History of Venture First
We’ve only been around for a decade but we’ve been busy.
2009
Founder and CEO, John Shumate, began valuing venture stage companies from his hospital bed to pay the bills when he was receiving a stem cell transplant.
2013
CEOs and VCs like John’s work and business grows. Will Baumgardner joins Venture First as first employee.

2014
Client CEO asks John to serve as fractional CFO. This was the genesis for our CFO Services vertical and the beginning of a 5-year partnership with our first client company.
2015
Depth of valuation products expand

2016
Accounting services added to Venture First’s product offering to fully integrate client’s needs and increase efficiency in CFO reporting.
2017
Depth of valuation products expand with hiring of first practice-lead; Venture First secures first office space in NuLu, entrepreneurial hub of Louisville.

2018
Venture First expands footprint to South FL, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco.
2019
Venture First launches a portfolio of targeted niche funds to fill funding gaps and to reward forward-thinking investors in the venture and alternatives markets.
