Greenville-based NEXT launched a $6 million capital fund in January 2023. Since then, it has plowed almost $3 million into a handful of companies, with another soon to join the ranks.
But Founderville, formerly called the Founders Fund, is much more than a money-in, money-out venture fund, co-founder Shay Houser said.
“The thesis of this fund is former Greenville founders funding the next crop of Greenville founders,” he said. “We have 45 investors from Greenville in the fund. All are founders or C-level executives of other, venture-backed or private equity funds, leaders that are willing to spend time with the investments.”
Houser said competition is tight for the funding, which they hope will grow to $12 million as they work to attract tech startups from the Carolinas and Georgia for a one-year residency program at Flywheel Greenville. Furman University’s The Hill Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship is a partner in the effort.
“We’re bullish, and we’re excited,” he said. “We’re fully committed and believe the next step is recruiting companies here, and the table stakes is the move to (Greenville) for a year. And, we’re guaranteeing a minimum investment of $100,000 for every company that comes here, plus subsidized housing and living expenses.”
With a goal of adding eight companies a year for a decade, Houser said the long game is building a startup ecosystem in Greenville capable of retaining — and attracting — the next generation of founders.
“By 2030, data suggests the majority of Greenville’s population is going to be ages 65 and older,” he said. “People are going to be retiring, not starting companies. If we don’t make significant changes by then, [Greenville] is going to be fully leveraged toward manufacturing and hospitality. And I don’t think that’s where we want to be.”
Meanwhile, Houser said 85% of Clemson University computer science graduates are not only not coming to Greenville, but are also leaving South Carolina.
The hope is that, as the tech landscape grows through investment, the workforce will grow with them.
“When we invest in a company, other money comes with it,” Houser said. “In the case of one of our startups, as soon as we invested, two other companies joined in, which tripled the overall investment. And that money is being spent here, in Greenville. It’s going to professional services like CPAs and law firms and payroll companies, and other tech-support companies.”
“It’s business feeding business,” he said. “Everyone wins.”
Next Founderville Funding recipients
Startups to date receiving funding from Founderville: