Behind every breakout tech company, there’s usually a venture firm that saw the potential before the crowd did. For Movable Ink now a billion-dollar marketing technology unicorn that firm was Contour Venture Partners. Long before the $55 million Series D and the $1.3 billion valuation, Contour was writing the very first check. That’s the story worth telling. The contour venture partners movable ink investor relationship isn’t just a footnote in a funding announcement it’s a textbook case of early-stage conviction done right.
This article breaks down who Contour Venture Partners is, what Movable Ink does, how that investor relationship unfolded, and what founders can learn from the whole story.
Who Is Contour Venture Partners?
A New York-Focused VC With a Sharp Eye for Early-Stage Tech
Contour Venture Partners, founded in 2005, is a New York City based seed stage venture capital firm. That’s not a minor detail being NYC-based and seed-focused shapes everything about how Contour operates. While much of the venture capital world gravitates toward Silicon Valley’s later-stage mega-rounds, Contour plants flags early. Very early. They get in when a company is still figuring out its product-market fit and its founders are still sleeping on pull-out couches. Contourventures
The firm is still led by its two founding partners, Matt Gorin and Bob Greene, and has raised more than $370 million since its founding across four flagship funds and three opportunity funds. Nearly two decades of consistent investing in the same city with the same focus that kind of discipline is rarer than it sounds in venture capital. Yahoo!
Prior to launching Contour, Bob Greene was one of the three managing partners of Flatiron Partners a leading New York venture capital firm focused on the information technology sector that backed over 50 companies with over $500 million of venture capital. Matt Gorin, meanwhile, was previously part of the launch team at Promontory Interfinancial Network and before that worked at Red Hat. Two deeply experienced operators — not just financiers — running a firm that punches well above its weight class. ContourventuresTech:NYC
Contour Venture Partners’ Investment Philosophy
Contour doesn’t chase trends. They don’t pile into whatever sector is hot this quarter. Instead, Matt Gorin is passionate about helping to build early stage companies in the Financial Services, Enterprise SaaS and B2B SaaS sectors. That focus is deliberate. B2B SaaS companies tend to have predictable recurring revenue, sticky customer relationships, and clear ROI for buyers all qualities that make for durable businesses. Tech:NYC
What really sets Contour apart, though, is how they show up after the check clears. Vivek Sharma, CEO and co-founder of Movable Ink, described Contour as having “played an integral role as board member, sounding board and advisor in helping guide the company to the point where we now have 700 major brands as happy and growing customers.” That’s not a standard investor testimonial. That’s a founder giving credit where it genuinely belongs. Contourventures
Another portfolio CEO put it even more directly: “Contour was our first institutional investor and was our only outside director for several years.They were an excellent collaborator and consultant who consistently supported and contributed positively in every significant aspect of our company as we grew to exceed $100 million in income. at our exit.” Contourventures
The pattern is consistent. Contour comes in early, rolls up their sleeves, and stays involved. That’s a fundamentally different model from a large fund writing a small check and moving on.
What Is Movable Ink and Why Did It Attract Venture Capital?
Personalizing Digital Marketing at Scale
Picture this: you open a marketing email from your favorite airline. The seat sale it’s advertising expired two days ago. The image shows a destination you’ve never searched for. The offer is completely irrelevant. You delete it without thinking twice. That’s the problem Movable Ink was built to solve.
Movable Ink’s platform lets companies run campaigns with more up-to-the-minute, relevant, and personalized information than typical email newsletter services. Instead of sending the same static email blast to a million people, Movable Ink dynamically generates content at the exact moment each recipient opens the email — pulling in real-time data like inventory levels, loyalty points, local weather, and browsing history to make every message feel personally crafted. TechCrunch
Movable Ink’s CEO Vivek Sharma framed it clearly: “Today’s consumer has greater expectations for personalization than at any point in history. Brands are anticipated to customize experiences for individuals as they navigate various touchpoints, use several devices, and progress through various phases of their journey. Movableink
The Business Model That Made Investors Take Notice
Enterprise SaaS businesses attract venture capital for good reason. Contracts are annual or multi-year. Churn is low when the product is embedded in core marketing workflows. And as customers grow, they tend to spend more not less. Movable Ink checked every one of those boxes.
By 2013, the company already had 119 brands including American Eagle Outfitters, Barclays, Verizon, and RadioShack using its technology to power targeted email marketing campaigns. That’s remarkable traction for a company that was barely two years old. And the revenue numbers eventually caught up with the ambition Movable Ink became one of only a handful of companies to eclipse the $100 million annual recurring revenue mark. TechCrunchMovableink
Contour Venture Partners as a Movable Ink Investor — The Full Story
How Contour Led the Series A
The relationship started at the very beginning. Movable Ink raised a $1.3 million Series A round led by Contour Venture Partners in July 2011. That’s a tiny check by today’s standards but the timing and conviction behind it were everything. Movable Ink was a nascent company with a genuinely novel idea live, contextual content in email and very few people understood it yet. crunchbase
Contour understood it. They led the round. And then they stayed.
Staying In Through Every Round
Great early investors don’t just write one check and wave goodbye. They double down. Contour demonstrated exactly that kind of sustained conviction with Movable Ink. When Intel Capital led Movable Ink’s $11 million Series B in 2013, Contour Venture Partners participated as a previous investor alongside Metamorphic Ventures, ff Venture Capital, Silicon Valley Bank, and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. TechCrunch
They showed up again for the Series C. Contour Venture Partners, Intel Capital, and Silver Lake all invested in the $30 million Series C round. And then again — Contour Venture Partners participated in the $55 million Series D round led by Silver Lake Waterman that valued Movable Ink at $1.3 billion. crunchbaseMovableink
From a $1.3 million Series A to a $1.3 billion valuation. That’s the Contour Venture Partners and Movable Ink story in a single sentence.
