Writing

We occasionally publish our work in an effort to help advance thinking in topics we care about and to learn alongside the people we most want to work with.

March 24, 2026

The Abandoned Middle

There's a version of the startup story that gets told constantly. Founder has idea. Founder raises money. Company grows fast. Company raises more money. Repeat until IPO or acquisition by a tech giant. That story is true for a very small number of companies. Maybe 5-10% of the ones that ever raise venture capital, depending on how generous you're being with your definition of success. The rest? They exist in the abandoned middle.

January 20, 2026

Shaping Insight: Uservoice Brand Evolution

When we set out to refresh Uservoice’s brand and website, the goal of the exercise wasn’t just around visual polish. It was also around stronger alignment. We wanted to bring the brand and its product into sharper focus through direct messaging and more intentional design.

January 14, 2026

The Free Trial Trap: Why More Product Exposure Isn’t Always Better

There’s something undeniably addictive about watching thousands of people sign up for your product each month. But here’s the catch. Handing users the keys and letting them explore freely puts enormous pressure on both the product and the user. In theory, your product speaks for itself (Product-Led Growth!). In practice, most buyers give you just a few minutes to understand value and assess fit before they move on.

December 31, 2025

2025 Shareholder Letter

2025 was a defining year for Curious and our companies. Since our very first day, we’ve been advocating for an alternate approach to operating software companies that differs dramatically from the growth at all costs mindset that’s prevalent in VC-backed companies. In 2025, we put that approach into practice. Curious today consists of five different companies — Convox, Buildfire, Polymer, Avenue and Uservoice. As a group, we’ve crossed $10M in ARR while remaining profitable and growing.

November 5, 2025

Announcing our Acquisition of UserVoice

I've been a fan of UserVoice since 2008. Back then I was leading business development at a company called Seesmic and UserVoice was emerging as the category-defining product feedback platform that it is today. I remember sitting down with the founder Richard White and talking about what an integration could look like at their office in San Francisco, because I believed so strongly in the importance of using real customer feedback to direct product development.Seventeen years later, we're joining them in that mission.

September 16, 2025

A Peek Into What Curious Companies Are Building

We don't just acquire and invest in companies—we roll up our sleeves and transform them alongside their teams. Every acquisition is an opportunity to dig into the details, solve real problems, and build something better than what existed before.This month, we're pulling back the curtain on some recent work with our portfolio companies. These aren't just success stories—they're glimpses into the daily challenges, strategic decisions, and collaborative problem-solving that define what we do at Curious.

August 22, 2025

The Effects of the Venture Power Law

A few weeks ago, I sat down with my good friend Mike Preuss, the founder at Visible, to talk about the waterfall effects of the Power Law in venture capital. You can watch that full conversation here.

July 28, 2025

Introducing Polymer: The Leading Applicant Tracking System for Small Businesses

Things are still rolling over here at Curious. Following our acquisition of Avenue, we’re happy to announce that we’ve acquired Polymer, which we believe is the best hiring platform that exists today. Built by an incredible engineer and designer, Polymer does an wonderful job of blending simplicity with powerful functionality.