Amy Saper
General Partner
Uncork Capital
Amy Saper is a general partner at Uncork Capital backing seed-stage B2B startups building AI-enabled applications and infrastructure for engineering, product, and design teams.
Bio
Professional summary
Jeff Clavier is the founding partner of Uncork Capital. He started the firm, then called SoftTech VC, in 2004 with a focus on helping seed-stage founders during the first 18 months of company building. His profile emphasizes long-term founder support and earliest-stage investing. It lists more than 280 startup investments by the firm, including Fitbit, SendGrid, Postmates, Mint, Eventbrite, and Poshmark, and current support for companies such as DroneDeploy, Front, Shippo, ClassDojo, Phil, and Carrot Fertility. Before venture, Jeff was an early employee and later CTO at fintech startup Effix, which was acquired by Reuters; he later joined Reuters’ corporate venture fund in Silicon Valley. He was educated in France and holds degrees in computer science and distributed computing from Université Paris V René Descartes.
Investment focus
Stage, sector, and overall fit
Stage
SeedEarliest stages
Sector
Frontier tech / hardwareConsumer and marketplacesB2B applications
Thesis
Seed-stage founders, often first meaningful checkFounders with clear product vision, market understanding, and resilience
Notable companies
Selected portfolio companies the partner has backed
FitbitSendGridPostmatesMintEventbritePoshmarkDroneDeployFrontShippoClassDojoLoft OrbitalCarrot Fertility
How to approach
Framing and angles for outreach
Pitch framing
Frame the company as an exceptional seed-stage opportunity with a clear market insight, resilient team, and potential to become category-defining.
Personalization hooks
- 1Reference Uncork’s history as SoftTech VC and its first-check seed orientation.
- 2If relevant, connect to frontier tech / hardware via Loft Orbital or Inertia.
Recent signals
What the partner has said or done recently
Latest article listed on his Uncork profile is about Uncork’s investment in Inertia.
Background
Career, education, and skills
Career history
- Uncork Capital (SoftTech VC)Founding Partner2004 - Present
- RVC (Reuters Venture Capital)General Partner, Silicon Valley2000 - 2004
- ReutersProduct Development & LeadershipPost-Effix acquisition
- EffixEarly Employee → CTO (acq. Reuters)1990s
Education
- Université Paris V René DescartesMS, Computer Science / Distributed Computing
Skills
Seed investingFrontier techConsumer & marketplacesForbes Midas ListNVCA board
Languages
French
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