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  • April 2023
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Drive Capital: A New Road for Venture

By: Paul A. Gompers and Alicia Dadlani
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:28
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Abstract

Founded by two former Sequoia Capital partners, Columbus-Ohio-based Drive Capital’s mission was to build a world-class venture capital firm in the middle of the U.S., an area historically overlooked by VCs. Drive faced early challenges of attracting investors, sourcing talent, and building entrepreneurial ecosystems, but by 2022, the firm had invested in over 90 portfolio companies and had assets under management of over $2 billion, making it the largest VC firm outside the coasts. In the Winter of 2022, cofounder and CEO Chris Olsen contemplated an investment into Forge Biologics, an Ohio-based gene therapy contract development and manufacturing company. The partnership weighed the pros and cons in the context of the fund’s overall portfolio and macroeconomic headwinds facing the industry.

Keywords

Venture Capital; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Investment; Business Strategy; Financial Services Industry; Biotechnology Industry; United States; Ohio

Citation

Gompers, Paul A., and Alicia Dadlani. "Drive Capital: A New Road for Venture." Harvard Business School Case 823-056, April 2023.
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About The Author

Paul A. Gompers

Finance
→More Publications

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  • The Market for CEOs: Evidence from Private Equity By: Paul A. Gompers, Steven N. Kaplan and Vladimir Mukharlyamov
  • Private Equity By: Paul A. Gompers and Steven N. Kaplan
  • Beam Dental (B) By: Rembrand Koning and Alicia Dadlani
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