Startup Funding

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Exclusive TEN Interview with Chris Kersey, Founder of Camden Partners

How long have you been affiliated with Johns Hopkins? First of all, thank you for the invitation to the conference, Hall. This is a great event, and I’m excited about participating in it. To answer your question, I joined the Johns Hopkins Medicine board of trustees in July 2010 and became chairman of the board of Johns Hopkins Medicine International in July 2011. It’s a honor to be a part of the leading academic healthcare brand in the world.  We have a stellar team representing an amazing institution globally. How did get into the private equity world? At Harvard Business School, I was very fortunate to get to know a couple of professors who were willing to meet with me as a first-year MBA student. They took me under their wing and provided personal introductions to leading venture capital and private equity leaders, including many HBS graduates. This private equity industry has a lot of business school graduates from a very limited number of schools, so the network effect is really important. Ever since business school, I’ve enjoyed this industry immensely, and these initial contacts from the folks from Harvard Business School were instrumental, so I’m very grateful. You and your partners manage close to $1 billion. Where are you planning to take Camden Partners into the future as far as funding goes? As our assets under management grow, we anticipate gradually increasing our fund sizes with each subsequent fund.  Serving as a steward of capital – our own capital and our investors’ capital – is a real honor. I’m very proud of the current portfolio, but perhaps most importantly, my partners and I have the opportunity to work with some of the country’s best CEOs. It is humbling to be able to work with these ladies and gentlemen, and we are pleased to be able to call them part of the Camden family. What is your investment strategy? How do you choose companies? Venture capital and private equity are very relationship-based businesses.  Camden has raised many funds in the last 20 years, and we’re now backing folks whom we’ve backed before. We work with business builders with whom we have previous relationships, whether they’re the CEOs, the founders, co-investors or deal sourcers.  My partners and I truly place a priority on people, people, people, and serial relationships are the key driver for what we do. The best entrepreneurs and executives – the people who have been in this business for multiple cycles – know how they want to build their next operating company and they know which trends are important and I think we likewise have a good sense for how industries evolve over time. There’s some trend recognition and predictive skills needed in our investing industry, but much of the success is attributable to people. You are doing well with Essence Group Holdings Corporation and PatientSafe Solutions in the portfolio. What made those relationships a success? Was it prior relationships? These are excellent examples of prior relationships with management team members. Then, when you combine the “people factor” with a focus on reimbursement trends, you have a winning formula.  Regarding new reimbursement strategies, Essence is the leader in population health management, evidenced but it’s recent No. 1 KLAS ranking in population health services. Essence focuses on a trillion dollar market opportunity, and we are very pleased with the company’s positioning and progress. PatientSafe is a national leader in mobile clinical communications by leveraging its technology leadership in point-of-care (POC) medication management and barcode scanning.  PatientSafe is benefiting from the very powerful change in healthcare regarding how clinicians are communicating across the enterprise amongst their fellow clinicians and making sure that they’re capturing the clinical and financial patient data at the point-of-care. We do pay a lot of attention to how people are paid in healthcare. We basically follow the money. Two of our panel topics are “new forms of payment” and “value-based healthcare.” What’s your take on those two trends? Are those real drivers for you? Very important.  Hundreds of billions of dollars will be spent on value-based care within the next several years.  This is only a fraction of the $3 trillion healthcare industry. Value-based contracts are an integral part of the future of American healthcare, but they come in a variety of flavors. There are pure capitated risks, contracts where the providers are completely on the hook for quality and cost. But there are also “toned-down” risk contracts where the providers are not exposed to both upside and downside risk.  The concept of value-based contracts, i.e. population health management in general, is arguably the top trend in healthcare. Talk about what you look for in management teams in your space and what they need to have in order to get traction with you or any top class investment group. #1: character and integrity. #2: a real track record of success with institutional capital. In private equity, venture capital and growth equity, we’re investors in high-growth private companies, and we’re responsible to our limited partners for how we allocate capital. Backing previously-successful CEOs is very important to us.  Regarding our investment strategy, we place a real premium on what we call technology-enabled service companies that possess hybrid business models that differentiate based on great customer service on the front end combined with proprietary technology on the back end that helps the business scale.  This is a very powerful front end-back end combination. We invest in people with expertise in these kinds of businesses. These are not pure technology, “dot com” businesses but rather technology-enabled businesses in vertical industries like healthcare, education and business services.  Our investments are also generally not pure service businesses. If we end up investing in a service business, we like to quickly figure out how we can inject technology into the business model to optimize returns. What technology drivers and trends are important to this area? #1 Point-of-care technologies that enable mobility.  #2 Revenue cycle management (RCM) companies, i.e. companies that improve

