Last month, a new seed-stage venture capital firm, Hurt+Harbach launched.
This month, it shut down.
Brett Hurt, co-founder of Bazaarvoice and formerly with Austin Ventures, and Jeff Harbach, former executive director of the Central Texas Angel Network, formed the firm aimed at launching more tech companies in Austin. Harbach and Hurt made the announcement to end their firm in separate blog posts.
“Today we’re announcing that Hurt+Harbach is no longer,” Harbach wrote on his blog. “It’s a bittersweet ending. A week ago Brett decided that his hopes and dreams ultimately lie elsewhere, and we agreed that ripping the band-aid off in quick order was best.”
“I’m writing to tell you that I’ve decided not to continue to pursue Hurt+Harbach,” Harbach wrote on his blog. He then wrote that the decision had nothing to do with his partner, Jeff, and that they were “very successful on the fundraising trail.”
“We were approaching our first close with prospective investors but we never actually sent out the final legal paperwork or took any investor capital in,” Hurt wrote. “Facing the prospect of a 10-year fund cycle, with investors counting on me for longer than that (a successful VC will set up multiple 10-year lifecycle funds over the years), made me think more deeply than ever if this is what I was really passionate about doing for the next 10-20 years of my life.”
Tag: seed stage investment
Geekdom is taking a gamble on new technology startups.
The collaborative coworking site today launched the Geekdom Fund, seed stage capital for technology startups in San Antonio.
The fund will provide startup teams with $25,000 equity investments and free office space at the Weston Centre downtown where the Geekdom is based, said Nick Longo, director of Geekdom and one of the fund’s administrators.
The fund provides a big missing piece of the puzzle in San Antonio’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, Longo said.
“Funding is always the point people want to get to,” Longo said.
The money comes from Pat Condon, one of the founders of Rackspace, and other executives at Rackspace and other angel investors, Longo said. The fund seeks to give San Antonio technology entrepreneurs a head start in launching their products into the marketplace.
“You apply with a great idea and a great team,” Longo said. “You have to be a member of Geekdom to apply. If you want to relocate here, we want you.”
Geekdom is a collaborative workspace, which launched late last year and has grown quickly. The site occupies the 11th floor of the Weston Centre and has expanded to the 10th floor and plans to expand to two additional floors in coming months.
Nick Longo, director of Geekdom is also one of the administrators of the Geekdom Fund, a $25,000 per startup seed stage fund.
The money allows people to build a website, build an app and quit their job and pursue their startup dream, Longo said. The Geekdom fund has already invested in some startups based at the center including ZippyKid and Embarkly.
“Part of our criteria is you haven’t received funding from somewhere else,” Longo said. “This is seed money.”
To apply, visit the Geekdom site and fill out the application. It also asks startup teams to fill out a lean canvas form and list the people on their team.
Disclosure: Geekdom is a sponsor of Silicon Hills News
