledge ³.

Stated Thesis

Expa describes itself as a place “Where Ideas Expand Into Ventures,” positioning itself as a startup studio that supports “category-defining companies” built “by builders for builders” ⁶.

Camp’s stated focus is on B2B infrastructure companies rather than consumer-facing apps, emphasizing building “picks and shovels” that other startups depend on ⁴. The studio provides founders with hands-on support in product design, branding, engineering, operations, and recruiting during the first two years of company building ⁵.

Camp has stated his belief that “the whole theory of startups is that three motivated people can go and do something that every company can’t” ⁷. He also emphasizes frugality: “You have to be ready for hard work and frugal spending to get the idea off the ground” ⁷.

Inferred Thesis

Based on 30 verified investments from Expa’s portfolio (a subset of 100+ total investments; this represents approximately 30% of the portfolio), the following patterns emerge:

Sector breakdown: - Fintech/payments: 7 of 30 (23%) — Current, Collective, Eco, Charlie, Range, Loop, Nibble Health - Logistics/transportation: 5 of 30 (17%) — Convoy, Aero, BlueCargo, Wingcopter, Beacon - Healthcare/biotech: 4 of 30 (13%) — Forward, 3D Bio, IMU Biosciences, Ochre Bio - Developer tools/data: 4 of 30 (13%) — Metabase, Radar, Cascade, Twelve Labs - Cybersecurity: 4 of 30 (13%) — Cmd, Atro, Truffle Security, trackd - Other (real estate, creator tools, consumer): 6 of 30 (20%)

Stage distribution: Predominantly pre-seed and seed. Expa operates as a studio, meaning many companies are incubated internally before receiving external funding.

Geographic focus: San Francisco Bay Area-centric, with Expa headquartered in San Francisco.

Investment model: Unlike traditional VCs, Expa is a startup studio — it co-creates companies rather than just writing checks. The team of 21 provides operational support, board seats, and hands-on building assistance ⁴. Check sizes range from $100K to $10M with a sweet spot around $1M ⁸.

Notable pattern: Camp’s portfolio tilts heavily toward B2B infrastructure and logistics — companies that provide backend services to other businesses. This is consistent with his stated thesis about “picks and shovels.” Consumer-facing companies are a minority.

Unicorn rate: 2 unicorns out of 69 investments (3%) — Fabric ($1.4B valuation) and Current ⁴. Convoy also achieved unicorn status at a $1B valuation before its later challenges ⁴.

Portfolio

Note: Many founding years are approximate (marked ~), derived from the company’s earliest known activity. Expa incubates companies internally before external funding, making precise investment dates difficult to verify. This table represents approximately 20% of Expa’s 100+ portfolio companies.

In Their Own Words

Camp has stated his core entrepreneurial belief: “The whole theory of startups is that three motivated people can go and do something that every company can’t” ⁷.

On the challenges of building: “You have to be ready for hard work and frugal spending to get the idea off the ground” ⁷.

On learning from failure: “Every time I make a mistake with a company, I write it out and try to figure out why it happened” ⁷.

On organizational dynamics: “The bigger a company gets, the more people are involved in decisions, the slower decisions get made” ⁷.

What Founders Say

No independently sourced founder testimonials found. Expa’s website features portfolio company descriptions but no direct founder quotes about their experience working with Camp or the studio.

Sources