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VC Profile: Volition Capital

Headquarters: Boston, MA Sectors: Software, Enterprise Software, E-Commerce, Internet, Mobile, Data Services Description: Volition Capital, a growth equity firm that focuses on founder owned companies in the technology sector and holds true to just that. With 75 years of collective investing experience and assets invested in a portfolio made up of 22 companies that are approximately worth $300 million, Volition Capital proves to be not only your investors, but a reliable partner. They truly help founders obtain growth for their companies and also aims to maintain the original vision the founder(s) had. Volition Capital does so with a tool belt that contains one of there most robust tools they call ‘Capital +.’ This tool is an aggregate of their knowledge and resources which is well equipped to make them the ‘Batman’ of growth equity firms. “At Volition Capital, one of our values is to treat other people as you would want to be treated yourself.  It is a very simple piece of wisdom by which we abide.  Often, when we face a difficult decision, we ask ourselves how we would want to be treated in that situation and act accordingly.  We believe that at the end of the day, all we have is our reputation and we engage with other people with that fully in mind.” Recent Investments: Prinova $17M / Venture (Lead) Assent Compliance $20M / Venture (Lead) LoanLogics $10.03M / Series B Pramata $10M / Series A (Lead) Website: http://www.volitioncapital.com/ Jake Colognesi the Principal at Volition Capital had active roles in securing the investments at Prinova and Loanlogics. Prior to joining the firm in July 2011, Jake spent two years attending the Tuck School of Business. He also worked as an Associate for Fidelity Ventures and as an analyst in the Technology, Media, and Telecommunications Group at Cowen and Company.

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VC Profile: Updata Partners

Headquarters: Washington, DC Sectors: Software, Analytics, Advertising Description: Updata Partners provides growth equity and growth experience to the next generation of technology market leaders. Led by an investment team averaging more than 25 years of experience in the technology industries, Updata works with growth stage companies where the combination of our financial backing and our partners’ operating expertise will dramatically accelerate success. “Growth Equity for Technology Leaders.” Recent Investments: MP Objects $10M / Venture (Lead) Bridge2 Solutions $35M / Series A (Lead) Mashable $15M / Series C HG Data Company $12M / Series B (Lead) Website: http://updata.com Braden Snyder joined Updata Partners in 2014. His primary responsibilities include identifying potential investment opportunities, conducting due diligence, executing transactions and supporting the firm’s portfolio companies. Prior to joining Updata Partners, Braden was an Associate at Sagent Advisors, a middle-market investment banking firm, in the Software and Systems and Aerospace, Defense and Technology groups. He focused on providing M&A and other financial advisory services to clients. Braden graduated from the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce with a B.S. in Commerce, with concentrations in Finance and Accounting.

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Three Ways to Know Your Market Better

One of the key criteria in funding startups is the entrepreneur’s knowledge of the target market and customer. Size of market, growth rates, and segmentation are key components the entrepreneur should know well. In this post we’ll look at three ways to know your market better. The first place to look is on the web. You’ll need to first identify which industry(s) you’re in. From that you can find out several facts about your target market size. The next step is to find out what trade associations and conferences are related to it. You can contact the trade association and find out more about the market. Usually, the director of the association has the key market information you’re seeking and will make that available to you in an email or phone call. Their job is to foster the growth of their industry segment by informing others about it. The third step is to attend a trade conference. You’ll learn more from those on the exhibit hall floor than you can from articles or other means. It’s worth a day walking the show to get the details. Finally, avoid market research reports. These reports cost anywhere from $2,000 to $25,000. Most of these are simply a compilation from a direct mail campaign that is far from comprehensive. While they can be helpful they certainly aren’t worth the money. Best regards, Hall T.

