On the TechTO stage ×3
The economics of exits with Amar Varma, Co-Founder of Autonomic
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Founder Journey ft. Amar Varma
Watch on YouTube ↗Founder Journey ft. Amar Varma (Part Two)
Watch on YouTube ↗First seen on a TechTO stage in 2019. Every TechTO talk is searchable — ask the archive about Amar ↗
In their words
I was also co-founder of something called Hatch Labs. You've never heard of it except for one project that was in it called Tinder. I think it's the number three source of weddings now, which is pretty exciting.
We started that in October '16. In October '17, Ford announced 100% connectivity of all their vehicles. They called me the next day saying it's on your cloud. Our discussion with procurement changed quite rapidly.
I've never seen anything move at this pace. I've never seen anything have such an impact so quickly. The cycles are getting shorter, the amplitudes are getting higher. You really need to be in touch with what are the waves that are cresting by the people spending tens and hundreds of billions of dollars a year, and make sure you're on that arc.
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Quick answers
What is Amar Varma doing now?
He is co-founder and CEO of Mantle, a Toronto company whose AI-powered software handles cap tables, 409A valuations and equity planning for founders, law firms and limited partners. It was founded in 2022 as Ten Key Labs and launched the Mantle platform in October 2023 alongside a $10.5M USD seed round.
What companies has Amar Varma founded?
Xtreme Labs, a mobile software company he grew to about 350 people and sold to Pivotal in 2013; Extreme Venture Partners, an early-stage Toronto VC firm he sold five years in; Hatch Labs, the incubator where Tinder was built; Autonomic, a connected-vehicle software company Ford acquired in 2018; and Mantle.
Why did Ford buy Autonomic?
Autonomic built vehicle connectivity software and started in October 2016. A year later Ford announced 100% connectivity across its vehicles and called Varma the next day to say it would run on Autonomic's cloud. Ford acquired the company in January 2018, roughly 15 months after it started.