Progress Ventures Announces Closing of Third Venture Fund; Announces New Investments in LISNR, Crave Labs, Iris TV and Tru Optik
Chris Legg and Rick Gallagher Join Nick MacShane and Sam Thompson as Firm Broadens Investment Portfolio and Offerings
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Oct. 20, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Progress Ventures, a Cambridge, MA-based early stage Venture Capital firm born out of 13-year-old investment bank, Progress Partners, is pleased to announce the formation of its third venture fund. Focused on making series-A investments in business-to-business, marketing and media technology companies, Progress Ventures Fund 3 will total $20 million. The fund is set up to provide $500,000 initial investments, as well as follow-on investment from a base of Limited Partners who have elected to provide co-investment funds.
Fund 3 continues Progress Ventures' focus on early stage investments within marketing and media technology and is already holding new investments in LISNR, Crave Labs, IRIS.tv and most recently, Tru Optik. The firm's previous funds included investments in MediaMath, Integral Ad Science, Dstillery, Pixability, Localytics, Skyword and Simplifi Media.
"Fund 3 is our largest to date and well timed to take advantage of the rise in popularity of angel and seed funding and the departure of traditional Series A venture funds which have shifted focus on later stage and growth equity investments," said Nick MacShane, Founding Partner of Progress Ventures. "Our venture companies truly benefit from the depth of specialization we have around marketing and media technology given our strong industry network and corporate advisory insights."
Progress Ventures also recently announced that Chris Legg and Rick Gallagher have joined the firm as Managing Partners, where they bring their deal flow and transactional expertise to help existing portfolio companies and identify new investment opportunities. Mr. Legg and Mr. Gallagher will work alongside Nick MacShane and Sam Thompson to leverage the firm's expertise in early stage investing and entrepreneurship to provide strong, industry-focused operational guidance.
"Progress Ventures immediately understood our value proposition and has been a valuable investor enabling us to meet the growing demand for Tru Optik's audience measurement and targeting solutions, which are proving to deliver valuable transparency around media consumption in the explosive Over-the-Top TV ecosystem," said Andre Swanston, CEO and co-founder of Tru Optik. "Progress Ventures brings unique perspective and value beyond early stage capital, and we look forward to working closely with the team."
"We've established a great presence and deep connections in the New York and Boston marketing and media technology community," said Sam Thompson, Founding Partner at Progress Ventures. "Beyond early stage investments, we've found great entrepreneurial companies from around the country looking to plug into that ecosystem and leverage our network and experience to expand market presence and build lasting value."
About Progress Ventures
Progress Ventures is a Venture Capital firm focused on investing in early stage business-to-business companies within the media and marketing technology sectors. Based in Cambridge MA with offices in NYC, Progress Ventures is uniquely positioned to leverage its 13 Year heritage in investment banking from Progress Partners. The partnership's rich experience in deal flow, banking expertise, market intelligence and corporate strategy have informed a deep industry knowledge, extensive network and industry specific focus. The firm recently closed its third investment fund and has a portfolio of 14 active investments. For more information, please visit www.progressventures.com
SOURCE Progress Ventures
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