Richard Tait

Richard John Tait was a Scottish-born entrepreneur and investor best known as the co-founder of Cranium. He was born in Broughty Ferry, Scotland, in 1964, raised in Helensburgh, earned an honors degree in computer science from Heriot-Watt University, and received an MBA from Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business before joining Microsoft in 1988.

At Microsoft, Tait helped launch multiple internal businesses across operating systems, client-server computing, CD-ROM reference products such as Encarta and Bookshelf, and early consumer internet services including CarPoint and Sidewalk. GeekWire reported that he helped recruit Satya Nadella from Sun Microsystems in the early 1990s and was Nadella’s first boss at Microsoft.

Tait left Microsoft and co-founded Cranium in 1998 with Whit Alexander. Cranium became a major consumer-games brand, selling more than 20 million games, toys, and books; Hasbro acquired the company in an all-cash deal reported at about $77.5 million in 2008. Tait later built BoomBoom Brands, co-founded Golazo, founded or helped build Moment, and worked with Starbucks on food and wellness innovation.

In April 2016, Tait became Starbucks’ senior vice president and entrepreneur in residence, working across innovation, operations, product development, and the Starbucks Innovation Lab. In March 2019, he joined Valor Siren Ventures as a partner. Valor’s memorial page says he was central to VSV’s culture and that “without Richard, VSV would not have been possible.” He died on July 25, 2022, from pulmonary complications related to COVID-19.

• VSV states its mission is to “source, select, and serve exceptional founders, entrepreneurs, and companies making the world a better place in the food and retail sectors, with a focus on technology and sustainability.”
• VSV targets food, food technology, retail, retail technology, and sustainability companies, especially founders who can benefit from Valor’s operating team and strategic anchor investors including Starbucks and Nestlé.
• Valor’s broader investing approach emphasizes entrepreneurs “with the courage and commitment to transform their industries,” companies aligned with long-term demand drivers, and hands-on operational work with management teams.
• Tait’s operating background suggests his strongest fit was consumer-facing founders building brands, teams, and differentiated customer experiences rather than purely financial-engineering stories.
• Starbucks’ 2019 VSV announcement framed the fund around startups developing technologies, products, and solutions related to food or retail, with potential strategic commercial relationships.