Brian Nichols is the co-founder of Angel Squad, a community where you’ll learn how to angel invest and get a chance to invest as little as $1k into Hustle Fund's top performing early-stage startups.

A few weeks ago, I was digging into Garrett Camp's investment strategy, and something clicked. This isn't just about backing hot startups or chasing the latest trends. Camp has built something way more interesting: a systematic approach to creating the infrastructure that other companies depend on.

Most people know Garrett Camp as the co-founder of Uber. But studying Garrett Camp investments through his startup studio Expa reveals a much deeper playbook that early-stage investors can learn from.

Who is Garrett Camp, anyway?

Let's get the basics straight. Camp co-founded StumbleUpon in 2002 and then Uber in 2009, originally conceiving and designing the first version of the ride-sharing service. But here's what makes him fascinating from an investment perspective: in 2013, he founded Expa, a startup studio that has raised $350 million and created more than 20 companies.

This isn't your typical VC fund. Expa is a startup studio, which means they don't just write checks. They design, build and launch companies from scratch, providing founders with practical advice in product design, branding, engineering, operations, and recruiting.

The Infrastructure Play: What Garrett Camp Really Invests In

Here's where it gets tactical. Looking at Garrett Camp investments through Expa, there's a clear pattern. He's not chasing consumer apps or the latest AI wrapper. He's building companies that become critical infrastructure for other businesses.

Take Convoy, the digital freight network that raised $185M at a $1B valuation and later a $260M Series E. On the surface, it's a trucking logistics company. But dig deeper and you see the infrastructure play: every e-commerce company depends on freight. When Convoy works better, hundreds of other businesses benefit.

Or look at Radar, the location data infrastructure platform that allows brands to build location-based app experiences with geofencing, trip tracking, and geocoding APIs. Again, it's infrastructure. Radar doesn't compete with consumer apps. It powers them.

Then there's fabric, the headless commerce company that reached unicorn status with its $140 million Series C raise at a $1.4 billion valuation. While competitors like Shopify court small companies, fabric targets bigger brands running legacy software.

See the pattern? These aren't end-user products. They're the picks and shovels for the next generation of startups.

Why Infrastructure Companies Win (And Why VCs Love Them)

There's a reason Camp focuses on infrastructure companies, and it's not just because they're boring and less competitive (though that helps).

Infrastructure companies have better unit economics. When you're selling to businesses instead of consumers, you can charge more. Loop, another Expa company, can reduce invoice clearing time from 50 days to just three and take invoice errors from 20% to "near zero". Companies will pay serious money for that kind of efficiency.

Infrastructure companies also have higher switching costs. Once a business integrates Radar's location APIs into their app, they're not switching to a competitor easily. The technical integration alone creates stickiness that consumer apps can only dream of.

And here's the kicker: infrastructure companies can grow without competing for consumer attention. They don't need to fight for App Store rankings or Facebook ad inventory. Their customers find them through word of mouth, technical forums, and developer communities.

The Expa Playbook: How Camp Builds Companies

What makes Garrett Camp investments different is how Expa actually builds companies. They don't just provide capital. The partners are builders and operators who provide founders with practical advice in product design, branding, engineering, operations, and recruiting.

This is crucial. Most VCs write checks and hope for the best. Camp's team actually helps build the companies. As one founder put it: "Our partnership with Expa allowed us to take Current from a concept and infrastructure to a full-fledged challenger bank".

The results speak for themselves. Fabric, Radar, Statespace, Spatial, and Convoy are a few of the Expa-backed companies with a combined market value over $8 billion and over $1 billion in funding.

What About Camp's Contrarian Bets?

Not every Garrett Camp investment fits the infrastructure thesis. Take Aero, the semi-private luxury airline that raised a $65 million Series B. This is clearly a consumer-facing service, not B2B infrastructure.

But even Aero fits a broader pattern: it's solving a real operational problem (inefficient air travel) with a premium solution. The customers are willing to pay significantly more because the alternative (commercial flights) is painful enough to justify the premium.

There's also Joro, the personal carbon-cutting app that raised $10M Series A led by Sequoia. Again, this is more consumer-focused, but it's addressing climate change, which aligns with Camp's broader mission.

These contrarian bets show that even with a clear thesis, there's room for exceptional founders tackling big problems.

The Portfolio Construction Strategy

Here's something most people miss about Garrett Camp investments: he's not spray-and-pray investing. Expa has invested in 69 companies over 12 years, averaging about 6 new investments annually. That's incredibly concentrated for a fund with $350 million.

This concentration allows for deeper involvement. Expa's team of 21 members sits on the board of portfolio companies and provides hands-on operational support. It's the opposite of the typical VC approach where you make 30+ investments per fund and hope a few work out.

The concentration also means better returns. Expa has 2 unicorns in their portfolio - Fabric and Current out of 69 investments. That's a 3% unicorn rate, which is actually quite good given the hands-on nature of their investments.

What Early-Stage Investors Can Learn

Studying Garrett Camp investments reveals several tactical lessons for early-stage investors:

Focus on B2B infrastructure, not consumer apps. The unit economics are better, switching costs are higher, and you don't have to compete for consumer attention. Look for companies that other startups depend on.

Invest in boring problems with exciting solutions. Logistics, payments, and data infrastructure might not be sexy, but they're profitable. Loop's logistics payments platform might not sound exciting, but reducing invoice clearing time from 50 days to three days is incredibly valuable.

Look for founders who can build and distribute. Infrastructure companies need technical founders who can actually build robust APIs and platforms. But they also need founders who understand how to reach business customers through developer communities and partnerships.

Consider the network effects. The best infrastructure companies get better as more companies use them. Radar's location data gets more accurate with more apps. Convoy's freight network gets more efficient with more shippers and carriers.

Don't chase trends, build for the next decade. Camp isn't investing in whatever's hot right now. He's building companies that will power the next generation of startups. That means thinking about what infrastructure will be needed in 5-10 years, not what's trending today.

The Bottom Line for Angel Investors

Garrett Camp's approach to investing isn't revolutionary. But it's disciplined, systematic, and focused on building real value rather than chasing hype.

With an estimated net worth of $4.2 billion as of 2024, Camp has proven that this infrastructure-focused approach works at scale. But the principles apply whether you're writing $1 million checks or $25,000 angel investments.

The key insight is this: the most valuable companies are often the ones that other companies can't live without. When you find a startup building that kind of essential infrastructure, you've probably found something worth investing in.

If you're looking to connect with other investors who understand this approach to building lasting value, Hustle Fund's Angel Squad brings together operators-turned-angels who focus on backing founders creating the infrastructure that powers tomorrow's economy.

The next time you're evaluating a deal, ask yourself: is this a company that other companies will depend on? If the answer is yes, you might have found your next big winner.