The relationship between Marc Gorlin, the founder and CEO of Atlanta startup Roadie, and Warren Stephens, CEO of Stephens Inc., goes back to the late ’90s, Gorlin says.
That’s when Stephens invested in VerticalOne, an online account aggregating company co-founded by Gorlin that was bought by S1 Corp.
In 2011, Stephens invested in Kabbage, on online lending company aimed at small businesses that was co-founded by Gorlin and that now has annual revenue of about $41 million.
“Warren was one of our earliest investors in Kabbage,” Gorlin said. “Warren looks for innovative ideas regardless of the industry they are in.”
After Stephens’ investment in VerticalOne, the pair became friendly. “I’d come out to Little Rock and have dinner, and he’d visit when he was in Atlanta, and we just wound up getting to know one another,” Gorlin said.
“Whether it’s the idea or a little bit of me or probably a good helping of both, he sort of came along on all these ideas and has been super helpful. I mean, it’s not just as an investor. There’s deals that we’re working on right now that are the direct result of Warren’s involvement and literally his direct introduction. He’s passive by no means. He helps, which I can’t say for a lot of investors.”
Stephens was the first person to invest in Roadie, Gorlin said.
“I think there’s definitely a side to him that I guess I get to see more than most that is incredibly entrepreneurial and always cheering for a small business to make it,” Gorlin said of Stephens. “It’s a pretty cool side of him that probably doesn’t get seen enough.”
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