A new partnership will give companies at government tech startup incubator Eastern Foundry an inside track to potential funding. EF has a new partnership with Charlotte-based investment firm Task Force Capital Management, an investor in veteran-owned startups.
"Eastern Foundry companies will get access to TFX and TFX will be a bigger name because of it," EF co-founder and TFX investor Andrew Chang told DC Inno in an interview ahead of the deal announcement. "It's not saying that TFX can only invest in our companies, but they'll be our kind of go-to guys."
The mutual benefit for the incubator and investment fund could lead to some important jumps for the startups they work with. Not every company at EF is veteran-owned, but there are more than enough to make TFX of interest to a lot of members. And the investment isn't just theoretical, TFX was part of a funding round for EF member Stabilitas that closed about six weeks ago.
“Our team is eager to support Eastern Foundry and it’s mission to forge innovation in the government,” TFX founder Brandon Shelton said in an emailed statement. “There are thousands of veteran-owned companies creating brilliant solutions to our country's toughest problems."
Shelton and Chang went to the same business school, a connection that will make the more formal partnership run smoothly, Chang said. It makes it possible to skip over some of the early-stage introductions ahead of actual pitching and due diligence.
"If we have a member that looks like a good company [for TFX] I can hit up Brandon and say 'hey, you should check out these guys," Chang said. "Stabilitas was one of our first guinea pigs and it worked well."
"Through our combined effort, we have the capability to make real change in the lives of our veteran leaders as well as our governments technology posture," Shelton said.
And the partnership will play an important role in EF's future as it starts to look for other potential homes beyond the D.C. area. There are about 70 startups at the EF in Crystal City, while its new Rosslyn space is a bit more than half full with potential for 80 or so companies.
"[TFX will] really help us in our next moves. We're expanding our footprint beyond D.C. and they'll expand with us," Chang said. "We're definitely scouting around a few choices. The partnership will grow as we do."
