Welcoming our newest partner, Natalie Bruss, to Fifth Wall
At Fifth Wall, we work every day to flip the traditional VC model on its head. One of those approaches is leveraging asymmetric information to accelerate innovation that helps our LPs and entrepreneurs realize their vision far ahead of anyone else in the market. Partnerships are essential to this model — we find and collaborate with companies that solve pain points and create mandates for change.
And that is why I am so thrilled to introduce Fifth Wall’s newest Partner, Natalie Bruss. Fifth Wall is a different type of firm, one built on relationships that create value add that no other venture firm is able to offer — making Natalie a uniquely ideal addition to the team. Anyone who has worked with her and understands Fifth Wall’s unique vantage point knows this is a phenomenal match for our company and our investors.
Natalie is a well-regarded trend forecaster and connector, bringing together innovators and creating new ecosystems across technology, entertainment, media and consumer brands. Natalie comes to Fifth Wall from Los Angeles powerhouse ID, where she built and ran digital partnerships and strategy for consumer and entertainment brands, as well as top tier talent, for nine years — as well as founding her own boutique advisory business working with startups and media companies. She’s been honored as one of The Hollywood Reporter’s 35 under 35, Fast Company’s MCP1000, Variety’s New Leaders, and Forbes 30 Under 30, among many other accolades.
Natalie brings tremendous value to Fifth Wall LPs and portfolio companies by advising how to use partnerships to drive business results. Partnerships are one of the core tenets of Fifth Wall’s approach, and Natalie’s ability to recognize patterns and see around the corner on emerging consumer trends and cultural shifts are unmatched. (In fact, there’s a great anecdote from her Harvard days of a junior thesis predicting the rise of online social networks about three weeks before Facebook’s launch there.) In addition to leading partnerships, she will also oversee Fifth Wall’s marketing and brand strategy (as she has done since before the fund launched) as well as continue to be an integral member of our team as it relates to deal sourcing as well as investing.
Her expertise and futurist instincts in a discipline quite distinct from the Fifth Wall founding team are invaluable as we forge deeper into the consumer lifestyle side of the Built World, where the future of retail, home, workplace, and hospitality collide with immersive entertainment, mobile-optimized experiences and automation. She has brilliantly brought these instincts to bear with clients ranging from Fox and Universal to Facebook & Instagram, Google, Funny or Die and Omaze, and including emerging augmented and virtual reality technology innovators like Felix & Paul Studios and Baobab. Natalie will partner with innovators on both the LP and portfolio C-Suite side of Fifth Wall’s business to drive strategy and find opportunities to create and foster new IP, as well as play brand-propelling “matchmaker” with a wide slate of brands and influencers. And, of course, keep us posted on what is cool.
Welcome, Natalie!
