Craig Stanton Joins SPC as Partner

We are excited to announce that Craig Stanton has joined South Park Commons as Partner, Capital Formation and Investor Relations. Craig’s path to SPC wasn’t a linear one. His invaluable perspective has been shaped by years spent on every side of the startup & venture capital ecosystem. 

Craig started his career in tech at Monitise, a UK-based fintech company, on their corporate development team (his initial foray into startup acquisitions). From there, he joined Top Tier Capital Partners (a VC-only Fund of Funds), where he connected global capital with venture funds and founders in the US and Europe. Afterwards, he helped scale travel startup Freebird through its acquisition by Capital One. Craig then returned to venture, holding leadership roles at Commerce Ventures and Sierra Ventures. Craig understands every layer of the startup stack and treats capital flow like the long-term, trust-based relationship it is.

We spoke with Craig about capital trends, founder-first investing, and how SPC’s model fits within the venture landscape. Read on. Welcome Craig!

What drew you to SPC?

Craig: SPC walks the talk of the “founder-first” model. You can’t get in the arena any earlier than this— backing people before there’s even an idea, working in the trenches with them as they build. I could feel that difference the moment I walked into the office and met the team. Venture is a ‘people’ business: VCs are betting on the founders and their judgment. SPC gets that better than anyone.

What’s shaped the way you approach the business of venture capital?

Craig: I’ve found myself acting as a translator throughout my career. Whether I’m working with LPs, founders, or internal teams, the goal is always the same: help each party understand the other’s perspective. As someone who’s been on both the operating side and the investing side, that range of experience has shaped how I operate. Venture depends on trust. It’s not a short-term transaction, but a long-term partnership.

What’s most energizing about the work that you’re doing?

Craig: In our particular position at SPC, we have the ability to positively affect a large number of people. On one side, we are actively funding companies that can change how people work, stay connected, and manage their health (among hundreds of other things) and on the other side a big portion of our capital comes from places like municipal pension funds, hospital systems, and college endowments. By funding early stage companies, supporting their work as they scale, we generate returns that flow back into real public value. This keeps me motivated!

What’s the latest capital trend you’ve seen emerging? 

Craig: It feels as if companies can be separated into two buckets: capital-intensive hyperscalers that require heaps of resources but have the ability to create tremendous value, or capital efficient businesses (driven by improved AI tooling and GTM efficiency), think: the small team that can create a unicorn. The line has moved; small teams can scale hugely now. SPC is directly involved at this “new” early stage, inflecting founding teams through close proximity as they start to build. This critical inflection point can be bolstered by funding, but also more critically by founder advisory from investors.

What are you looking forward to working on at SPC?

Craig: It is an enormous privilege helping the world's most talented founders find success. SPC supports at a critical inflection point: the earliest stages of ideation at -1, but that support continues well past 0 through all the later growth stages. -1 is a mindset, not just a point in time. I can't wait to help SPC support that mindset as our companies grow.