Kickstart Fund

# Kickstart Fund: Architecting the Mountain West's Startup Ecosystem

High-Level Overview

Kickstart Fund operates as a seed-stage venture capital firm dedicated to catalyzing early-stage company formation across Utah, Colorado, and the broader Mountain West region.[1] Founded in 2008, it established itself as the first dedicated seed fund in Utah and has since evolved into a cornerstone institution for regional entrepreneurship. The firm's mission centers on aligning technology creators, industry participants, entrepreneurs, and capital sources to fund and mentor seed-stage investments.[4]

The fund manages approximately $311 million in assets under management and maintains a generalist investment approach across enterprise, consumer, marketplaces, and healthcare sectors.[2] Rather than pursuing a traditional venture model focused solely on returns, Kickstart emphasizes regional talent development and ecosystem building, viewing seed funding as a mechanism for retaining entrepreneurial talent and capital within the Mountain West. This philosophy reflects a deliberate choice to prioritize geographic impact alongside financial performance, positioning the firm as both investor and regional economic development catalyst.

Origin Story

Kickstart Fund emerged from a specific market gap: Utah lacked institutional seed capital infrastructure in 2008. Founders Gavin Christensen and Dalton Wright recognized that early-stage companies in the region faced capital scarcity despite possessing strong technical talent and market opportunities.[1] By establishing the first dedicated seed fund in Utah, they created a structured pathway for pre-seed and seed-stage companies that traditional venture firms overlooked.

The firm's evolution reflects deepening regional commitment. Beyond traditional venture investing, Kickstart launched the Campus Founders Fund, a student-operated venture vehicle spanning 11 universities that invests exclusively in student entrepreneurs.[2] This initiative demonstrates the firm's conviction that entrepreneurial talent development must begin at the educational level, creating a structured pipeline of founders before they enter the professional startup ecosystem. Over 17 years of operation, this approach has yielded a portfolio exceeding 150 companies with 25 documented exits, establishing Kickstart as a proven institutional player rather than a speculative early-stage fund.[4]

Core Differentiators

Investment Thesis & Check Sizes

Kickstart leads and participates in pre-seed, seed, and seed+ funding rounds, with typical check sizes ranging from $500,000 to $3 million, though the firm also offers starter grants between $50,000 and $100,000 for earliest-stage ventures.[2][3] This tiered approach allows the firm to support companies at multiple inflection points rather than forcing founders into a binary accept/reject decision.

Operational Support Beyond Capital

The firm distinguishes itself through hands-on mentorship and operational assistance rather than passive capital deployment. Kickstart's team of 11 partners and 13 associates actively engage with portfolio companies on product development, marketing strategy, and subsequent fundraising rounds.[3] This operating model reflects a conviction that seed-stage companies require guidance as much as funding—a philosophy that reduces failure rates and accelerates time-to-product-market fit.

Regional Talent Pipeline Architecture

The Campus Founders Fund represents a structural innovation in venture capital. By embedding student-run investment committees across 11 universities, Kickstart creates a self-reinforcing talent identification system where future founders gain investment experience while the parent fund gains early visibility into emerging entrepreneurial talent.[2] This approach transforms universities from talent sources into active ecosystem participants.

Portfolio Composition & Track Record

Kickstart's portfolio spans companies like Lucid Motors (electric vehicles), Podium (customer engagement), Cotopaxi (outdoor gear), Angel Studios (faith-based entertainment), and Spiff (sales operations software).[1][6] The diversity across sectors and company stages demonstrates the firm's ability to identify quality founders across varied domains rather than pursuing narrow thematic bets.

Role in the Broader Tech Landscape

Kickstart Fund operates at the intersection of geographic decentralization and seed-stage capital democratization—two defining trends reshaping American venture capital. Historically, venture funding concentrated in coastal hubs (Silicon Valley, New York, Boston), creating geographic arbitrage where identical companies received dramatically different valuations based on location. Kickstart's 17-year track record challenges this model by demonstrating that exceptional founders and scalable businesses emerge from the Mountain West.

The firm's timing proved prescient. Salt Lake City has emerged as a legitimate technology hub, with prominent exits like Pluralsight (valued over $3.5 billion) and Domo (approximately $2.28 billion) validating the region's technical depth.[4] Complementary state initiatives—including Utah's Innovation Fund and USTAR (Utah Science Technology and Research Initiative)—create a supportive policy environment that Kickstart leverages. The firm effectively functions as the private capital anchor within a broader public-private ecosystem designed to retain entrepreneurial activity within the state.

Beyond financial returns, Kickstart influences the broader venture landscape by normalizing seed-stage investing as a distinct discipline. The firm's success demonstrated that seed funding requires different operational models, time horizons, and success metrics than growth-stage venture capital. This insight has influenced how larger venture firms structure seed programs and how institutional LPs allocate capital across fund stages.

Quick Take & Future Outlook

Kickstart Fund stands at an inflection point. The firm has successfully proven the Mountain West thesis and established institutional credibility through 25 exits and $311 million AUM. The next phase likely involves geographic expansion and fund specialization—whether through dedicated sector funds (healthcare, climate tech, fintech) or expanded geographic reach beyond the Mountain West while maintaining the regional focus that defines the brand.

The Campus Founders Fund represents the firm's most innovative asset. As this program matures and produces founder-alumni who raise subsequent rounds, Kickstart will benefit from a compounding network effect where early investments in student entrepreneurs yield future deal flow, LP relationships, and ecosystem influence. This structural advantage becomes more valuable as competition for seed-stage deals intensifies.

The broader venture landscape is moving toward Kickstart's model—recognizing that exceptional companies emerge from underserved geographies and that seed-stage investing requires patient capital and operational engagement. As coastal venture firms increasingly establish satellite offices and regional programs, Kickstart's 17-year head start in the Mountain West provides durable competitive advantage. The firm has transformed from a regional necessity into a template for how venture capital can drive geographic economic development while generating attractive returns—a combination that will likely define successful venture strategies in the next decade.