# Common Sense Ventures

Common Sense Ventures is a Venture Capital based in Melbourne, Australia.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Venture Capital
- **Headquarters:** Melbourne, Australia
- **Region:** Oceania
- **Address:** Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- **Founded:** 2006
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** commonsense.vc
- **LinkedIn:** https://au.linkedin.com/company/common-sense-vc

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

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.

## Sectors

- AgriTech & FoodTech
- ClimateTech
- Digital Health
- EdTech
- FinTech
- PropTech

## Offices

- Berlin
- Boston
- Mountain View
- Ravensburg
- Redwood City
- San Francisco

## People

- Owen Symington — Managing Director
- John Symington — Director

## 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.

## Related profiles

- [Combine Innovation](https://altss.com/profile/combine-innovation-gmbh)
- [Commonwealth Investments](https://altss.com/profile/commonwealth-investments)

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Last updated: 2026-06-03T20:00:00.000Z

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