District Ventures

District Ventures - Home District Ventures About Our Portfolio Our Team In the News "Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work." Daniel Hudson Burnham About District Ventures is an angel investment group supporting promising entrepreneurs at the earliest stages focused on high growth technologies transforming a variety of industries As a collaborative resource group we provide capital, time, and expertise to startups across the country with the goal of accelerating successful exits for startups and investors Our Portfolio ArmorText offers a seamless and secure channel for communication and collaboration for enterprises in regulated industries, including healthcare, financial services and government Boxes is a tool to help you make the most of the stuff you own by organizing and keeping track of all the stuff you love in one place Partnered is the company-to-company business development network connecting startups and brands Tipsi enables educated wine selections based on taste preferences, meal pairing and wine styles. Using location-based restaurant data, the application provides user-specific wine pairing recommendations at any restaurant Wearable technology for the hands-on workforce(via Liquid Capital Group) An active luxury sunglasses company . 10% of profits are donated to SEE International to fund life changing cataract surgeries around the globe Our Team Steve Taylor cofounded District Ventures in 2012 with the goal of providing entrepreneurs with the funding, advice, and relationships they need to successfully execute their big ideas. He also provides strategy and operational consulting services to high-growth venture-backed startups, LPs, venture investors, partners, and suppliers in the venture ecosystem. John Smith is a technology leader with broad experience. He currently designs high-performance tactical systems for DoD programs and advises District Ventures on technology markets. Justin Gatewood , MD is a practicing emergency medicine physician, published health technology researcher and all-around digital health nut. He lives, works and plays (not always in that order) with his family in the San Francisco Bay Area. Sergio Rodriguera Jr. is an advisor at Grpyhn , a mobile security startup, and The Credit Junction, a peer-to-peer (P2P) lending startup. A former Professional Staff Member on the Committee on Financial Services in the U.S. House of Representatives, he helped advise on technology and trade issues. Britt Boughey is President of Beryl Renewables,LLC , a Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business that offers technical and financial consulting services on energy projects, specializing in renewable energy and advanced alternative fuels. Dave Taylor is the Managing Director at Mankind Venture Group ( MvG ), a venture capital and business advisory firm that specializes in forming, funding and building neurotechnology companies. He currently serves on the board of three multinational growth-stage companies, three life sciences start-ups and is on the International Advisory Committees of three leading professional organizations. In the News Check out the awesome things our companies are doing as written in TechCrunch, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, Fox Business, and more.... Follow District Ventures on Twitter. Tweets by @districtvc Waveborn Signs Dallas Cowboys Hall of Fame QB Troy Aikman Brand Inks Multi-Year Partnership with Three-Time Super Bowl Champion Dallas, TX (July 29, 2015) Waveborn Sunglasses is pleased to announce the addition of Hall of Fame QB, Troy Aikman, as the companys official spokesperson. Waveborn changes how people see the world by selling high-quality Italian sunglasses and funding life changing cataract surgeries around the globe. As part of the 4-year partnership, Aikman will serve as a brand ambassador. He will continue to wear Waveborn Sunglasses and earn a small percentage of vesting equity in the company. Aikman will be featured in sales and marketing campaigns to assist the brand in increasing distribution through new channels. Watch the latest video at video.foxbusiness.com The Pandora for wine (Fox Business, 28 May 2015) Tipsi CEO Mike Bell on his app that chooses the best wine to go with your meal based on the restaurant and wine list. The Four Entrepreneurs Changing The Messaging Industry (Inc, May 28, 2015) Messaging isn't just about disappearing photos or replacing text messaging - they're changing the very way that humans are communicating. Slack may have taken over professional messaging with ease of use, ArmorText has grown by providing enterprise-level security functionality. While secure messaging may seem as simple as two-factor authentication, ArmorText adds their own technology that uses device-specific encryption (as opposed to using the same encryption for all devices) to provide an ultra-secure platform for security-conscious businesses. They specifically aim their market at those that need to abide by government regulation (for example, healthcare professionals) with any kind of communication. Mitter and the company are based in Washington D.C., and has worked in security for over a decade, including work for IBM and Accenture. ArmorText Raises $2 Million For Its Secure Mobile Messaging Service For Enterprise (Tech Crunch, February 19, 2015)ArmorText, which is developing a secure messaging client for the enterprise designed to meet the needs of those in regulated markets, has just raised nearly $2 million in outside funding. The round, which is still ongoing, may top that number when it fully closes. Leading the round for the Washington D.C.-based startup was the micro fund Cervin Ventures. Other private investors also participated. Watch the latest video at video.foxbusiness.com Partnered CEO Baldwin Cunningham on his platform that pairs startups with big brands (Fox Business, 26 January 2015) Partnered connects established brands with startups. CEO Baldwin Cunningham talks with Deirdre Bolton about the companys success. Faster , Cheaper, Younger: Meet 30 Under 30 Rising Stars Of Enterprise Technology (Forbes, 5 January 2015) Baldwin Cunningham, 26, started Partnered to create a self-serve digital network for big brands and startups that want to connect based on mutual business interests. Partnered has brokered 208 deals in the past four months. It's backed by Y Combinator and has raised $1.6 million from Sherpa Ventures and other top Silicon Valley VCs. Cunningham has hustle: He introduced himself to one investor during a shared cab ride and got the guy to put money into Partnered. Why Youll Want to Get Tipsi in 2015 (Robb Report, 23 December 2015)If youre resolved to eat and drink better in 2015, youll need Tipsi. While there are many wine-related apps on the market, this one is noticeably different. Most wine apps are created to help you keep track of your favorite wines through libraries of label photos and your own personal tasting notes. Those are useful tools and useful apps, but none have dedicated themselves to the art of food-and-wine pairings. Thats where Tipsi comes in. Boxes Is a Find For Collectors (Best Techie, 10 July 2014) Boxes started out an idea to help people organize their stuff in a really sleek and easy-to-use to design. What its turned out to be, however, is social network for collectors and fashionistas, plus a whole lot more. The iOS app, which officially launched last summer, allows you to catalog ue all of your items in an interface that connects through social sites Facebook and Twitter. As a result, photos of items like shoes can be shared and viewed by people in your circle. The company is also building an e-commerce platform (expected to launch in a few months) so you can sell your items as well. Partnered Raises $850K In Fresh Seed Funding To Pair Big Brands With Startups (TechCrunch, 1 July 2014) Partnered, a Y Combinator-backed company that pairs emerging startups with big brands, raised a fresh $850,000 in new funding and is coming out of closed beta. The round brings the companys total funding to $1.6 million. Investors in this round include Rothenberg Ventures, Structure Capital, Kima Ventures, Slow Ventures, Shervin Pishevars Sherpa Ventures, and Gary Vaynerchuk. Gryphn Acquires SMS Backup Solution Uppidy To Bring Secure Mobile Messaging To Regulated Markets (TechCrunch, 9 April 2014) A Washington, D.C.-based startup, Uppidy, which lets you securely back up your SMS, photos and videos to the cloud, has beenacquired by Gryphn, now called ArmorText, the makers of a secure messaging client for smartphones. The two will now be combining their services in order to tackle the need to manage communications for regulated markets, including finance, health care, and the public sector. A New Wine App Gets Guests Talking (The Wall Street Journal, 25 March 2014) Tipsi Launches This Week With Wine Listings for More Than 1,000 Manhattan Restaurants Create a free website Powered by Create your own free website Start your own free website A surprisingly easy drag drop site creator. Learn more.