Exclusive: Two decades in, DFJ Growth raises $1.2 billion for its fifth fund and doubles down on the long game

The DFJ Growth team gathered around a conference table (Credit: DFJ Growth)

DFJ Growth was founded between two ends of the world.

In 2005, tech was starting to shake off the dotcom bubble burst, while global business as a whole was careening towards 2008 and the Great Financial Crisis. And somewhere in Silicon Valley, Barry Schuler and Randy Glein—along with venture capital pioneer John Fisher and industry veteran Mark Bailey—were thinking about the decades to come. Their thesis was this: To fill the gap between early-stage VC and the public markets, raise a “growth” fund that helps companies stay private longer and mature before going public.