Silicon Valley bus tour rolls into own looking to invest
This Thursday, a bus rolls into Chattanooga bearing venture capitalists with spending money. After stepping down as chairman of AOL Time Warner in 2003 with a net worth of well over $1 billion, Steve Case started a Washington, DC-based venture capital firm called Revolution in 2005 to invest in early-stage and growth-stage startups, following what he called a “rise of the rest” ethos.
The idea is that there are great places to invest besides Silicon Valley, New York, and Massachusetts, where the overwhelming majority of venture capital investments are made. In 2014, he started the Rise of the Rest bus tour, bringing investors to heartland cities for face-to-face meetings with startups.
According to Business Insider, Revolution has invested more than $1 billion in companies outside Silicon Valley, and Case has invested more than $3 million of his own money during these tours.
In December of 2017, Case and JD Vance—a Silicon Valley venture capitalist who wrote the bestselling “Hillbilly Elegy” about his Appalachian roots—created the Rise of the Rest Seed Fund with $150 million of their money plus cash from 34 high-profile investors like Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.
This Thursday, the seventh Rise of the Rest tour stops in Chattanooga. Other stops in this round are Dallas, Memphis, Birmingham, and Louisville.
Eight of Chattanooga’s best and brightest high-growth-potential startup companies, selected from more than 60 that applied, will make their pitches. One will score a $100,000 investment from Case’s fund.
Aegle Gear—Apparel for nurses and other healthcare workers, featuring high-performance designs inspired by athletic gear and antimicrobial fabric.
Branch Technology—An industrial robot arm “paints” in midair to create lattice structures of 3-D printed plastic that are filled and finished to make architectural elements.
CPR Wrap—Simple four-step CPR instructions printed on a piece of plastic that goes over the mouth and chest to help anyone use CPR to save a life.
Curie Co.—Engineered biomaterials to replace harmful or banned chemicals found in consumer products and industrial processes.
FreightWaves—A data and content forum for the freight industry, providing information and analytics designed to empower existing and emerging freight firms.
InfinityCo—Smart room software to automate building services (lighting, temperature, door locks, etc.) for business travelers, vacationers, and students.
SkyNano—Electrochemical conversion of waste carbon dioxide into low-cost raw material for carbon-based nanomaterials that can be used for a variety of applications.
WorkHound—Smartphone app that allows freight drivers to submit ideas, problems, praise, and feedback, and distills that input into actionable insights to improve operations and help retain drivers.