A Northern Kentucky venture capital firm appears to have made a key first close on its second – and largest – fund to date, according to a filing submitted last week with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Covington-based eGateway Capital, which has backed the likes of Hamilton’s 80 Acres Farms and Los Angeles-based Flowspace, is looking to raise a $100 million fund.
The effort was first disclosed in an SEC filing in February 2022.
An amended Form D submitted Jan. 26 shows more than $66.7 million has been sold to date, leaving roughly $33.3 million remaining. Chad Summe, eGateway managing director, declined comment. That’s typical since federal regulations restrict publicity during fundraising.
If successful, the raise would be among the region’s largest ever, and by a long shot. Refinery Ventures currently holds that title. It closed a now $38 million "Fund II" in early 2022. CincyTech’s “Fund IV,” capped out in 2016, follows at $31 million. The Avondale-based seed stage firm is also in the process of raising a $100 million fund. CincyTech recently closed $12.3 million toward that effort, according to an amended filing it made in July 2023.
EGateway, which launched in 2021, is singularly focused on the e-commerce value chain, or how goods are marketed, sold, transacted and delivered. The firm wants to invest in the technologies, platforms and marketplaces that surround it – while also raising the region's status as an e-commerce capital.
Summe left his position as chief strategy officer at Quotient Technologies to start the firm with partners Mike Veith, a financial adviser and former co-founder and business development officer at Constellation Wealth; Josh Awad, formerly of Bain & Co.; and Mark Sancrant, founder of Blue Ash Capital, who also served stints at Prudential Securities, iNET and Over-the-Rhine agency Empower.
One side of the business handles growth equity investments – targeting post-seed or early-stage companies. The other serves as an M&A advisory.
Since its launch, eGateway has publicly disclosed eight investments. In addition to 80 Acres Farms and Flowspace, its portfolio includes LA-based Cargomatic, considered the Uber of short-haul trucking; Nok, a resale and recommerce ecosystem for brands and retailers; Austin-based Samcart, an e-commerce platform for creators; Austin-based Overhaul, a supply chain solution; VidMob, a video content creation network; and Firework, a San Francisco shoppable and livestream video commerce startup.
The firm’s founding shareholders include several top executives and investors, including John Brase, COO of J.M. Smucker Co.; Bobby Fisher, chairman of Quiet Star Capital, an investment company, and former CEO of Loveland-based Washing Systems; and Dr. Robert Heidt Jr., retired CEO of Wellington Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine, among others.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to include Refinery Venture's Fund II, which closed in 2022.
