General Catalyst Book Portfolio

General Catalyst is a venture capital firm who has invested in companies like Airbnb, Warby Parker, and Kayak, among many others. They wanted a landmark feature in their entry lobby that would call attention to the strong relationships they build with the entrepreneurs they fund. Rapt Studio designed a custom 12-foot-tall bookcase that’s prominently located in the entryway and perfect for showcasing their impressive portfolio as a collection of books. Each custom book features the funded company’s name along the spine and a short description about them on the back. So, for those curious to know more about their portfolio, they could explore the bookshelf while they wait in the lobby.

Client: General Catalyst
Studio: Rapt
Creative Direction: Louis Schump, Sam Gray
Architecture: Devin Saez
Book Cover Design: Chris Cowans

Bookshelf Detail

Each book represented a different company that General Catalyst invested in. The name of each company was shown on the front and a short description of each company was included on the back, along with the year that GC invested in them. We were also asked to find a way of highlighting the most profitable or promising companies in their portfolio, so we used a bright white paper for those book covers in order to help them stand out more against the dark metal bookshelf.