The Power of a Name: Discussing the 1839 Ventures® Brand
As the founder of 1839 Ventures®, I have been asked numerous times as to the significance of the number in our name. Our firm has also been lucky enough to have received countless number of compliments on our logo. Both of these items are of course large contributors to the 1839 Ventures® brand.
Many people, however, may not be aware of the hidden meanings behind our firm’s name, our venture fund’s names, and our logo design. Each of these things together represents a set of beliefs, and those beliefs along with the representation in the names and designs seek to all promote our company’s brand.
Today, I would like to share some of the stories and perhaps hidden meanings behind our firm’s and fund’s names, as well as describe the symbols and designs in our logo that make up our brand. A good place to start might be with sharing a bit of Texas history. After which, I will then share some of the reasons behind choosing the name 1839 Ventures®.
A Brief History Lesson
Austin, the capital of Texas, was established by the Republic of Texas in the year 1839 to serve as its permanent capital. The city was named in honor of the Father of Texas, Stephen F. Austin. Austin is located in Travis County and is situated along the Colorado River just east of what is known as the Texas Hill Country. In its beginning, only 7,735 acres were set aside along the Colorado River which included the small hamlet of Waterloo and some adjacent land. In just over 175 years, Austin has grown into the 14th most populous city in the United States.
The site that was ultimately selected for the city of Austin was chosen by Mirabeau B. Lamar, who was the second President of the Republic of Texas. He was also a large proponent of growth and westward expansion. Lamar, who had visited the area the previous year, was impressed by the beauty, healthfulness, abundance of natural resources, and the central location in the Texas territory. Even then he recognized Austin’s promise as an economic hub.
Centrally located in Texas and within the United States, Austin is about two hours driving time North of San Antonio, three hours South of Dallas, and three hours West of Houston. You can fly across the United States in just under three hours’ flight time to Chicago, about three and half hours’ flight time to New York City, and four hours to San Francisco.
Our Austin Connection
I first moved to Austin in 1975, taking only a short break when I attended Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches. I graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration with a focus on International Business. After graduation, I moved back to Austin, where I worked primarily for technology companies in the following sectors, including software, hardware, e-commerce, and various service companies.
Throughout my life, I have continuously maintained an entrepreneurial mindset. This continued after college where I founded and operated four separate businesses. Later, I became more active in Austin’s startup ecosystem and worked as the Director of Operations for a local technology incubator. I have acted as a brand ambassador for the City of Austin promoting areas of economic development with different members of the City’s Economic Development Department and through my contacts at the City and the various Austin Chambers of Commerce.
Our Firm’s Name
I have always had a love of the Austin area, and of course, I have seen several changes over the years. My affinity for Austin and most of those changes led me to choose the year of the city’s founding for our firm’s name.
Although Austin can trace being a modern-day tech hub back to just prior to the early 1980’s, it was not until the 1990’s when Austin really started to grow population wise. That is also when other technology-focused companies became a mainstream part of the Austin ecosystem. Part of our technology sector growth was due to the availability of an active and what turned out to be a very large venture capital firm based in Austin named Austin Ventures. Austin Ventures, affectionately known as AV closed its first fund in 1984 at $27.7MM and its first company named fund in 1987 at $60MM. AV went on to raise a total of twelve funds with close to $4 Billion in AUM (assets under management) which completed around 312 investments. In 2015, via a Fortune Magazine article The Death of Austin Ventures, Austin Ventures announced it would cease its investment activities.
It is true that Austin has seen some tremendous growth since the 1980’s. However, it is my opinion and the opinion of the venture team at 1839 Ventures® that Austin’s best days are still ahead. Recently ranked 19th in Top 25 Cities for Doing Business in America by Inc Magazine, it is no wonder why more and more technology-focused companies are relocating to and getting their start in Austin.
