About Shepherd Ventures
Shepherd Ventures was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in San Diego, part of Southern California's Tech Coast, with easy access to other technology centers throughout the region. The four original Managing Directors of Shepherd Ventures were George Kenney, Peter Fisher, Tom Siegel and Richard Kuntz. The region has vibrant high technology and life sciences industries, is underserved by the venture capital community, and offers compelling investment opportunities. Shepherd Ventures focus is on information technology and life sciences companies characterized by passionate and experienced management teams, compelling value propositions and extraordinary upside potential. They concentrate on companies located in Southern California and the Southwest, particularly San Diego, where they believe there is a significant shortage of venture capital. Their objective is to generate significant capital appreciation through a balanced portfolio of first and later stage equity investments in carefully selected, wisely shepherded growth companies. First stage companies are those with products that incorporate a disruptive technology, that are (or are about to be) commercially released, and that are capable of creating a valuable new paradigm in their category. In particular, Shepherd Ventures look for companies with completed products, where sales channels have been defined, and when possible, validated by a purchase order or letter of intent from a bona fide customer. Companies should exhibit a sustainable competitive advantage that will drive them to market or sector dominance and a credible path to profitability. Investments in these companies may be part of the first or second round of institutional capital. Seed stage opportunities will generally not be considered. Later stage companies are those that either have received prior rounds of venture capital, or have achieved growth and operational maturity without venture funding. These companies would be established t