New Indianapolis venture capital firm launches first $20M fund

A new Indianapolis-based venture capital firm, Ivy Ventures, launched its first $20 million fund Tuesday, according to a news release.

The venture capital firm, founded by general partner and Indianapolis-based entrepreneur Scott Kraege in partnership with digital product agency Innovatemap and financial advisory firm Valeo, seeks to connect business founders with both financial and entrepreneurial resources to build successful and sustainable businesses in the long term.

The firm is looking to invest in software, life sciences and hard tech, according to their website. Ivy Ventures' portfolio thus far includes an AI platform, a business offering a learning and development marketplace and a company that works on recovery for company-owned devices like cell phones.

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"After founding, exiting and advising dozens of founding teams, I understand how building a successful business requires more than a check," Kraege said in the news release. "We’ve created a fund that offers a strategically-led, operator-based approach to launching companies that doesn’t start and end with an investment.”

Innovatemap, which specializes in product design, branding, marketing and research, will help startups build their products and find the right markets. Valeo will assist startups in connecting with investors and finding funding. Ivy Ventures is also bringing on investors and advisors with industry knowledge. These partnerships, the release said, aim to ensure that startups have the resources to thrive in a competitive market.

"At Valeo, we believe in making order out of chaos,” John Wortman, CEO of Valeo, said in the news release. “The venture ecosystem has a fair amount of its own chaos and by partnering with Ivy we can help create a clearinghouse to vet new investment opportunities and then organize the financial and non-financial resources around the founders with whom we partner to improve every stakeholder’s odds of success.”

Contact Claire Rafford at 317-617-3402 or crafford@gannett.com.