We now have a large number of foreign-based businesses seeking to either relocate or open additional offices here as well. Due to the ease of doing business within Texas, and Austin’s relatively low cost of living when compared to other major metropolitan areas, it is no wonder why startups and companies of all sizes are choosing to move here in order to set up operations.
Even though Austin is currently ranked number one in startup activity nationwide according to The 2016 Kauffman Index of Startup Activity: Metropolitan Area and City Trends, and despite all of Austin’s advancement, our team still feels that as a city we are only in our early stages for what is yet to come. Because of this belief, and our strong connection to Austin and our firm’s focus on early and early-growth-stage companies is why our firm is named 1839 Ventures®.
Our Domestic Fund Names
Before I share how our fund names are chosen, I would like to continue our history lesson for just a moment. We have already covered that our firm has a very strong affinity for Austin, and this connection has become an integral part of our corporate culture. The 1839 Ventures® team firmly believes that a rising tide lifts all boats. In our view, if our portfolio companies are successful, and our investors prosper; our firm and the rest of the Austin business ecosystem will automatically flourish.
Austin’s historical east-west streets names which now make up modern-day downtown Austin were generally named after trees that were commonly found in Central Texas. There, of course, were a few exceptions, for instance, First Street (or modern day Caesar Chavez) situated next to the Colorado River was originally named Water Street.
Map of Austin Circa 1839
In the original plan for Austin in 1839, the streets from Second to Fourteenth were primarily named after trees. This naming convention eventually continued all the way through modern-day Twenty-Ninth Street.
We are pleased to say the 1839 Ventures® team hails from backgrounds in business operations, consulting, and venture capital. With approximately $800MM raised between them, each of our venture teams has worked in differing roles to assist promising businesses in the obtainment of capital.
This is not our venture team’s first time working in Venture Capital, or with companies to obtain financing. Due to this prior experience, we decided to skip Water Street and start our fund names at what is known as modern-day Second Street. This is why our first fund is named the 1839 Venture Funds – Live Oak Fund.
Our Logo Design
The design of the 1839 Ventures® logo is intentionally a very simple design. Part of the reason for this is that our team feels that venture capital investing does not need to be overly complicated.
1839 Ventures Full-Color Logo
Although it is a simple design, the 1839 Ventures® logo does have a rather powerful story associated with it.
Now you know that our venture team has strong ties and a certain affinity for Austin. You are also aware that Austin’s historic east-west streets were generally named after trees. As well you have also learned that the 1839 Venture Funds – Live Oak Fund was named after what is modern-day Second Street. How does all of this tie into the design of our logo?
Our brand’s principal colors are made up of different shades of green. Greens generally signify growth, prosperity, and of course money. Greens may also lend themselves to instilling a certain level of calmness and a sense of being traditional. They may also represent a certain level of peacefulness and stability, due to greens’ natural balance between cool and warm colors.
The symbol on the 1839 Ventures’® logo is the shape of a single white oak leaf, that is flanked on either side by a single line. Below the line is the 1839 Ventures® name written in small caps. What you may not have realized is that the white oak image is actually an optical illusion. The image can possibly be three things at once, each of which may represent the different stages within a portfolio company’s lifecycle. The image may be an individual leaf, it may also look like a white oak sprout, or it even may represent a full-grown tree sitting on the horizon. Each of these may represent some of the more significant phases of a portfolio company’s lifecycle.
The green color used in the image is meant to closely represent the natural color of oak trees in the spring, tying us back to the Central Texas area and to new growth. The name of the firm, 1839 Ventures® is found below the horizontal line in a darker green which represents rich soil that provides nourishment for our portfolio companies, in order for them to grow successfully.
Our Brand, Our Belief
Hopefully, after reading this post you now have a better understanding of how the 1839 Ventures® brand has developed. By sharing some of these stories, and the hidden meanings behind our brand, we hope that you might further appreciate our firm’s core beliefs; and perhaps it has provided you with an insight to our firm’s attention to detail.
We look forward to working with you as an investor, or as one of our portfolio companies.
