ELEVATOR PITCH
As an entrepreneur, you should be as discerning on which investors you partner with as investors are about the founders in whom they invest. Both sides should be looking for the right fit and it’s important that your investors bring more than cash to the table.
You want investors that are able to provide expert guidance that will make the good times more lucrative, and who are able to work in the trenches with you during the inevitable hard times. All venture firms tout a “people first” mentality and being true value-add partners but that, traditionally, only manifests itself through capital and limited interactions at board meetings.
OUR STORY
At Kickstart Seed Fund, we go beyond this. Because of our entrepreneurial roots and the breadth of expertise amongst our partners, we not only understand what you as a founder and innovator are going through and the resources that could be helpful to you, but we formed a platform to meet those needs.
Kickstart’s vibrant online and in-person community brings all the knowledge across our networks directly to our portfolio companies in the form of events, resources, and connections. This allows you to exchange ideas and share expertise with other founders and executives, empowering you to solve critical challenges and build the resilience required to respond to the unique challenges the startup environment presents.
Similar to the start of your entrepreneurial journey, Kickstart began with the recognition that there was a problem to be solved: the lack of seed capital in Utah and the west was hurting entrepreneurs and the ecosystem needed a seed fund. In 2008, Gavin Christensen worked with local universities, angel investors, entrepreneurs, venture capital funds, and other key stakeholders to build a seed fund that the community could rally behind.
Nearly 11 years later, we are pleased that our big bet on the innovative potential of Utah now seems obvious, even though there were few who thought a dedicated seed fund would be viable when it launched. We were the first seed-stage investor in Utah and continue to be the most active investor in the region (2Q 2018 PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor Report).
We are just as committed today to the growth of the Utah startup ecosystem as we were 11 years ago and will continue to innovate to find ways to add value to our companies and the community.
