How DVRGNT Ventures is shifting the narrative on cash flow
A note from DVRGNT Ventures' new partner Jeremy Veatch
It was June of 2006, another hot day in Tucson, AZ. I hung up the phone from a conversation with my boss. His words rang in my ears as I hung up the phone (yes, it was a Nokia 5300). They were going out of business and could only pay for a couple more months, so I would have to find another income. With my wife in medical school, we would have to figure out something quickly.
That was my first introduction to the concept of ‘cash is king’, and the fact that even an otherwise thriving organization can shut down from a lack of cash flow. I decided that I would not let that happen again to others and I would build a career and expertise around getting businesses to scale healthy and be tooled for making sustainable profit.
I could do better
Almost 10 years later, I had an accounting degree, MBA, Fortune 50 banking experience, and Six Sigma training and started investing in private companies; all of which helped me co-found a management consulting firm in 2015. Until 2021 I co-ran that company as we helped SMBs (Small, mid-sized businesses) scale, acquire other businesses, and develop exit plans. We also created a private investment fund with a family office to co-invest with clients.
I am excited to join DVRGNT as a partner. We will embed principles that create compounding growth into the leadership teams and companies that DVRGNT invests in.
Now in 2024, I act as a strategic advisor, board member, and investor. Over the last 18 years, I have worked with and observed many investors and investment vehicles like; family offices, private equity, venture capital, and angel investors. There are three trends that I have seen with the mantra to ’discover’ or ‘find ‘ unicorns:
60% write-off of investments (meaning, planning on a 60% failure rate)
Access to investment $$ by being historically ‘in-network’
Pick the winner, place a bet language - e.g., “Bet on the jockey, not the horse”
We can do better
I am looking forward to diverging from the thinking of these trends and to shaping DVRGNT into a powerful generator that builds an ecosystem that travels another path…one that I have seen available to many businesses.
DVRGNT Trends
Significantly reduce the 60% write-off. I have seen, experienced, and implemented consistent principles and disciplines in businesses that allow businesses to thrive.
Provide access to investment $$ to all types of people from historically underinvested communities. Great ideas and strong execution build wonderful businesses all across the States and by all types of folks.
We make winners. Embedding expertise into companies and providing access to a robust network will accelerate growth and performance. This will exponentially compound the investment $$ we provide.
An example from this past week: B. and I were on a due diligence call one of the directors of a genetics company out of AZ. This team is launching a cancer pre-screen test that will tell you if your genetics will lead to one of 20 cancer types…this is groundbreaking work happening in the middle of a desert!
They have dedicated their lives to fighting cancer
They have multiple patents
Established relationships with sales channels to get their test into the marketplace.
They are looking for product expertise and want help strategically building a company around new products from the genetics superpower that they have developed. That is exciting!. DVRGNT and our team is built for this.
We all left that meeting energized by a strong new partnership and how we can help with much more than .The will help, but the expertise we can share and the network we can provide will accelerate the $$’s impact.
This is a DVRGNT way to invest
To close, I want to share four questions I am asking of myself and the DVRGNT team:
Can we improve overall portfolio performance and extend the profit of more companies, thereby increasing overall impact? (Impact = lives changed, industries disrupted, business practices improved…all driven and funded each year by regenerative profits.)
What happens when capital is used to develop a team and company that builds a profitable business?
Does the Moneyball framework apply to venture investing (Read: reducing the number of losses and ‘getting on base’ more)
Are we able to invest in, teach, and grow leaders (and companies) to have a higher likelihood of success?
When B. asked me to come on as a partner, they asked what excites me about this opportunity—answered with a few quick bullets.
Investing in the great 38 states and the underinvested
Views on ‘investment’ being more powerful than just access to capital - > resources, network, and expertise
The future in venture investing is shifting and being a part of how that will take shape
As DVRGNT is about to make its first investment, I am honored to work alongside people solving critical problems and to be able to provide really smart and talented people access to capital that will lead to changed lives.