The High Alpha leadership team: (from left) Scott Dorsey, Eric Tobias, Mike Fitzgerald and Kristian Andersen.
Arkansas tech entrepreneur and investor Kristian Andersen is part of a group of prominent national founders who have launched High Alpha, a “venture studio” conceived to launch and scale tech startups.
A press release issued Tuesday announcing the launch said High Alpha had raised $35 million to “create, operate and fund next-generation enterprise cloud companies.”
Andersen, who maintains a permanent Arkansas residence in Conway, is a serial tech founder and launched Studio Science (formerly KA+A) in Indianapolis. He also co-founded Gravity Ventures, a member-managed seed capital fund based in Indiana and Arkansas that’s invested in 15 Arkansas tech startups and ventures including Acumen Brands, DataRank, Treatsie and the ARK Challenge.
Joining him on the High Alpha leadership team are partners Scott Dorsey, former chairman, CEO and co-founder of ExactTarget (sold to Salesforce.com for $2.5B); Mike Fitzgerald, former EVP for corporate development at ExactTarget and Gravity Ventures co-founder; and Eric Tobias, founder and CEO of iGoDigital (sold to ExactTarget).
High Alpha is backed by West Coast-based Emergence Capital, East Coast-based Greenspring Associates, Midwest-based Hyde Park Venture Partners and strategic angel investors including some from Arkansas, Andersen said.
In addition to championing the rise of Arkansas’ tech startup ecosystem, Andersen has been an adviser to Innovate Arkansas and an ARK Challenge mentor. His Arkansas connection will translate to a keen awareness at High Alpha of the increasing startup talent flow found in the state, he said.
“I will be focused on looking for the best and brightest ideas and entrepreneurs in the state as well as around the country,” he told ArkansasBusiness.com.
The High Alpha portfolio already includes three firms: TinderBox, Lesson.ly and Visible with more announcements coming, the release promises.
Read the full release here.
Sign up for Daily E-news