Movable Ink’s Full Funding Journey
Movable Ink has raised a total of $97.3 million over 5 funding rounds. Here’s how that journey unfolded: Tracxn
| Round | Year | Amount | Lead Investor | Notable Participants |
| Debt Round | Feb 2011 | Undisclosed | — | Early backers |
| Series A | Jul 2011 | $1.3M | Contour Venture Partners | ff Venture Capital |
| Series B | May 2013 | $11M | Intel Capital | Contour Venture Partners, Metamorphic Ventures |
| Series C | 2020 | $30M | Silver Lake | Contour Venture Partners, Intel Capital |
| Series D | Apr 2022 | $55M | Silver Lake Waterman | Contour Venture Partners, Intel Capital |
Total Raised: ~$97.3 million. Final Valuation: $1.3 billion.
What this table reveals is important: Contour wasn’t just the first investor they were a recurring presence across the entire capital journey. That’s unusual. Most seed investors get diluted into irrelevance by Series C. Contour kept participating, kept contributing, and kept earning its seat at the table.
Contour Venture Partners’ Broader Portfolio — A Pattern of Smart Picks
Other Standout Companies in Contour’s Portfolio
Movable Ink isn’t an anomaly. It’s a pattern. Look at what else sits in Contour’s portfolio and the investment thesis becomes crystal clear:
- Datadog — Now a publicly traded cloud monitoring giant worth tens of billions. Contour was an early investor.
- Pendo — A product intelligence platform that has raised more than $460 million in venture funding and was last valued at $2.6 billion. Yahoo!
- OnDeck — One of the earliest fintech lending platforms, which went public on the NYSE.
- SmartAsset — A financial technology platform connecting consumers with financial advisors.
- ShopKeep — A point-of-sale platform for small businesses, acquired by Lightspeed.
- Ticketfly — An event ticketing platform acquired by Pandora for $450 million.
Matt Gorin’s full investment list includes Bounce Exchange, Datadog, Ellevest, Fevo, LeagueApps, Movable Ink, Octane Lending, OnDeck, Pendo, Routehappy, ShopKeep, SmartAsset, SwapDrive, Ticketfly, YellowJacket and Yhat. That’s a remarkable track record for a seed-stage fund operating out of New York City. Tech:NYC
What Movable Ink Tells Us About Contour’s Strategy
Study Contour’s winners and a clear thesis emerges:
- B2B SaaS with enterprise customers — sticky revenue, high lifetime value
- New York City based — Contour knows the local ecosystem deeply
- Solving real operational problems — not consumer apps chasing viral growth
- Capital efficient founders — Movable Ink CEO Vivek Sharma described capital efficiency as being “in the DNA of the company.” crunchbase
Contour doesn’t bet on hype. They bet on fundamentals strong founders, genuine product-market fit, and large addressable markets. Movable Ink embodied all three from day one.
Why the Contour and Movable Ink Story Matters
What Founders Can Learn From This Investment Relationship
The Contour Venture Partners Movable Ink investor story teaches founders several hard-won lessons:
- Early believers matter more than big brand names. A $1.3 million check from a conviction-driven seed fund can shape a company’s trajectory more profoundly than a $10 million check from a fund that doesn’t truly understand the business.
- Choose investors who stay involved. Contour’s value wasn’t just capital it was the board presence, the operational guidance, and the network access over years of building.
- Geography-focused VCs have real advantages. Contour’s deep roots in New York’s tech ecosystem gave Movable Ink access to talent, partnerships, and enterprise customers that a Silicon Valley-focused fund might not have unlocked as effectively.
- Capital efficiency creates leverage. Movable Ink didn’t raise recklessly. By staying lean, it built a business on strong fundamentals which made every subsequent funding round a position of strength, not desperation.
What This Means for New York’s Tech Ecosystem
There’s a bigger story here about New York City as a technology hub. For years, the conventional wisdom held that serious tech companies had to be built in Silicon Valley. Contour never believed that — and Movable Ink proved it wrong.
Movable Ink got acquired by STG in June 2025 — a strong exit that validates the entire journey from a scrappy NYC startup to a billion-dollar enterprise software company. That kind of outcome doesn’t happen without early believers. It doesn’t happen without the right first institutional investor stepping up before anyone else saw the vision clearly. Tracxn
Contour Venture Partners was that investor. And in New York’s B2B SaaS ecosystem, that matters enormously.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who are the main investors in Movable Ink? Key investors include Contour Venture Partners (lead, Series A), Intel Capital (lead, Series B), and Silver Lake Waterman (lead, Series D). Contour participated across multiple rounds from Series A through Series D.
What does Contour Venture Partners invest in? Contour focuses on seed-stage B2B SaaS, enterprise software, and fintech companies primarily based in New York City. Their portfolio spans marketing tech, financial services, and vertical SaaS.
Is Contour Venture Partners a New York VC firm? Yes. Contour has been NYC-based since its founding in 2005 and actively focuses on building New York’s tech ecosystem.
How much has Movable Ink raised in total funding? Movable Ink raised approximately $97.3 million across five funding rounds, reaching a $1.3 billion valuation at its Series D in 2022.
What stage does Contour Venture Partners typically invest at? Contour operates primarily as a seed-stage investor getting in at the earliest institutional round and often staying involved through later stages, as their Movable Ink journey demonstrates.
The Contour Venture Partners and Movable Ink story is ultimately about what great early-stage investing looks like in practice. It’s not about the biggest fund or the flashiest brand name on the cap table. It’s about showing up first, adding real value, and staying committed through every stage of a company’s growth. From a $1.3 million Series A bet to a unicorn exit Contour’s conviction in Movable Ink was one of New York’s great venture capital calls.