COLUMBUS, Ohio, March 08, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Drive Capital, a multi-strategy venture firm investing in market-defining startups located in the “Driveway”, the still underinvested region in North America between the Hudson River and the Rocky Mountains, today announced an $80 million seed program. With its first iteration of the new program, Drive will invest $500,000 in pre-seed and seed companies located in Chicago, Atlanta, Columbus, Denver, and Toronto. Each market is supported by a dedicated General Manager.
Drive’s Seed Program further supports the firm’s mission of investing in the overlooked outliers building world defining companies across North America. The program will allow Drive to support the next generation of early-stage founders from idea until IPO.
"For early-stage startup companies, access to capital is critical," said Chris Olsen, Co-Founder and Partner at Drive Capital. "We’re excited that this new program will help entrepreneurs get their first investment right where they live within these five cities inside the Driveway.”
“Even companies that are a household name now, started out as just an idea. That’s why we’re targeting promising founders to ensure that their important ideas become a reality.”
The General Managers for each city include - Andy Jenks (Drive General Partner and Columbus GM), Landon Campbell (Chicago General Manager), Avoilan Bingham (Atlanta General Manager), Matt Zwiebel (Denver General Manager), and Alanna Souza (Toronto General Manager).
“In order to find the best and brightest founders, Drive is eager to be part of each city's startup community, and that’s accomplished by having our boots on the ground,” said Landon Campbell, Chicago’s General Manager for the Drive Seed Program. “This new program will help strengthen Drive’s role as a long-term partner for seed-stage startups.”
Drive’s notable successes in seed investing include Forge Biologics (Gene Therapy Manufacturing), Beam Benefits (digital employee benefits), and Root Inc. (auto insurance). The firm now manages more than $2.2 billion in total assets and continues to build its portfolio and investment team whose expertise will untap billions of dollars of value in North America.
To learn more, visit Drive Capital’s Seed Program site and follow the company on Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
About Drive Capital
Drive Capital is the most established venture capital firm at the intersection of industry and modern technology. Drive unlocks returns for limited partners by investing in market-defining companies anywhere in North America. Over the last decade, Drive grew to manage more than $2B in total assets. From insurance and manufacturing to energy, healthcare, finance and more, Drive’s portfolio is full of real businesses that create real value in the real world. The result is world-class returns from the greatest emerging market in the world — America. Drive is proudly headquartered in Columbus, Ohio — the geographic center of mass of Western GDP, but Drive also has boots on the ground in a dozen North American cities, with more to come.
Appendix - General Manager Bios
Andy Jenks, Drive General Partner and Columbus GM
Andy Jenks is a General Partner at Drive Capital who has invested in 70 pre-seed and seed companies. Andy has worn multiple hats throughout his career; engineer, founder, CEO, angel investor, and has sat on multiple boards. Prior to Drive Capital, Andy founded three companies in San Francisco and was an entrepreneur in residence at both Khosla Ventures (2012).
Landon Campbell, Chicago General Manager
Landon Campbell is the Chicago General Manager at Drive Capital. Prior to Drive, Landon spent time at Cameo, Motorola, and Inside.com. Landon is also the founder and host of inTheir20s, a podcast that interviews successful individuals, highlighting their journey and experiences during their 20s. Landon explores the frameworks and routines used by some of the most influential people and notable podcast guests have included Steve Wozniak and investors Jason Calacanis and David Sacks.
Avoilan Bingham, Atlanta General Manager
Avoilan Bingham is the Atlanta General Manager at Drive Capital. Prior to this position, Avoilan was Head of Sales for The Labz, a B2B metaverse as a solution platform. He was also an early-stage portfolio manager for Goodie Nation, an Atlanta-based accelerator focused on closing the relationship gap that exists for diverse founders around the world. By 2020, Avoilan accepted the role as Managing Partner at Vertical404, an Atlanta-based early-stage VC fund investing in Black, Latinx, and Female entrepreneurs of venture scalable B2B SaaS companies.
Matt Zwiebel, Denver General Manager
Matt Zwiebel is the Denver General Manager at Drive Capital. Prior to this role, Matt ran Pledge 1% Colorado, a non-profit which supports startups in setting aside equity in support of their community. From 2018-2021, Matt was also the Director of Seed Angel Forum, a quarterly dinner that connects startups raising capital with early stage funds and angels.
Alanna Souza, Toronto General Manager
Alanna Souza is the Toronto General Manager at Drive Capital. Prior to Drive, Alanna worked at a Series B startup, Plum Guide, for 4 years in a variety of roles - most recently leading sales & account management. In 2017, Alanna was Chief of Staff to the CEO of SSENSE, followed by becoming Head of Brand Development. Before SSENSE, she was a consultant at McKinsey and did investment banking at Scotiabank.
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