Six years ago, telehealth was still in its infancy. Yet an Arizona startup, eVisit, saw its potential and created a solution that ties the patient visit together with everything around it, including scheduling, intake, waiting room management, the virtual visit itself, e-prescribe and discharge. With a focused vision and exceptional talent, the company quickly grew to become a market leader.
And last fall, it was the biggest winner at UNMET Arizona, landing a $14 million series A investment.
This story is not unusual anymore. Arizona has developed a tremendous amount of street cred among investors for its innovative startups. We at UNMET recently put together a list of 20 trailblazing Arizona startups to keep an eye on, and it wasn’t easy choosing just 20. The Arizona startup ecosystem has an amazing story to tell.
Investors are taking notice. More than 200 institutional investors from across the United States and around the world tuned into UNMET Arizona Fall 2020, aimed at fulfilling an unmet need for venture funding in companies outside of Silicon Valley. More than 100 companies made their pitches at the virtual conference co-hosted by the Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) and my company, Denver-based Stout Street Capital.
The spring UNMET Arizona conference, also held virtually, attracted more than 400 attendees, hosted more than 600 meetings and resulted in $53 million in investments. The fall version was slated to bring another $35 million in investments and has enabled 350-plus connections between startups and investors.
We believe enabling network interactions and tracking the impact of those interactions are the most valuable feedback mechanisms for any ecosystem. Because relationships can take time to develop, these new connections are the key driver for investments, which in turn fosters more innovation, job growth, and well-being in general.
Why Arizona? For starters, investors recognize that good ideas and investments aren’t limited to coastal ecosystems like Silicon Valley, Boston and New York. The new generation of founders choose places like Arizona for the quality of life, and they want to start their companies where they grew up and in places where they want to live. Sensible regulatory environments are key to encouraging innovation. Affordability of, and access to, talent and other resources are factors that contribute to sustainability of business ideas. Arizona checks all the boxes.
Entrepreneurs in noncoastal ecosystems have thrived, building lean-sustainable businesses. Investors are now seeing the merits of this model and trying to invest in places like Arizona, where high-quality entrepreneurs are incubating and building their businesses.
Our goal at UNMET is to be a bridge for investors and emerging venture ecosystems such as Arizona. The state of Arizona has taken an active role in enabling its entrepreneurs to succeed and has been a key driver for investor interest in the state.
What’s more, Gov. Doug Ducey and the ACA have built a great state-led model for other noncoastal ecosystems to follow by actively supporting grassroots-level startups with education, investment grants, and supporting programs like UNMET, a logical complement to the ACA’s Venture Partner program, which facilitates introductions between venture capital firms and promising early-stage Arizona companies.
Being an active member of Arizona’s startup scene, we firmly believe timing for these companies could not be any better, with exceptional support from all stakeholders, including the blooming angel communities, active entrepreneur leaders and strong leadership from the state.
These factors have helped startups bloom and succeed in Arizona. Arizona, through its collective efforts, has built an ecosystem that can help build the next crop of world-changing companies. That is why VCs will invest in companies here in the years and decades to come; we are just getting started.
John Francis is founding partner of Stout Street Capital, which focuses on early-stage technology companies innovating in sectors such as data analytics, software, fin-tech, advanced materials, robotics, and AI.
