Chris Olsen, co-founder of venture capital firm Drive Capital LLC, is very familiar with Buffalo, from ACV Auctions’ success to the region’s intersection of manufacturing and technology.
Drive Capital focuses on overlooked founders from east of the Rocky Mountains to west of the Hudson River, but the Queen City is on its radar.
“We’re definitely looking at it and have spent time with a lot of companies in that area and would be excited to invest there,” Olsen said.
As of early last month, the organization had $2.2 billion in assets under management and set aside $80 million in a seed program for hands-on investments.
The venture capital firm recently took a small step in Western New York’s direction. The group hired remote general managers in four North American cities – including a large metro near Buffalo – to repeat its model of investing in future unicorns before the founders even know the idea represents a company.
Besides its Columbus base, Drive has opened a physical office in Chicago and hired remote general managers for fast-growing startup ecosystems in Toronto, Atlanta and Denver. The program already includes about 10 startups.
"We’re just starting out with this program," Olsen told Columbus Inno. "Assuming it goes the way we think it will, it will absolutely go to more cities."
With its strong research institutions, sprouting new venture firms and large population of over 6 million in the metro area, it’s “the perfect recipe of ingredients,” he added.
Overall, his biggest message to the Buffalo startup market is to appreciate and get excited about what’s happening.
“It’s a really exciting time for everyone who’s building their career to opt into high impact divisions in companies that are growing that are going to challenge you and push you to do your best every single day,” he said. “And I think the more people who start to seek out that career and experience and find startups, this whole thing accelerates.”
Stay tuned for an Inno cover story, coming out April 7 in print and online, on lessons to be learned from other cities’ burgeoning tech markets.
