FITZ GATE IN THE NEWS
Mark Poag, co-founder and managing member of Fitz Gate Ventures
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Houston VC firm raises second venture fund
By Chris Mathews – Reporter, Houston Business Journal
A venture capital group based in Houston recently completed fundraising for its second venture fund.
Fitz Gate Ventures, founded by managing members Jim Cohen and Mark Poag, raised $15 million for its second venture fund. The group previously raised $10 million for its first fund.
Fitz Gate Ventures deploys a majority of its capital into early-stage companies with ties to Princeton University, from which both Cohen and Poag are graduates.
Fitz Gate does invest a minority of its capital outside of startups with ties to Princeton. But its Princeton network — informally called "Friends of Fitz" — provides assistant to the group's portfolio companies in a variety of ways.
"When we've made an investment, it's really valuable to our founders because we can use that network to introduce them to senior-level business development contacts for new customers and also for follow-on rounds of funding," Cohen told the Houston Business Journal.
Jim Cohen, co-founder and managing member of Fitz Gate Ventures
COURTESY FITZ GATE VENTURES
Fitz Gate Ventures is a seed and pre-seed venture capital fund that typically writes initial checks of around $500,000. The fund is essentially industry agnostic but does not usually invest in biotechnology or pharmaceutical ventures, Poag said.
The fund's portfolio companies with ties to the Bayou City include Houston-based wellness and hydration brand Cheers Health Inc. and Spruce Services Inc., a provider of on-demand apartment concierge services that moved its headquarters from Houston to Austin in 2019.
"From a Fitz Gate perspective, we like to invest in companies that are beyond the ideation stage," Poag said. "Typically, the companies we invest in will have already raised money from their friends, family and maybe some angel investors."
With its first $10 million fund, Fitz Gate invested in 14 early-stage companies, Cohen said. The group continues to make follow-on investments from its first fund but is actively pursuing seed-level investments for its second fund.
Both Cohen and Poag teach venture capital courses at the Rice University Jones Graduate School of Business and at the Princeton University graduate school, according to a news release.
Fitz Gate Ventures was founded in July 2015.