ARRIS — Riley Reese interview
"Other VCs spend a ton of time and add maybe a little value. MVP spends a little time and adds a ton. It's almost the oxymoron of venture — they keep their footprint small but their impact is massive."
In their own words.
Tell us about ARRIS.
I'm one of the co-founders and CEO of ARRIS. We started in 2017. We manufacture carbon fiber parts at really high performance and also high volume. The core aspect of the technology is our ability to align fibers along the stress direction of a part, thereby driving much higher strength at lighter weights compared to any other material or manufacturing method.
What was working with Andre and the MVP team like from the start?
Andre from the beginning has been super helpful. I met him kind of in the original founding, and I've been really impressed with everybody he's brought on. The common energy I see across all of them is really wanting to be value-add — not waiting for me to ask "hey how can we help," but proactively suggesting "here's a hire you should consider, here's a company I can introduce you to, have you talked to this VC, where are things now?"
Can you give a specific example of their network at work?
They've connected me to key investors who ended up joining our round who I wouldn't have met without them. They introduced me to companies that became strategic. Andre was looking in the Middle East, made a trip, and tied our technology to it — giving us exposure to the region. I ended up speaking at a conference there. It helped to have his insight into the region, his introductions to an investor there, and an introduction to a potential customer partner. Another example: Grayson is connected on the defense and military side. He called and said, "Hey, there's a small roundtable dinner with core leaders at Lockheed Martin and an East-Coast defense-tech venture fund — want a seat at the table?" And he got me one. We're still using relationships from that event.
How does that compare to other VCs you've worked with?
In the VC space, there are many VCs I talk to where you ask a question and get no answer, a long wait, or eventually an answer that's not satisfying — you can tell they didn't spend much time with it. It's never the case with MVP. I'll get an answer within 24 to 48 hours on any question — these are the people to talk to, here's who I can introduce you to, this is what you do next. They actually read what I'm trying to do, respond intellectually, and lean in to say, "I want to be part of this to help you make it happen."
What's the most surprising thing about how they operate?
Other VCs spend a ton of time and add maybe a little value. MVP spends a little time and adds a ton. It's almost the oxymoron of venture — they keep their footprint with us super small, but the value they bring is massive. The work they take on themselves, they could easily put on me — but they choose not to. They're giving, not asking. That's amazing to have as a VC partner.