Flywheel Grows its Portfolio with New Investments
April 16, 2010 | Reprinted with permission of the New Mexico Business Weekly Copyright 2010; by Kevin Robinson-Avila, NMBW Staff
Txteagle is the second investment this year for Flywheel Ventures’ gap fund, which provides seed money for early-stage startups.
The fund invested in February in TheRetailPlanet.com LLC, a global retail database that offers real-time information on shopping centers and commercial properties worldwide.
Flywheel has $2 million in the fund, with investments in 11 companies and enough remaining funds for four or five more deals.
The company has two other funds: Flywheel I with $32.5 million, and Flywheel II, which had a first closing in March with $6 million.
Flywheel I is fully invested in 14 companies, although it retains money for follow-on investment rounds in those companies. Five of the firms are in New Mexico. The rest are in Colorado, Utah, Arizona and Nevada.
The New Mexico State Investment Council contributed $15 million to Flywheel I. The Small Business Investment Corp. put $1.5 million into Flywheel I, and $1.5 million into the gap fund, said SBIC financial adviser Paul Goblet.
Flywheel is targeting a $35 million capital raise for Flywheel II through a series of closings. A second closing is expected this month with about $10 million, Goblet said.