Updated:
Common Sense Ventures
Common Sense Ventures operates as a single-family office led by Owen Symington and John Symington. Owen previously founded and sold Pod & Parcel.
Common Sense Ventures
Common Sense Ventures operates as a single-family office led by Owen Symington and John Symington. Owen previously founded and sold Pod & Parcel. John owns Oasis Olives and earlier led Shortcuts Software. No public founding year appears in available records. The firm makes direct early-stage investments and co-investments. Check sizes range from $100k to $1M. Confirmed holdings include Hatch, Clayful, Avarni, Ello Technology and Style Sourcebook. Co-investors on these deals include Investible, Rampersand, Reach Capital and Khosla Ventures. Activity spans Australia, the United States and Germany. The office maintains additional presence in Berlin, Boston, Mountain View, Ravensburg, Redwood City and San Francisco. No headcount figure is published. Owen and John draw on prior exits and operating roles to supply board representation, financial analysis and US launch support to Australian portfolio companies. The structure keeps investment decisions inside the family while using co-investment syndicates to access deal flow. This model lets the principals apply domain experience from agriculture and enterprise software without external fund commitments.
General information
Firm type
Venture Capital
Year founded
2006
Location
Region
Oceania
Country
Australia
City
Melbourne
Corporate office
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Additional offices
Berlin · Boston · Mountain View · Ravensburg · Redwood City · San Francisco
Principals
Owen Symington
Managing Director
John Symington
Director
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Common Sense Ventures?
Owen Symington serves as Managing Director and John Symington serves as Director. Both principals review opportunities and sit on portfolio company boards.
Does Common Sense Ventures participate in fund commitments or only direct deals?
The firm executes direct investments and co-investments through SPVs. No fund commitments are referenced in its materials.
What investment stages does Common Sense Ventures typically target?
The office focuses on early-stage rounds. Check sizes fall between $100k and $1M, with preference for first outside capital or follow-on participation.
How does Common Sense Ventures source proprietary deal flow?
The principals leverage prior operating experience and co-investor relationships. Confirmed syndicates include Investible, Rampersand, Reach Capital and Khosla Ventures.
Which sectors does Common Sense Ventures explicitly avoid?
No explicit exclusions are stated. The firm lists primary interest in Agtech, Food, Sustainability, eCommerce and B2B software.
Where does the underlying wealth come from?
Wealth origin is not publicly attributed to a specific operating company. The principals cite experience with Oasis Olives and the exit of Pod & Parcel.
Does Common Sense Ventures maintain philanthropic structures, and how are they separated?
No philanthropic vehicles are disclosed in the firm's materials.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
Need institutional-grade insight on venture capital firms?
Altss delivers:
Prefer a guided tour?
We’ll walk you through: