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SPOTLIGHT:
U.S. Startups Between the Coasts
While the world seems to be
catching up to Endeavor in its
"discovery" of both emerging and
underserved markets, the United
States remains a world leader
in venture capital investing. Yet
the investment dollars within the
country are far from evenly spread,
and the capital concentration by
state is staggering. Of the $100+
billion deployed into venture capital
in the United States last year, 60%
was deployed in California alone,
with Massachusetts and New York
following (not too closely) behind.
These three states account for ~75%
of all venture capital investment
in the United States, but demand
for new deals is at an all-time high
as venture funds raise record
amounts of capital. As our friends at
Revolution, who focus on investing
in high-potential geographies within
the United States, have noted:
"while talent is well distributed,
opportunity is not" — but these
patterns are beginning to change.
In February 2021, Revolution
and Endeavor Catalyst-backed
AppHarvest, a high-tech indoor
greenhouse grower based out of
Morehead, KY, raised $475M in
a SPAC debut. As the company
surges post-debut, AppHarvest is
showing the investment world that
high-tech, innovative companies
can emerge between the coasts.
In Atlanta, for example, funding
has hit a five-year high thanks in part
to several homegrown scale-ups.
Atlanta has produced at least three
unicorns in the past six months,
with Greenlight, SalesLoft, and
Calendly all reaching or surpassing
t Songe LaRon, Co-founder
& CEO, and Dave Salvant,
Co-founder & President,
Squire (Western NY)
Mark Frank,
Co-founder & CEO,
Sondermind (Colorado)
