When we launched Boyd Street Ventures Fund I in March 2022, more than a few observers expressed their doubt that a minority-owned venture capital firm based in Norman, Oklahoma could succeed. Had they known that funds invested in the global venture capital industry would decline significantly for the next seven consecutive quarters1, there surely would be have been even more doubters.
All of which makes it particularly gratifying to report that we had an exceptional year in 2023, with $18 million in capital raised for Fund I on top of the funding we raised in 2022. In addition, we made 8 new investments in 2023 – bringing our total number of portfolio companies to 13 – along with 6 follow-on investments.
What’s more, third quarter global VC activity was level with the prior quarter, and over 60 percent of emerging managers recently surveyed expressed a positive outlook for the global VC landscape.2 In short, the environment we’ll be operating in as we make additional Fund I investments in 2024 and launch Fund II later in the year is looking to be trending in a positive direction. And I can assure you that we’re working hard every day to take full advantage of this by continually enhancing our capability of providing the best possible return for our investors and the best possible support for our portfolio companies.
Our Investment Focus
Our investment focus remains on early-stage, under-the-radar companies that are pushing the boundaries of applied science, technology, and engineering. We’re particularly interested in Oklahoma-connected businesses within the Life Sciences and Healthtech sectors, including those leveraging deep tech platforms, that are escaping the notice of large East and West Coast VCs and hence less likely to be overbid and overpriced. This is the first element of our two-pronged strategy for pursuing above-the-crowd returns for our investors while supporting innovative companies that can promote an improved quality of life for all people and help create a more harmonious society.
BSV Venture Studio
Perhaps the most important way we stand out from other VC firms is that we take a "VC-PE hybrid" approach by actively providing strategic and operational guidance to de-risk our portfolio companies, reduce their time to market, and increase their ability to scale. This is the second element in our strategy for generating above-the-crowd returns for our investors.
The guidance we provide is particularly rigorous for portfolio companies that sign on to be full-fledged participants in our BSV Venture Studio. Our goal is to have two-to-four full-fledged participants per year, and we've achieved that goal in 2023.
Investments to Date
We ended 2023 with 13 investments in our Fund I to date and expect to make three-to-five additional investments in the first half of 2024.
Here are several of our highlights from the past year:
January
I was interviewed by The Oklahoman for an article discusses the state's growing contributions to the advancement of technology and the opportunity this represents for investors. (Read article.)
We made our first follow-on investment in Luna, which efficiently and affordably delivers at-home physical therapy to greatly enhance patient rehabilitation, provider revenues and physical therapist income.
We held dinners for prospective investors at high-end restaurants in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and Norman.
March
We made our first follow-on investment in Wheeler Bio, which greatly reduces the time to market for new drugs with a unique partnering model uniting drug developers, discovery CROs and CDMOs, and our second follow-on investment in Luna.
The Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology (OCAST) announced that it was investing $10 million in our Fund I and indicated their intent to reinvest all of their Fund I returns back into the fund (thereby benefiting all other Fund I LPs). (Read news release.)
We announced our partnership with the Oklahoma City Minority Founders Association (OMFA).
April
We announced our investment in Oklahoma-based Moat Biotechnology, which is leveraging a game-changing SC-AdVax platform licensed from Mayo Clinic to allow vaccines to confront viruses where they first enter the body: the nasal passage.
We made our first follow-on investment in Ardley, which helps mortgage companies close more loans, do it faster and at a lower cost, and offer better options to borrowers.
We held the 1st Annual BSV CEO Summit at our Norman headquarters, which was attended by senior executives from our portfolio companies and by members of our Strategic Advisory Board.
May
We announced our investments in:
Exum Instruments, whose technology enables materials scientists and engineers to cost-effectively provide full characterization of solid materials in minutes.
Oklahoma-based IV Ensure, which is improving patient health and provider revenue by making it dramatically easier for patients to adhere to home infusion treatment plans. (We are co-investors with Oklahoma City-based Plains Ventures.)