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VC Profile: FF Venture Capital

Headquarters: New York, NY Sectors: cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, machine learning, hardware, drones, enterprise cloud software, and crowdfunding Description:  ff Venture Capital was founded in 2008 and since then has invested in 90+ companies and helped to create aggregate market value exceeding $4 billion. They were founded by John Frankel and Alex Katz, who are general partners at the firm, Alex also serves as CFO. The firm’s other general partners include David Tenten, Michael Faber, and Adam Plotkin. Their team of over 25 people actively works with founders to develop products, target markets, and accelerate growth. Their funding criteria seeks out those who create new technologies and build upon the expanding capabilities of technology to develop new markets, change behaviors, and solve important problems. They are looking for new ideas and business models before they become established themes, not once they have become mainstream. They want game changers and believe the best companies define their own categories. A few examples of their consistent investing themes include: deep software stack that enables new functionality, efficiencies, and cost savings; Low-cost/High-value networks that tend to gain new users at low marginal cost and improve the user experience with each marginal user. ff Venture Capital does not only provide capital but, every company receives support of their Acceleration Team, which provides hands-on and comprehensive guidance and resources to each of their portfolio companies’ management teams. With them they provide a team of expertise in communications, marketing and branding, recruiting, product engineering and strategy, financial modeling, account and budgeting, community management, and strategic and partner development. In all of their guidance they provide, ff Venture Capital’s main focus is to keep value over valuation. Recent Investments: Socure $13M / Series B Dashbot $2M / Seed (Lead) Estify $6.3M / Series B cielo24 $1.07M / Convertible Note Website: http://ffvc.com/  

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Company Spotlight: Ryan Austin of Synapse

Check out our exclusive interview with Ryan Austin, Founder & CEO of Synapse. Where are you from originally? I am originally from Toronto, Canada. In 2015, I moved to Houston, TX to participate in SURGE Ventures to build our product with a few large enterprise clients. What university did you go to? I went to York University and The University of Western Ontario.  I actually dropped out in my third year after starting a successful online wholesale attire and travel e-commerce portal.   What is the idea behind your startup? Think “UX” but for creating learning / training programs.  When you hear about training or learning, people automatically think about how visually appealing the content looks. In reality, it takes a ton of research and planning to design the right experience.  Currently, this is a manual process filled with excel sheets and word templates.  We automate these manual efforts with our cloud-based learning design system. What need does it fulfill? For the two million learning designers whose job is to design learning experiences, we transition them from paper-based templates to an easy-to-use digital collaboration platform.   What exactly does it do? Learning designers can collaborate with stakeholders to define project needs, design learning experiences and create blueprints and prototypes that guide content authoring efforts. Who is it for? The platform is designed for learning designers who work within Corporate and Higher Education Organizations. What was the most challenging aspect of starting up? The most challenging aspect to starting any business is self-doubt.  Your mind tends to play tricks on you.  Luckily, I’ve been through the emotions before and know how to stay focused.  As an entrepreneur, you’re faced with challenges and have to stay strong-minded.  That’s also the fun of being self-employed. You get to solve big problems – from making resources available where they seem impossible to creating new products that help people. What is the next step for you and your business? We’ve found product market fit, so we’re currently maturing our platform and preparing the business for our growth curve. What advice do you have for entrepreneurs? Stay focused and stay strong.  As an entrepreneur, it’s easy to “kick down the sand castle”.   People can sometimes become their worst enemies.  Don’t be disruptive to your hard work. Patience is a virtue. It can take months or years to build a business – be patient – it’s very easy to “kick down” what you create because it feels like the right thing to do.  In most cases, you didn’t give it enough time. What resource have you found to be the most helpful and why? Mentors and advisors. Find great people who have “been there done that” and believe in you.  Put them around you to increase probability of success and reward them for their investment in you.

