I had a great 10 minutes with Jack Selby, Managing Partner of AZ-VC and managing director of Thiel Captial. We covered a LOT of ground in 10 minutes…Jack went into detail on how AZ was lacking Series A funding for companies and how AZ-VC is filling the void. Here are some additional takeaways:
— AZ-VC is Arizona’s largest venture capital fund. Before it was born, entrepreneurs had to go outside the state to find series A funding.
— Arizona has the #1 school in innovation (ASU) and graduates were not receiving enough venture funds locally. This resulted in them spending time wherever they got the funding instead of staying local.
— I love Jack’s north star and how AZ-VC is working to improve the Arizona tech ecosystem with local, early-stage investments.
Jack has been an Arizona resident for the past 22 years and has continued to see the potential in how the ecosystem is here. He is a fascinating person and worth your 10 minutes.