Stories of Technology, Innovation, & Entrepreneurship in the Southeast

From the State of Ohio:

The Ohio Department of Development has awarded $86 million to support early stage, tech-based companies in underserved communities and populations across Ohio, thanks to a portion of the Buckeye State’s allocation under the federally-funded State Small Business Credit Initiative. In the Volunteer State, the program is known as “Fund Tennessee” including the “InvestTN” component managed by Launch Tennessee.

The funding in Ohio was awarded to 11 professionally managed investment funds through the Ohio Venture Fund and Ohio Early Stage Focus Fund to provide capital to companies focused on healthcare, manufacturing, food technologies, and more. Recipients from the Venture Fund were:

• JumpStart Ventures in Cleveland was awarded $20 million. One-half of that funding went to its NEXT Fund III to invest primarily in capital-efficient businesses operating in the areas of software applications for business, healthcare, and medical technology and, on occasion, will consider secondary technology areas (e. g., sensors, electronics, and advanced materials). The other half for its Evergreen Fund IV and will focus on investing primarily in the areas of software application for business and healthcare and medical technology,
  with advanced manufacturing as a secondary focus area.
• JumpStart Inc., also in Cleveland, was awarded $10 million for its Ohio Life Sciences Fund and will focus its investments in Ohio’s most promising life sciences companies that have the greatest potential to attract follow-on capital from outside Ohio, generate economic impact, and create jobs and wealth in Ohio while generating financial returns to the fund.
• H Venture Partners of Cincinnati was awarded $10 million for its H Venture Partners Brand Fund II to invest at the earliest stages in Life Sciences, Therapeutics, Advanced Materials, and Food Technologies.
• Cintrifuse Capital, also in Cincinnati, was awarded $10 million for its Cintrifuse Early-Stage Capital Fund to invest in early stage technology companies in Southwest Ohio whose technologies are Information Technology/Software applications for business and health care.
• North Coast Angel Fund V LLC in Shaker Heights was awarded: (1) $15 million – $5 million for its North Coast Angel Fund V, which will invest primarily in Business-to-Business (B2B) and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) ventures through Series A that are working to solve problems that intersect with North Coast’s member and regional industry expertise.; and (2) $10 million for its North Coast
  Venture Fund III, which will invest primarily in Business-to-Business (B2B) and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) companies in the late incubation or demonstrating stages of development.
• Cincinnati Cornerstone Capital LLC of Cincinnati was awarded $10 million for its CincyTech Fund VI to invest in healthcare and digital technology companies.

Awards from the Early Stage Focus Fund went to:

• Rev1 Ventures of Columbus County) – $3 million for its Future Value Fund II, which will provide pre-seed and seed capital to Central Ohio companies with women or minority leaders or companies located in areas underserved by venture capital.
• BOLD Opportunities Fund I LLC in Westerville – $3 million for its BOLD Opportunities Fund I to invest in historically under-represented founders, specifically women, minority, and social and economically disadvantaged individuals (SEDI), with an emphasis on founders located in Ohio in conjunction with other historically under-funded regions.
• JumpStart Ventures, again in Cleveland – $5 million for its Focus Fund II to help accelerate access to capital for innovative Ohio-based pre-seed and seed stage technology start-ups founded by underserved leaders.

To learn more about the funds, click here to read the news release announcing the awards.

From Durham, NC:

Triangle Inno reports that Conductor Capital is being formed by two former bankers at the now defunct Signature Bank of New York. According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the goal is to raise $35 million for “growth-oriented debt capital for high-growth technology companies,” making investments of between $2 million and $10 million.

The two Managing Partners are Dhruv Patel, former Senior Vice President at Signature’s venture banking group, and Zack Mansfield, former Managing Director of the venture banking group.

“Our capital solutions are more flexible than bank debt, less dilutive than venture equity, and designed to help companies with well-defined unit economics to scale efficiently,” Conductor Capital declares on its website.

Listed as Co-Founders are Kyle Porter, Founder and Board Chair of Salesloft; Tope Awotona, Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Calendly; David Cummings, CEO and Founder of Atlanta Ventures; and Nat Turner, CEO of Collectors.

From Raleigh, NC:

Front Porch Venture Partners (FPVP), a Research Triangle-based venture capital firm investing in rapidly growing start-up ecosystems in the Southeast, announced this week the successful final close of its $20 million second fund.

Even amidst a difficult fundraising environment, the firm’s second fund hit its fundraising target and is quadruple the size of an oversubscribed first fund. The Fund 2 investment strategy is a scaled-up version of Fund 1 and deploys an innovative hybrid strategy of fund and direct start-up investments, much like larger institutional investors.

Front Porch invests in the Southeast because the critical inputs of talent, ecosystem support, and ease of starting a business provide a great setup for startup companies. However accelerating start-up growth in the Southeast requires a lot more capital, and Front Porch’s mission is to bring more capital and connectivity to the region where its three Founding General Partners grew up and are raising their families.

“We are thrilled with the final close of Fund 2 and so appreciative of our ecosystem friends for their support of Front Porch – whether by sharing ideas, giving advice, or investing with us,” said Co-Founder and General Partner Nikin Shah. “Most importantly, thank you for the impact that your time and dollars will have in positioning our region among the world’s best places to start and grow a company.”

Since January 2020, FPVP has invested in 25 top-tier venture capital funds based in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, Tennessee, and Florida. These fund partners include many of the most well known firms in the region, plus a targeted group of emerging fund managers, across both technology and healthcare. Fund 2 already includes five commitments into the next funds of top fund partners from Fund 1.

From Menlo Park, CA:

Norwest Venture Partners, a global venture capital and growth equity investment firm, has announced that it has closed a $3 billion fund. Named NVP 17, the new fund enables the Norwest team to continue partnering with visionary entrepreneurs and teams building the next generation of enduring companies. Following NVP 16, which was announced in December 2021 as a $3 billion fund, NVP 17 now brings the firm’s total capital under management to $15.5 billion.

Since its inception, Norwest has invested in more than 700 companies and currently partners with more than 230 companies in its venture and growth equity portfolio. The firm invests in early to late stage businesses across key sectors with a focus on enterprise, consumer and healthcare.

Norwest expanded the focus of its healthcare practice over the last two years by adding biotech to existing areas of medical devices and diagnostics, healthcare services, healthcare software and tech-enabled services, thereby doubling the size of its healthcare venture team.

To learn more, read the Norwest Venture Partners news release.

From Michigan:

Early stage start-up companies might have more access to venture capital in Michigan soon. Bills introduced in the state House would set aside $105 million for companies in their earliest stage of development. According to published reports, officials say the $105 million will not impact the budget; it will redirect returns from the state’s previous early stage venture capital fund, Venture Michigan Funds.

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