Austin-based VC firm kicks off 20th year with continued momentum
AUSTIN, TEXAS / ACCESS Newswire / February 13, 2025 / S3 Ventures, one of the largest and longest-serving venture capital firms in Texas, announced today the promotion of four investment team members. Founded 20 years ago, the firm has made five new investments over the past few months - adding to its portfolio of 33 startups in Texas and other technology hubs across the country.
"We are thrilled to recognize the exceptional contributions of our investment team - particularly their success in sourcing, evaluating, and supporting promising early-stage companies," said Brian R. Smith, Managing Director of S3 Ventures. "Their hard work and leadership has resulted in significant value creation for our fast-growing portfolio."
Joe Curry has been promoted to Principal. He has worked closely with 13 portfolio companies - including Atmosphere, Arpio, Allstacks, ControlRooms, LeanDNA, Hydrolix, Prokeep, QbDVision, UpEquity, and VUV Analytics. Joe joined the firm in 2020 as a Senior Associate and was promoted to Vice President in 2023. Prior to S3, Joe was Senior Director of Corporate Development at Khoros (fka Spredfast).
Nicole Bentz has been promoted to Vice President. Nicole has worked closely with 13 portfolio companies-including BrainCheck, Liquibase, Plural, Sudozi, Sunthetics, RepVue, and QbDVision. She joined the firm in 2021 as an Associate and was promoted to Senior Associate in 2022. Prior to S3, Nicole was a Senior Analyst at Flyover Capital in Kansas City.
Sarah Morgan has been promoted to Vice President. Sarah has worked closely with 12 portfolio companies-including Alleviant Medical, Buildforce, CereTax, Interplay Learning, Spectrawave, and Videate. She joined the firm in 2021 as a Venture Fellow, while earning an MBA at UT McCombs, and was the hired fulltime as a Senior Associate in 2022. Prior to S3, Sarah held roles in corporate strategy and investment banking at Microsoft and Wells Fargo, respectively.
Carolyn Houren has been promoted to Senior Associate. Carolyn has worked closely with 11 portfolio companies-including DigitalEx, HYAS, Ictero Medical, LeanDNA, MontyCloud, Rest, Riscosity, and ZSuite Tech. She joined the firm in 2022 as an Associate after serving six years in operating, investment, and consulting roles at Cosmic Bliss, Stafford Capital Partners, and PwC, respectively.
"It is wonderful to see our teammates grow and succeed within our firm," said Eric Engineer, Partner at S3 Ventures. "We put a lot of thought, time, and resources into developing talent, so seeing them advance is a great source of pride for our partnership."
S3 Ventures is investing out of its seventh early-stage fund, sized at $250M. Over the past few months, the firm announced four new investments: Sunthetics (Austin, TX), Kamiwaza (Denver, CO), DigitalEx (Austin, TX), and MontyCloud (Austin, TX + Seattle, WA).
Since its founding in 2005, S3 Ventures has been backed by one limited partner - a highly philanthropic family with a multi-billion-dollar foundation focused on addressing social inequities. With its single-LP structure, the firm is undistracted by fundraising and unencumbered by many constraints faced by traditional VC firms, thereby providing patient capital that better aligns with a founder's long-term vision.
Contact Information
Gina Budd
Marketing Director
gina@s3vc.com
512-422-6571
SOURCE: S3 Ventures
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