Keith’s role will be to establish a permanent ADV presence in Palo Alto to source deals; support portfolio companies’ expansion; and create a bridge between European and US VCs.
We launched in 2016 with Keith Teare appointed as Executive Chairman, spending the majority of his time in London with a base in Palo Alto. Our portfolio has over 40 portfolio companies, many of which are fundraising or operating in the USA and so we feel the time is right to establish a permanent presence in Silicon Valley.
Fundraising in the US for a UK company can be difficult and often involves 12-18 months of relationship building. Keith has been based in Silicon Valley since the 1990s and has relationships with key angels, VCs and operators in the US. One of the first companies we backed, Wefarm, raised a $5M seed round led by True Ventures, leveraging his relationship with the firm.
The US is also home to a customer base for many of ADV’s portfolio companies. Current Health recently secured its second FDA clearance for its health monitoring wearable. The company has also partnered with US healthcare providers Mount Sinai and Banner Health for clinical trials. Altitude Angel were the first non-US company to partner with the Federal Aviation Authority delivering its software to ensure the skies are safe in a time of increased drone flight.
The US is also a great place to meet founders based in Europe. We’ve now partnered with two YCombinator graduates that spent time in the States to network with stakeholders, raise funds and learn from world class mentors – for example VertoFX who we recently backed. 500 Startups is also a popular route for European startups wanting a boost early in their journey.
As Keith’s role develops, we expect to develop our US presence with fundraising trips and workshops for startups selling their story to US customers or VCs. We’ll also look to develop our fund partner base further afield.
Keith Teare commented: “The first three years since ADV’s launch have been extremely rewarding. I’ve learnt a lot about the European startup ecosystem and have met some incredible entrepreneurs. Now it’s time for myself and ADV to create a bridge between Europe and the US for our portfolio companies and fund partners to take advantage of. I can’t wait to get started.”
Lee Strafford, CEO, commented: “Keith has played a key role in establishing our business, and now is the right time for Keith to focus more on supporting our portfolio and our partners engage with the Silicon Valley ecosystem. We also see a big opportunity with the trend of raising in Silicon Valley and scaling in UK / Europe and hope to play a big role in supporting companies that take this approach.”