VentureSouth began 2021 optimistic and ambitious, determined to build on the successes (and challenges) of 2020.
January was off to a flying start: here are a few highlights from just one month in the life of an angel group.
New team members:
We welcomed two new members to the VentureSouth:
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Samantha Boensch joins us from Raleigh as our Director of Operations, responsible for keeping
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VentureSouth meetings and other operational components running smoothly
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- Alex Biermann joins us in Fayetteville as our PortfolioManager, responsible for tracking portfolio company progress and finding more ways for our members and team to help the companies as they grow.
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Both are already doing a great job executing and improving VentureSouth’s activities.
A big win:
In our biggest portfolio news of the month, long-time portfolio company Proterra announced it would become a public company by merging with a SPAC, ArcLight (ACTC). This is VentureSouth’s first SPAC, and will be a fun journey to see how it translates into a return for investors. With a transaction value of over $2 billion, it will be a fun journey for sure!
(The only downside was it means we have to update our “exits” series to accommodate SPACs!)
New investment announcements:
We publicly announced several new investments.
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6AM City: VentureSouth members and funds invested a tidy sum in 6AM City, an existing portfolio company from Greenville. VentureSouth co-led this round with Harbright Ventures in the Triangle. The team is using this capital to get cracking on a nationwide rollout – starting in Nashville next month.
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Seal The Seasons: We also invested a little over $1 million in Seal the Seasons, a Raleigh-based purveyor of delicious frozen fruits and vegetables, in a deal led by VentureSouth.
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Soelect: Last (alphabetically, but certainly not least!) VentureSouth invested in Greensboro-based Soelect, a battery technology company led by Dr. Sung-Jin Cho, alongside other Piedmont and strategic investors.
(Regulatory rules mean a delay between investing and being allowed to discuss the investments. Some of these were closed earlier, but this month is the first time we could talk about them.)
And everything else:
And those are just the public announcements. Under the waterline, the legs continue to paddle hard. Activities this month also included:
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Two member meetings, a screening meeting, a member education workshop, and four public/entrepreneur education events.
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Welcoming 15 new members, from our new VentureSouth Virginia group in Richmond, down to Jacksonville FL, and across to Germantown, TN – and welcoming back a flock more of current members for another year of making money, having fun, and doing good.
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Screening: engaging with 20+ companies ahead of our February screening meeting.
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Deal negotiation: putting the finishing touches on two new investments – one negotiating a term sheet, the other completing the final steps of the transaction documents ahead of closing next month.
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Diligence work: Advancing our detailed due diligence work with two new potential investments – one of which already closed in February.
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Portfolio monitoring: receiving, digesting, and understanding updates on 4Q 2020 performance from our portfolio companies.
So, all in, a busy month! Our optimism as we began the year seems to be well placed!