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Food & Beverage Investments Quarterly Review

The Food and Beverage industry has seen a slow down in the quarterly investments. Peaking in the second quarter of 2015, the investment dollars have dropped substantially although the number of deals continues to remain constant if not slightly upward. You can see the investments and deals by quarter here: Quarter Funding (Food & Beverages) Deals (Food & Beverages) 2015 Q1 1090.68 140 2015 Q2 1263.43 142 2015 Q3 799.02 137 2015 Q4 939.69 133 2016 Q1 250.21 153 2016 Q2 395.32 143 2016 Q3 371.09 139 2016 Q4 3165.94 154  

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Company Spotlight: Jac Saltzgiver of Trago

Check out our exclusive interview with Trago CEO, Jac Saltzgiver. Where are you from originally? Colorado Springs, CO What university did you go to? Wake Forest University – Go Deacs! What is the idea behind your startup? Two main ideas behind Trago: Hydration data is a valuable data set that is currently missing from the broader health equation  Personalized hydration is the next evolution of a $7 Billion reusable water bottle industry What need does it fulfill? Most of us know we should drink MORE water but have no idea how much we should or how much we do drink. We often forget. And although we generally know that hydration is a good thing, we have no data to help us understand how it effects our performance, energy, heart rate, metabolism and our sleep. What exactly does it do? Trago measures how much you drink and connects with devices like Fitbit and Apple Healthkit to understand your body type, local weather, and activity level to recommend the perfect amount to drink each day. Then, Trago’s free mobile app keeps you on pace throughout the day and adjust your fluid consumption goals based on your day to day weather and activity. Who is it for? Trago is for anyone looking to improve their peak performance – at work, in the gym, on the road, or on the field. We like to say, “people who sweat”. We are largely targeting the “Athliesure” and health and wellness markets, but Healthcare and Corporate Wellness are both solid markets for us as well. What was the most challenging aspect of starting up? Developing a market leading iOT product from skratch on a low budget. What is the next step for you and your business? Next steps are to open up a lot of distribution channels, innovate around our product offering, and SELL a TON of water bottles 🙂 What advice do you have for entrepreneurs? If you think you get to the top on your own, you probably have a very selective memory. What resource have you found to be the most helpful and why? Our mentors and our partners. Because no amount of reading, education, ideas or “plans” are a substitute for experience and relationships.

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VC Profile: Mercato Partners

Headquarters: Salt Lake City, Utah Sectors: Enterprise Software, Software, Hardware + Software, Ad Tech, Healthcare, Consumer Description: Founded in 2006 Mercato Partners is a Utah-based growth equity fund that pursues investments in high technology and consumer businesses nationwide. They are looking for companies that are on the path to sustainable cash flow with $10 to $50 million in revenue. Mercato generally invests in later financings as a minority shareholder and are active participants in company’s growth. “Working shoulder to shoulder with talented management teams, Mercato has helped create value for founders and shareholders and has built one of the highest returning growth equity funds in the nation.” Recent Investments: Stance $30M / Series D (Lead) SteelHouse $49M / Venture (Lead) Sphero $45M / Series E (Lead) Stance $50M / Series C Website: http://mercatopartners.com/ As principal at Mercato, Ryan Sanders has the relevant experience to interact with the companies and investors Mercato seeks, along with a rich network of contacts in Texas. Prior to Mercato Partners, Ryan was a principal at Escalate Capital Partners, a leading mezzanine firm focused on investing in high growth, later-stage technology companies. Before joining Escalate, Ryan worked as a business operations manager with Comcast Converged Products, helping Comcast launch its next-generation X1 platform. Previously, Ryan was a founder and held various management positions at The University of Texas Golf Club. Ryan began his career as an entrepreneur and was a founder and board member of Calixus, a venture–backed software company in the online media industry (acquired by Media News Group).

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