IDEA FUND PARTNERS Investment Thesis

Idea Fund is a Durham, North Carolina based early stage fund. It originated from the NC Idea Grant program that provides grants to promising startup companies in the state. Originally headquartered at the former Global HQ of Lucky Strike, it is now in an ecosystem within the Silicon Triangle or Research Triangle Park – the cities of Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill. The area is known for providing quality business and engineering talent through the major universities – Duke, UNC and NC State.

We have a longstanding history with the Partners at Idea Fund – Lister Delgado and John Cambier. They have a strong track record of identifying quality companies at the earliest institutional stage. The focus of the fund is on companies at concept-stage and often pre-revenue. They invest exclusively in the Southeast US. In addition to the quality of the Universities, North Carolina is a major center for banking, energy and healthcare. Charlotte is the second largest banking center after New York, and is an excellent city for developing partnerships with financial institutions that ultimately become clients of many of the startups in the region.

From a portfolio standpoint, we felt it was good to have some exposure to a diverse set of assets. Additionally it provides opportunities to co-invest, especially where we have been able to see companies develop from the earliest stage. We also received access to the NC Idea companies and have witnessed the growth of such businesses as Pendo, Payzer and Filter Easy. We were able to co-invest in Payzer.