Justin Kaufenberg, the former CEO and co-founder of local tech company SportsEngine, has joined Minneapolis-based Rally Ventures as a partner, the firm announced Tuesday.
Rally Ventures has been connected to SportsEngine for nearly a decade. The firm led SportsEngine's Series A and B funding rounds, and the firm's co-founder and general partner, Jeff Hinck, served as a board member from 2011 through 2016, when the company was purchased by NBC.
"We are proud and honored to have Justin join us at Rally," Hinck said in a statement. "Adding Justin to our team is a testament to how deeply we respect the entrepreneurs we work with. He's proven himself to be an innovative leader and an unparalleled community builder."
In his new role at Rally, Kaufenberg will source and execute new investments, serve on portfolio company boards and assist existing portfolio company boards. Currently, Kaufenberg serves on the board of Rally portfolio companies Total Expert and Anyroad.
Rally is currently investing from its third fund, which according to a 2018 SEC filing is around $150 million. The firm is dually based in Minnetonka and Silicon Valley, where it is led by Charles Beeler. The firm has added 43 companies to its portfolio over the last eight years.
A recent study by CB Insights found that Rally is the most active venture capital investor in Minnesota. It has invested in six Minnesota companies since its inception in 2012. Since then, several have been sold or gone public. This includes Eden Prairie-based enStratius, which Dell purchased in 2012.
Other Minnesota companies in Rally's portfolio include Atavium, Foodsby, Parallax and ZAPInfo.
News of Kaufenberg's new role comes about a week after SportsEngine announced that Kaufenberg and his fellow co-founders, Carson Kipfer and Greg Blasko, were leaving the company to pursue personal interests. During Kaufenberg's tenure at SportsEngine, the company grew its platform to more than 36,000 paying customers and created nearly 500 new tech jobs in Minnesota.
