NRV, a Richmond-based venture capital firm, has closed the NRV Early Stage Growth Fund, L.P., a $33 million fund that will invest in high growth companies that are post proof-of-concept with demonstrated market traction and led by exceptional teams.

“The fund will invest in early stage ventures in the Commonwealth and perhaps beyond,” said NRV Co-Founder and Managing Director Ted Chandler. “Virginia is an underserved market with a robust innovation economy. NRV is well-positioned to identify and invest in the region’s most promising companies, while providing our investors with outsized returns.”

This new fund represents a departure from NRV’s previous “club investing” model and offers expanded opportunities through an upfront pool of capital. Over the past five years, NRV and its network of investors have invested $54 million in nine companies while also helping them raise an additional $80 million from national and international strategic investors. During this time, NRV honed its intentional approach of working with its portfolio companies to provide counsel and connections in addition to capital.

NRV has deployed a portion of the new fund to invest in three Virginia companies, Health Warrior, Nutriati and Territory. Health Warrior is a food and movement brand that delivers super foods in convenient forms including chia seed-based energy bars and pumpkin seed bars. Nutriati is an agri-food technology company that makes food ingredients including a chickpea based protein power and a chickpea gluten-free flour. In May, NRV led a $6.7 million round in Territory which delivers professionally prepared nutritious meals to customers across the country.

With each of these investments, NRV syndicated with other venture capital firms that have specific industry expertise. “At our core, we are connectors. It is our goal to invest alongside firms that are subject matter experts so that we can provide business acumen and industry-specific best practices to our portfolio companies. The better equipped they are to succeed, the better the outcome for everyone involved,” said Chandler.

In addition to NRV’s team of eight investing professionals, the firm has curated a geographically disperse active investing network of multi-industry business professionals. Limited partners subscribing to the NRV Early Stage Growth fund include 83 business leaders from across the Commonwealth. Many of those investors will provide expert counsel to the fund’s operations and portfolio companies.

Founded by Ted Chandler, Bob Mooney and Jim Ukrop, NRV is at the center of Virginia’s innovative ecosystem with an investment thesis tested and supported by experienced, high-level professional leadership.

For more information: visit www.nrv.vc.