Venture capital investor Wes Barton and his family retreated from New York City to his parents' farm in Glasgow, Kentucky, when the Covid-19 pandemic hit. He anticipated staying for two to three weeks and then going back. Fast-forward to today: Barton has instead moved 90 miles south, to Nashville. His employees remain in New York. But he is here, he is closing a $200 million-plus investment round — and he wants local entrepreneurs to know it.
Firm name: Third Prime
Assets under management: The firm has cemented $210 million in a raise that is ongoing and should formally close in a few weeks, Barton said. That will bring Third Prime's total assets under management to about $500 million.
Industry focus: Early-stage startups in "fintech" (financial services technology), "proptech" (real estate-focused technology) and cryptocurrency.
Typical investment range: Third Prime typically leads a seed or Series A round with individual investments between $2 million and $5 million, at company valuations ranging from $10 million to $40 million. The firm started in 2016. Recent investments include startups in Africa and Singapore.
Nashville portfolio: Third Prime invests in Alto Solutions Inc., a fintech company, and Strongest AI, a platform that uses artificial intelligence to personalize and "gamify" exercise and training. "If we can support a homegrown firm as opposed to someone in San Francisco, there's probably a bias to do so," Barton said.
Other Nashville ties: Vanderbilt University's endowment is among Third Prime's larger investors (Boston College's endowment also is an investor, as well as sizable family-office firms). Third Prime venture partner Steve Parker Jr. is a Nashville native as well as CEO and co-founder of marketing agency Levelwing, whose clients include Bridgestone, Under Armour and Ford. Parker moved back to Nashville from Charleston, South Carolina, where most of his employees are located (seven employees are in Nashville).
Nashville vs. Austin: Barton and Parker considered Austin as another option to set up shop. "It was shocking to me to see how little venture capital was available in Nashville, outside of health care services. I saw a tremendous opportunity to plant a flag in a real way. We felt like it was a way to play offense — to get there first," Barton said. "Here, there's a tremendous supply-and-demand imbalance between capital and opportunities. Austin's pretty well covered up. … The University of Texas is great, but I don't think it compares to the talent coming out of Vanderbilt."
Nashville vs. New York: Third Prime has seven full-time employees; Barton is in Nashville and the rest remain in New York. Third Prime will host an investor conference in the fall, and "everyone is saying 'promise me you'll have it in Nashville,' " Barton said. He added: "We give New York and Nashville equal billing. I'm really excited about getting the flywheel spinning here. We're dedicated to doing all we can in Nashville on that front … and hopefully catalyze some of that with our capital. New York, San Francisco — the elbows are sharp there. The spirit here is rising-tide, let's build together. There are so many tailwinds we're riding here."
Where you'll find them: thirdprime.vc, or in their office building at 1281 Third Ave. S., in Wedgewood-Houston. Barton and Parker bought the former bar for $1.2 million in 2021 and have since renovated it into office space — but are preserving the rooftop bar and patio space for gatherings.
