Exclusive: Former Silicon Valley tech exec to move business accelerator to Tampa
by Parker · 14 things on Twos
- https://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/news/2022/04/07/west-coast-investment-firm-relocates-to-tampa.html?ana=twt
- By Lauren Coffey – TBBJ & Inno Reporter, Tampa Bay Business Journal
- Apr 7, 2022
- An Arizona-based business accelerator and investment fund is moving to Tampa.
- Black Dog Venture Partners, which currently has offices in Tempe and San Francisco, will move to the region in August, according to CEO and founder Scott Kelly.
- Kelly first visited the region for the 2020 Super Bowl and began researching the potential of a move. But it was the welcoming community, he said, that clinched the relocation win.
- "They were ridiculously welcoming," he said in an interview with the Tampa Bay Business Journal. "I think for me, it's a better location than Miami. I think the culture is a bit more conducive for what we do, and Tampa has a significant amount of people moving there; there's a lot going on in the entrepreneur space."
- Black Dog Venture Partners is a business accelerator that provides its companies access to its roughly 13,000 accredited investors. Kelly said the company typically invests approximately $25,000 to $100,000 in early-stage companies that have just begun to earn revenue. There is a focus on software as a service (SaaS) companies, mobility, sports and entertainment, and NFT-focused startups.
- Kelly said the company could begin searching for a more permanent space by the end of the year.
- Kelly spent 15 years working in the Silicon Valley technology scene and has built a network of later-stage investment firms.
- "[Later stage investment firms] refer companies to us when it's too early for them, then we hand it back to them when they get to the later stage," Kelly said. "We have relationships around the country, and our goal is to bring the syndicate of the West Coast investors into the Florida ecosystem."
- He did not estimate exactly how many companies he hopes to work with in Florida. He did say he will most likely be moving two of his portfolio companies to the region: Braincat, an Arizona SaaS company, and an unnamed NFT-focused company. That could mean more local hires. Kelly has started searching for local talent for Black Dog, estimating he will hire eight to 10 locals by August.
- He also plans to host a pitch competition at University of Tampa this fall and serve as a mentor of sorts to some of the student companies.
- "Being able to give institutional knowledge is a reason I'm doing some work at UT," he said. "It's helping early entrepreneurs learn how to build a business. And in all frankness, the valuations are insane in Silicon Valley. So there are real opportunities for outside investors to get involved in Tampa, at better prices than Palo Alto."