OEN Member NewsFormer Simple COO Matt Compton joins Oregon Venture Fund (Portland Business Journal)
Veteran technology executive Matt Compton is the latest partner to join the Oregon Venture Fund (formerly known as the Oregon Angel Fund).
Compton joins OVF from online bank Simple, where he was previously chief operating officer. Compton left Simple as part of that company’s reorganization last summer. He had remained on Simple’s board through December.
Compton has invested with OVF since 2008, leading the group’s investment in Jama Software that same year. He joins the firm as it undergoes a major rebranding.
He worked for five years at web services company Yahoo, eventually becoming vice president of media and strategic partnerships. After that, he joined Seattle venture capital firm Madrona Venture Group where he spent a year as partner before joining ShopIgniter, one of its portfolio companies, as CEO. He led Portland-based ShopIgniter for four years before selling it to Mixpo, another Madrona portfolio company.
He is also on the board of director for outdoor retailer REI.
“Matt is one of the most respected and accomplished operators, venture investors and board members here in Oregon,” said Eric Rosenfeld, founder of OVF in a written statement. “We’re excited to unleash his expertise, relationships and passion for entrepreneurship with our portfolio of 40 active startups and growth companies.”
Compton will lead OVF’s portfolio support work.
Compton hopes to share his experience with other entrepreneurs and help make important network connections.
“We are in the acceleration part of the curve for Portland and our startup ecosystem,” he said. “Over the next 10 years and beyond, there will be major opportunities in Oregon for entrepreneurs and venture investors.”
Oregon Venture Fund raises an annual fund from an investment group of 180 accredited investors. As an annual fund, the money invested into the fund one year is put into companies that same year. With the re-brand, the firm also announced a second funding vehicle. The institutional investor-backed vehicle would have a five-year lifetime.
Last year, the fund invested $7 million into seven companies. Its individual investors put another $6.8 million into companies.
The OVF grew out of the 2007 Angel Oregon event hosted by the Oregon Entrepreneurs Network. That first fund, under the Oregon Angel Fund banner, raised $900,000 from 36 investors. Since then, the fund has invested $48 million in 56 startups in Oregon and Southwest Washington.
Source: www.bizjournals.com
