A Young Investor Beat Other Investors to Back Four People in a Dentist's Office
That startup became Confluent, which went public and agreed to be bought by IBM.
Scaling-Europe · Matt Miller: Founding Partner of Evantic Capital in his FIRST interview since leaving Sequoia!The startup was working out of the back of a dentist's office. Four people, in investor Matt Miller's words, "were just getting the business launched" with "packs of water stacked up all around them."
Miller was then a young investor. He said he was "a huge fan of Jay Kreps and what he was building," and he wanted to invest in Kreps's company.
That company became Confluent, a data software business, and the bet became the investment Miller calls the proudest of his career. Confluent grew into a public company, and IBM had announced it will acquire the company in a deal that was working through approval processes when Miller spoke.
Miller said a thesis he had published on microservices, a way of building software in smaller and independent pieces, and on the technology change around it gave him "a tiny bit of a leg to stand on to go be competitive." Kreps chose him, in Miller's words, over "a lot more other qualified investors from other great firms" to lead the Series C, a later funding round to help a startup scale, and to join the board. It was Miller's first board seat.
Miller stayed with the company through its initial public offering. He was on the journey with Kreps, the team, and co-investors including Eric Vishria and Mike Volpi. Being part of it, Miller said, was "one of the greatest gifts in my life."
Kreps began surrounded by water bottles in that back room. He is now on the board of Anthropic, and Miller calls him, in his words, "this luminary with all these great connectivity and access." Kreps is also now one of Miller's legends, Miller's term for key figures in his career, part of a Confluent cohort that includes board members and team members.
Questions people ask
What does Confluent actually do?
Confluent is built around Apache Kafka, an open-source system for moving large streams of data in real time. Companies use it so information from websites, apps, payments, and sensors can flow continuously to where it is needed. Confluent sells managed software and services that make that system easier to run at scale.
Why was leading a Series C and getting a board seat such a big deal for a young investor?
A Series C is typically a sizable funding round for a startup that already has customers and needs capital to grow faster. Leading the round means setting the terms and writing a large check, and it usually comes with a board seat. For a young investor, it brings influence, responsibility, and visibility, and a successful IPO afterward can establish a career.
Did IBM complete its acquisition of Confluent?
When Miller spoke, IBM had announced plans to acquire Confluent and the deal was working through approval processes. Large acquisitions of public tech companies often take months to close while regulators and shareholders review them. The announcement itself showed how far Confluent had come from its four-person start.