We also made our first follow-on investment in Oklahoma-based Myri Health, whose award-winning app providing badly needed, comprehensive, evidence-based support to postpartum mothers. (We are co-investors with Oklahoma City-based Cortado Ventures.)
June
We made our third follow-on investment in Luna, and our second follow-on investment in Wheeler Bio.
405 Business interviewed me and two other VC founders for their article, “The Future of Oklahoma’s Venture Funding.” (Read article.)
We co-sponsored the PGA Korn Ferry Compliance SolutionsChampionship at Jimmy Austin Golf Club in Norman.
John Pohl, our Venture Partner for Marketing & Investor Relations, met with several prospective portfolio companies at the BIO International convention in Boston.
John also attended Intersolar Europe in Munich, Germany to support BSV portfolio company VesprSolar, which was exhibiting there.
July
We made our first follow-on investment in BossTax,which makes it easy for the soaring number of solo entrepreneurs and independent contractors to track expenses and handle tax preparation.
We signed a contract with HubSpot to significantly enhance our capabilities of reaching and engaging prospective investors and portfolio companies via email, social media and other digital initiatives.
August
We hired Kendall Tucker, who previously worked in executive positions at Goldman Sachs, Riveron and KPMG, as our VPFinance.
September
I was named by 405 Business one of “Metro Oklahoma City’s Most Influential Leaders.” Here's my profile from the article:
BSV was nominated for the Entrepreneurial Success Award at the Tulsa Small Business Summit and Awards (even though we’re not based in Tulsa).
I was a guest speaker at the Family Office & High Net Worth Office Conference in Chicago.
October
We hosted a cocktail reception attended by our LPs, prospective investors, OU President Joseph Harroz Jr. and other OU officials at the Omni Dallas the evening before OU's dramatic victory over Texas in the "Red River Rivalry" game in the Cotton Bowl.
Kendall Tucker, John Pohl and I attended the Bank of America Venture Capital Summit in New York City.
November
We announced our investment in two Oklahoma-based companies:
Lumata Health, the first and only company providing care coordination and counseling for patients with chronic eye conditions like glaucoma. (We are co-investors with Oklahoma City-based Cortado Ventures.)
BP Endo, which has solved the problem of that solves the problem of air or fluid incontinence in colonoscopies. (We are co-investors with Oklahoma City-based Plains Ventures.)
We made our fourth follow-on investment in Luna.
We launched our new website.
December
We invested in Oklahoma-based Cadenza Bio, which is focused on preventing nerve deterioration and repairing ongoing damage from MS and other diseases. (We are co-investors with several Oklahoma VC funds.)
We made our fifth follow-on investment in Luna.
We recruited a new BSV Venture Studio Manager, Meghna Vaidyanath, who started working with us this month and is based in Norman.
I was a guest panelist at a meeting of the Oklahoma Investment Forum in Oklahoma City.
Portfolio Company Milestones
Here are just a few milestones achieved by our portfolio companies in 2023:
Lumata Health: Over 1,300 ophthalmology providers signed up representing over 220,000 patients, and a significant partnership with Genentech.
Luna: On track for annualized revenue of $60 million at end of 2023, with over 3,000 physical therapists on its platform in 28 states.
Myri Health: Selected for Techstars ’23.
VesprSolar: Won a head-to-head pilot competition against the global solar clip market leader conducted by NextEra Energy, the world’s largest utility company and the largest solar energy developer in the US.
Wheeler Bio: Opened its ultra-modern Small-Scale CGMP Manufacturing Facility in Oklahoma City and announced plans to expand to the OKC Innovation District in 2024.
Management Team
Finally, here’s our management team heading into a very promising 2024:
James Spann Founder & General Partner
Jeff Moore Co-Founder & Strategic Advisor
John Pohl Venture Partner, Marketing & Investor Relations
Kendall Tucker VP Finance
Meghna Vaidyanath Venture Studio Manager
Matt Jones General Counsel
Jeff Spray Fundraising Advisor
Eliza McCloy Operations Manager & Executive Assistant
1 https://www.ey.com/ 2https://govlab.com
Thank you, as always, for your interest and support. And here’s to a terrific 2024!
