Peak Ventures has closed on a USD23 million venture capital fund aimed at seed-stage start-ups in Utah and the Mountain West.
The fund will invest initial amounts into early stage companies ranging from USD100,000 to USD1 million. The fund was raised from accredited international and domestic investors.
Local entrepreneurs Jeff Burningham, Jeff Danley and Jamie Dunn founded the Peak brand in 2007, and have recently launched a venture arm to support the growth in Utah tech innovation.
Preceding the fund, Peak was an active local investor, funding nearly 20 Utah tech companies. Upon raising the fund, Peak lured local entrepreneur and investor Sid Krommenhoek away from Chegg International (CHGG) to co-manage Peak Ventures with Jeff Burningham.
“There is a real need for new capital sources to fund the brightest entrepreneurs in Utah,” Burningham says. “We plan to meet that need by focusing on the entrepreneur. In the early days of your start-up, it’s about gaining every possible advantage and executing. In essence, we’ve assembled the type of venture firm that we wished would have existed when we were raising capital for our start-ups.”
Burningham and Krommenhoek each have founded and built local start-ups that were later sold to now publicly listed companies. Burningham founded MindWire, which sold to a NASDAQ listed company, and then founded Peak Capital Partners, a real estate private equity arm of Peak, with an asset portfolio valued at USD800 million. Krommenhoek most recently founded edtech start-up Zinch, which was acquired by Chegg. He then led Chegg’s international business unit until shortly after its initial public offering.
“Having built companies in Utah, we place huge value on having local investors who understand first-hand the needs of a start-up,” Krommenhoek says. “The past decade of tech growth in Utah has created a savvy group of entrepreneurs who aren’t satisfied with the status quo. They’re following strong exits from previous wins with even more ambitious start-ups, raising unprecedented rounds of financing and seeking talented team members who can perform at a very high level. That’s where Peak Ventures will play.”
Peak Ventures Fund 1 has invested in seven companies. Recent investments include: Grasswire, a real time newsroom curated by social media outlets and fact checked by viewers; and Owlet, developer of a wearable “smart sock” for a baby’s foot that tracks movement and measures information like heart rate, oxygen levels and body temperature.
