We invest in the most ambitious and promising startups across all of New York State and in secondary markets across the Midwest.
We focus on overlooked regions once home to the nation’s most resilient manufacturing centers and small businesses.
We partner early with exceptional entrepreneurs confronting and solving core business challenges by building world-class, technology-enabled startups.
We are entrepreneurs ourselves and seek founders as passionate as we are about changing the world through new business.
We provide founders with capital, active counsel, mentorship and introductions to those in larger venture hubs, so their companies can grow.
We identify talent, partners and investors to help young teams thrive, aiding them in their journeys and driving their regions forward.
Our Philosophy
We believe that creativity can come from anywhere. Overlooked industries can generate compelling opportunities for new businesses. Underestimated, solid industrial regions can host thriving and vital startup ecosystems. And regardless of background or location, entrepreneurs anywhere can succeed based on their abilities, passions and potential.
Our Mission
We aim to identify and support exceptional entrepreneurs from all backgrounds and encourage teams who may lack traditional access to capital and networks. We recognize startups need far more than capital to survive, scale and thrive. We help our startups elevate their operations to generate outsize returns. In doing so, we believe we are inspiring American cities of the future.
Our Approach
We are a returns-oriented fund that recognizes integrity and channels the power of community. From day one, we roll up our sleeves to have real conversations with our founders about what success could look like. We collaborate on all aspects of company growth—from recruiting senior talent, customers, and co-investors to providing general management support at every stage.
Our Story
We created Armory Square Ventures in 2014 out of one community’s desire to seed greater opportunities and jobs for those living in Upstate New York.
We exist because a group of highly respected investors in Syracuse aspired to provide entrepreneurs with better access to funding and to return a sense of optimism to our region. As such, we invest in startup markets where we believe there may be untapped pockets of opportunity. It is an approach that has served our region. Over the past decade, our firm has catalyzed the creation of over 2,500 jobs here.
We also value diverse views. Armory Square is enriched and nourished by individuals from a range of backgrounds, all of whom are passionate about uplifting and inspiring growth across America’s smaller cities.
Our Culture
- Straightforward: Reputations matter, and honest communication is vital. We work hard to be the transparent, fair, and accessible partner that our entrepreneurs deserve.
- Results-oriented: We are proud of our work ethic, our track record, and our depth of expertise, which, dare we say it, is unparalleled for a firm of our size. We are methodical, analytical and passionate about affirming high standards.
- Collaborative: At ASV we make decisions as a team. We nurture real, long-term partnerships with our founders. We have been entrepreneurs ourselves and seek those who think deeply, in a structured manner, about building a business.
- Curious: Asking questions and constantly learning—that’s how we work. We have built our community of entrepreneurs, partners, investors, and local business leaders by seeking out those who share our close approach.
- Independent: Contrarian, ambitious thinking is central to who we are and what we appreciate. We honor diverse perspectives on our team and in our community.
- Accessible: We elevate and mentor entrepreneurs at every stage. We maintain an approachable ethic and strive to be clear and deft, always, in service to our companies and communities.
Investment Criteria/FAQs
- What makes you any different from other VC firms your size? We are far more active in helping our startups scale. We also take a concentrated approach to investing in each company, deploying a much larger check at the earlier stages in a startup’s life cycle than other firms our size.
- At what stage do you invest? We focus on seed stage and Series A investments. We often provide the first round of institutional capital for startups operating across a range of industries, with a focus on B2B SaaS businesses for the most part. In the past, we have typically funded companies that demonstrated ongoing relationships with one or two large enterprise clients.
- What’s your target investment? Between $500K and $2M, initially, with considerable reserves for follow on investments.