Wisconsin venture capital fund of funds manager NVNG Investment Advisors LLC has launched an online database designed to help expose venture capitalists to startups in the state.
The new tool, known as +Venture Wisconsin and pronounced "add-venture," is free for founders to list their companies and open for public viewing.
It's also designed as a value-add for the funds NVNG backs and a tool for state economic development, which is important to the investors in NVNG's first fund, NVNG managing director Grady Buchanan said. NVNG's investors, the funds it backs and the more than 60 portfolio startup companies in those funds also have access to an exclusive, more robust online portal where they can connect with each other in a closed network.
NVNG raises capital from corporate partners and then invests in venture capital funds that invest directly in startups. It closed its first $40 million fund of funds last fall with backing from major Wisconsin institutions and corporations including Exact Sciences Corp.
To date, NVNG has invested in five venture capital firms around the country: Colorado- and Minnesota-based Matchstick Ventures, New York City's Social Impact Capital, Boston's 5AM Ventures, Riot of Los Angeles, and Phoenix Venture Partners in San Francisco and Portland.
With its fund of funds, NVNG takes an "outside-in" approach to venture capital, aiming to create a "multiplier effect" for Wisconsin startups, Buchanan said. Buchanan introduces local startups to NVNG's portfolio funds and that sometimes results in investments in Wisconsin companies, he said.
For example, Buchanan introduced Matchstick Ventures to Milwaukee-based education technology startup Fiveable, he said. Matchstick Ventures was among Fiveable's investors in a $2.3 million round in 2020 and the startup went on to raise another $10 million last year. Although NVNG doesn't typically invest directly in startups, it also invested in Fiveable alongside Matchstick Ventures.
Fiveable was among the 16 startups listed in the database at the time of publication.
Wisconsin startups can get listed in the +Venture database by filling out this form.
