CTEK Forms Strategic Relationship With Access Vent
Prominent Local Venture Fund to Help Fill 'Funding Gap' Between Angels and VCs DENVER, April 24 /PRNewswire/ -- CTEK, a 501c3 non-profit dedicated to fostering entrepreneurship through access to capital, effective technology commercialization, and assistance to innovative entrepreneurs, today announced a strategic alliance with Access Venture Partners. Under the terms of the relationship, CTEK and Access will work together to help emerging technology companies bridge the chasm between Angel and Venture Capital financings.
The fund will actively invest in companies with capital efficient business models that can achieve profitability on the smallest amount of equity capital possible. This will include potential investments in companies that may never need more than $3M in invested capital to become profitable and sustainable.
"Our goal is to provide funding to promising entrepreneurial companies who may otherwise be caught in the middle of this funding gap," said CTEK President Gary Held. "The strategic relationship with Access provides all of the elements we're looking for."
Companies applying to the CTEK Angels will be screened for applicability to the fund, and the fund will have access to CTEK's deal flow of early stage companies and participate in the CTEK Angel network's screening process. Members of the CTEK Angels will be able to invest along with the fund in companies brought forward by CTEK.
"CTEK's deal flow has quadrupled in the last year," Held said. "We will continue to screen and evaluate approximately 300 companies that will apply to CTEK this year. Access will have access to them all and be able to tap into CTEK's extensive network of advisors and industry experts. The strategic relationship with Access is not an exclusive one, and we're looking to partner with additional venture firms who want a steady stream of well vetted, early stage companies."
Access will become a supporting CTEK sponsor, and Frank Mendicino III, a partner with Access, will be appointed to the CTEK Board. CTEK will be a Special Limited Partner of Access and David Gold, head of CTEK's venture fund initiative, will become a Venture Partner of Access Venture Partners.
"Partnering with CTEK is an exciting opportunity for Access," said Mendicino. "Robust deal flow is one of the essential elements to our success, and CTEK will definitely enhance our access to additional deal flow in the Rocky Mountain region. Also being able to tap into the expertise within the CTEK advisor database will be invaluable."
About Access Venture Partners
Access Venture Partners is a seed and early stage venture capital fund. The Fund invests between $250,000 and $2,000,000 in technology companies with hyper-growth potential. We have offices in Austin and Denver, two of the most active technology markets in the country, and recently opened an office in Laramie, Wyoming. Access Venture Partners is backed by large public pension plans, family offices, foundations, successful entrepreneurs and corporate executives. For more information, please visit http://www.accessventurepartners.com.
About CTEK & the CTEK Angels
The CTEK Angels is Colorado's largest formal angel investment network, focused on providing early and seed stage capital to innovative startups. The Angels is a group of former and current executives and entrepreneurs who invest time and monetary resources into emerging growth companies, typically investing within the range of $100K to $1M. Since 2003, the CTEK Angels have become one of the highest-volume clubs in the country, participating in 24 funding rounds in 19 companies. CTEK Angels is managed by CTEK, a 501c3 organization committed to assisting emerging growth companies grow profitable and sustainable businesses through access to capital, effective technology transfer, its venture centers, and a network of over 900 volunteer advisors. For more information, please visit http://www.CTEKAngels.biz and http://www.CTEK.biz.