Our Venture Capital investments focus on promising Data & Technology companies in the “fly-over” states. Typically overlooked by coastal VCs, these companies are often dramatically more capital-efficient than their large-market peers, are available at more reasonable valuations, and greatly benefit from the connective tissue that Venture First provides to get them to the next level. While most VCs plan for a high failure rate and bank on a “unicorn” making the returns for the portfolio, we carefully nurture our portfolio, resulting in only two negative return investments ever. Even in the venture space, we’re always working to cap risk.
Through our Strike Ventures Fund and other owned or managed vehicles, we have made investments ranging from a digital ad network, a sports data company, a digital navigation solution supporting the vision-impaired community, a technology-enabled services company helping higher education institutions recruit mission-fit students, and many others.
One example portfolio company, GoodMaps, originated from the American Printing House for the Blind and maps the interior of buildings to help the visually impaired to navigate through subways, hospitals, retail stores or the like. Leveraging LiDAR technology, the company has mapped hundreds of thousands of square feet of transportation, retail, corporate, recreation, healthcare, education, community, and government spaces. In addition to providing a service for the visually impaired, GoodMaps is the leader for indoor mapping, a vertical that Google Maps attempted and failed in the past. Should the company map enough space, it may become a strategic partner or eventual acquisition for Google or another competitor. In addition to providing capital to GoodMaps, Venture First has a presence on the company’s board and also provides the company with CFO Services and other strategic resources.
Venture Capital investing is a small segment of the Venture First alternative investing portfolio; however, the company seeks companies with interesting technology, a strong team, a clear way that Venture First can help, as well as a way for the portfolio company to unlock value for the rest of VF’s private equity portfolio or extended ecosystem.
Strike Ventures is a venture capital firm and is based in Louisville, Kentucky. The firm invests in technology companies.
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