LiveOak Venture Partners Named to Inc.’s 2023 List of Founder-Friendly Investors

Annual roundup highlights the private equity and venture capital firms with the best track records of success backing entrepreneurs.

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--LiveOak Venture Partners, a leading Austin-based venture capital firm focused on early-stage tech startups across Texas, was named in Inc.'s annual Founder-Friendly Investors list for 2023. The firms on Inc.'s list have successful track records of remaining actively involved with their portfolio businesses. This is the second consecutive year LiveOak Venture Partners has been named to this list.

"We're thrilled to be recognized as one of Inc.'s Founder-Friendly investors, and we're truly grateful for the support and collaboration of the founders we work with every day," shared Mike Marcantonio, Partner of LiveOak Venture Partners. "Being deeply involved in the Texas startup scene has helped us lay a solid foundation for the next generation of leaders. This acknowledgment validates our strategy of getting in early and building strong partnerships, helping Texas-based businesses thrive."

LiveOak's unparalleled approach to nurturing the next generation of Texas leaders, driven by co-founding partners Krishna Srinivasan and Venu Shamapant, has solidified its position as the go-to investment partner for ambitious founders seeking to scale their companies in Texas. With a portfolio exceeding $1 billion in cumulative funding, LiveOak has contributed to the success stories of prominent entities, including DISCO (NYSE: LAW), Eventus, Homeward, OJO Labs, SchooLinks, Osano, and ConverseNow, as well as notable Dallas-based companies like AmlipfyAI and Take Command Health.

LiveOak’s all-in approach has helped foster valuable and personal partnerships with founders. Some of their testimonial statements:

“LiveOak is not just an investor that sits on your cap table; they are collaborative, thoughtful, and resourceful, said Katie Fang, CEO and Founder of SchooLinks. Krishna is our lead investor for our Series A. He brings a more nuanced perspective than most investors I talked to, and he’s supported our company, the executive team, and my personal growth.”

Chris Richter, CEO and Founder of FloorFound shared, “Beyond an investor, LiveOak has been a true partner to the company and me from day 1. The partner who we work with has rolled up his sleeves and really gets into the weeds of the business to help us develop a thorough understanding of all of the challenges and opportunities in this new space we are chartering and has been consistently helpful with recommendations to banks, service providers, leadership candidate referrals and more. In a nutshell, this is a firm that is truly supportive of the entrepreneur and the entrepreneur’s vision and brings true operational expertise to the table.”

“We are honored that our founder network continues to be our most valuable source of referral," emphasized Creighton Hicks, Partner of LiveOak Venture Partners. “We're here to be more than just investors - we see ourselves as genuine partners committed to our companies.”

To compile the list, Inc. went straight to the source: entrepreneurs who have sold to private equity and venture capital firms. Founders filled out a questionnaire about their experiences partnering with private equity, venture capital, and debt firms and shared data on how their portfolio companies have grown during these partnerships.

To see the complete list, go to: https://www.inc.com/founder-friendly-investors/2023

About LiveOak Venture Partners

LiveOak Venture Partners is an early-stage venture capital firm based in Austin, Texas. With over 23 years of successful venture investing in Texas, the founders of LiveOak have helped create nearly $5 billion of enterprise value. While almost all of LiveOak's investments begin in the early stages, LiveOak is a complete life cycle investor focused on technology and technology-enabled service companies. With nearly $500M under management, LiveOak Venture Partners has led investments in 60 high-growth Texas-based companies, including DISCO (NYSE: LAW), Eventus, OJO Labs, AmplifAI, Homeward, Take Command Health, and Osano. Recognized as the Venture Capital Firm of the Year at the inaugural A-List awards by the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, LiveOak is dedicated to supporting local founders, fostering the next generation of leaders, and building category-dominating companies.

About Inc.

The world’s most trusted business-media brand, Inc., offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community they need to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across various channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list produced yearly since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. The associated Inc. 5000 Conference is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit www.inc.com.