Proven

Proven (GetProven) is a portfolio marketplace platform for venture capital and private equity firms. Each client fund receives a branded, customizable marketplace where its portfolio companies can browse pre-vetted vendors and redeem exclusive discounts across categories such as cloud, compliance, HR, legal and finance. Proven sets up the marketplace to the firm's specifications, imports the firm's existing vendor library, keeps vendor contact data and profiles current, and verifies vendor client references so firms do not have to conduct their own checks. Firms retain control over which vendors appear, including veto rights to remove a vendor that conflicts with their portfolio, and can customize vendor rankings and visibility.

The platform has a second, sell-side function: B2B portfolio companies can publish a verified profile and offer, sell to sister companies within the same portfolio, and — subject to company consent, marketplace relevance, Proven review and receiving-marketplace approval — be recommended into other funds' marketplaces across the Proven network. The company states this cross-network distribution is not automatic. Reporting features give fund platform teams a dashboard covering redemptions, engagement, total savings, the tools in each portfolio company's stack, and which vendor categories are most searched, plus a peer-review system in which portfolio companies rate vendors they have used.

Beyond venture and private equity, Proven markets the same marketplace infrastructure to banks (client benefits and rewards to attract deposits and reduce churn), government and public-sector bodies involved in foreign direct investment and export support, and to service providers seeking distribution to venture-backed companies.

Founding story

The company traces its origin to the founder's own experience as an entrepreneur arriving in Silicon Valley and being overcharged by a law firm — cited as "$250 for a 2 minute voicemail" — which prompted the view that hiring vendors and service providers was a broken process. Proven was initially built so VC firms could help their portfolio companies grow, then broadened into vendor and perk management for wider buying communities.

Business model

Software platform sold to "buying communities" — VC and PE firms, banks, and government/FDI and export agencies — that operate a marketplace for the companies or clients they support. Proven builds and maintains each marketplace, handles vendor onboarding and verification, and supplies analytics.

Tiered pricing that "starts at free and scales." A "Vendor Supported — Free" tier is offered to firms under $1B AUM, funded by vetted vendors paying to display their profiles and offers alongside the fund's own vendors; larger firms take paid tiers with more control. Vendors also pay for distribution of an approved offer across the network. An earlier version of the site stated the opposite — that service providers were charged nothing to be on the platform and could not pay to influence ratings or rankings.

Traction

Company-reported figures include $1B+ in savings tracked, 65,000+ venture-backed founders / portfolio companies, 4,500+ verified vendors and 90+ VC marketplaces; an earlier About page cited 50,000+ portfolio companies and 3,000+ verified vendors, and a features page cited 15,000+ portfolio companies and 1,000+ verified vendors, indicating growth over successive site versions. Sierra Ventures' head of platform is cited as a reference customer, and the company describes a portfolio company at a large VC firm closing a quarterly sales quota from leads generated on Proven.

Latest developments

The current site foregrounds a two-sided proposition — portfolio savings plus portfolio sales — including verified seller profiles, cross-network vendor recommendation subject to review and approval, a free vendor-supported tier for firms under $1B AUM with fund verification and done-for-you setup, and dedicated tracks for heads of platform, VC-backed companies, banks and vendors.