A Columbia-based venture capital firm has raised a $5.3 million fund, with plans to double its portfolio companies.
Old Line Capital Partners hopes to use the fund, its first, to focus on seed, pre-seed and bridge rounds, with an average investment of between $100,000 and $200,000. The firm hopes to double its portfolio from 12 companies to 20-25. The fund will also allow Old Line Capital to double down on some of its previous investments.
General partner Jerry Schepers said Old Line Capital, founded in 2018, originally focused on cyber-tech companies, but has now shifted to a more diverse portfolio, a reflection of Maryland’s strong biomedical and health ecosystem.
The company has had two successful exits so far: Attila Security and Privva, which were both acquired separately for undisclosed sums last year. Sports betting company SharpRank is one of Old Line Capital’s most notable success stories, recently raising $2.5 million in a seed round. Out of its 12 portfolio companies, one is defunct from an unsuccessful exit.
Along with an influx of capital, Old Line Capital tries to give its portfolio companies advice on how to succeed.
“You have guys with a lot of energy, who have a great idea, but don’t know a lot about how to build and market a company,” Schepers said.
The majority of Old Line Capital's 13 general partners and 22 limited partners are previous entrepreneurs within the tech space, making them a valuable resource for young companies. Schepers, for example, is a co-founder of software company Nexxis Solutions. Managing partner John Schveibinz founded Applied Signal & Image Technology, and then served as a board adviser for Praxis Engineering, an Anne Arundel company that was acquired for $235 million in 2017.
“Our goal is not to write a check and walk away,” said Schepers, a former adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University. “Our goal is to stay engaged, be a mentor and sounding board."
Old Line Capital invests in companies in the mid-Atlantic region, but most of its portfolio is based in Maryland. Baltimore has seen several notable new VC fund raises this year, such as Jeff Cherry's Conscious Venture Partners and Conversion Capital. The economic downturn has not had a huge impact of Old Line Capital, because of its focus on early-stage companies.
"You're seeing some of the bigger private equity firms tell their investment companies to hunker down," Schepers said. "Because money is going to get tight. But I think that's more in the really high growth much larger capitalized companies."
