Kansas City-based Firebrand Ventures has been investing in Austin startups for at least a year. And now it's ready for more.
The VC firm, which is working with a $17.7 million fund and has plans to launch a larger fund in the near future, announced it has established an Austin office after adding Ryan Merket as a partner. It's Firebrand's first satellite office.
Merket went to high school just south of Austin in New Braunfels before he started building Facebook apps and caught the attention of major publications, including TechCrunch and The New York Times. Soon after, his career took off like a rocket ship with key roles at Facebook, Reddit, CBS Interactive and Amazon. He has been an active angel investor for a few years, and he has invested alongside Firebrand in Austin cybersecurity startup Threatcare.
Merket is also a founder. After leaving Facebook, he founded App Bistro, which was acquired by InMobi in 2012. He has also been a mentor and or advisor at Y Combinator, Techstars and Capital Factory. Among his Austin angel investments are Candidly, TeacherTalent (acquired) ad Able Lending (acquired).
Though Merket largely operated out of the West Coast for years, he returned to Texas for a job with Amazon about two years ago. He said his new role at Firebrand is the culmination of what he had envisioned as one of his best possible outcomes -- combining mentorship, investing and operational assistance with tech startups.
"Who wouldn't be excited about this role?" he said. "It's a dream come true."
Merket met his wife in Kansas City where Firebrand is based, and he said he continues to have deep ties there. Though he said he had considered offers with major Silicon Valley VC firms, he felt a stronger pull toward the Heartland.
Firebrand is a seed-stage firm that specializes in investments in what it calls the Greater Midwest, a region that includes everything from Minneapolis to Austin and Columbus to Boulder, generally speaking.
Merket said he's acutely aware of the burnout factor that impacts many startups and VCs in the Bay Area, a cycle that pushes companies to IPO as quickly as possible, often replacing founders with more experienced leaders with public market pedigrees.
"It came down to Midwest roots and value and the long-play," he said.
Firebrand Managing Director John Fein was previously managing director at Techstars, and the firm counts Techstars CEO David Cohen, former Google executive Brian McClendon and Next Coast Ventures co-founder Tom Ball as advisors. The firm typically backs startups that are planning to raise $500,000 to $2 million with a $250,000 investment.
Firebrand is among a new wave of VCs showing interest in Austin’s tech startup scene.
Flyover Capital, another Kansas City area VC firm with Austin investments, is another example. As is Steve Case‘s Rise of the Rest, California-based Moneta Ventures and Dallas-based Interlock Partners.
