Coplex Announces $2.5M Equity Financing Round for Launch of Corporate Venture Builder Program and Support of over 60 High-Growth Tech Companies in 2019

On the heels of the expansion of its executive staff, board of directors and mentor network, Coplex, a Venture Builder that partners with industry experts, entrepreneurs, and corporate innovators to start high-growth tech companies,today announced a $2.5M equity financing round. The Series Seed Round was led by DFE, the family office of Bennett Dorrance of Campbell Soup fame; and AZ Crown, the family office of Insight Enterprises Co-Founders Tim and Eric Crown.

Coplex will use the funds for market expansion, focused on building the infrastructure required to support the start of over 60 high-growth tech companies in 2019. Coplex is also launching a Corporate Venture Builder Program designed for enterprises looking to create high-growth tech “Spin-outs.”

“Our sights are set on starting hundreds of high-growth potential tech companies each year and building one of the most respected and supportive entrepreneurial networks in the world,” said Zach Ferres, CEO, Coplex. “By bringing Coplex to more markets and by partnering with corporations, we can empower more entrepreneurs to quickly turn industry problems into venture-backable companies. We’re inspired by the enthusiastic support we’ve received from notable investors, and look forward to continuing to make a significant impact in the tech-startup scene.”

A total of nine investors participated in the round. In addition to the family office leads, the round included entrepreneurs, such as:

• Ilya Pozin ─ Founder of Pluto TV (a Coplex alumni company), which he sold it to Viacom for $340M in 2019. Pozin was also the founder of Coplex and is now an active advisory board member.
• Berke Bakay ─ Founder of BBS Capital. Also, Phoenix Rising FC Governor.
• Gregg Larson ─ A leader in the real estate tech industry and the founder of Clareity, which he sold to CoreLogic in 2017.
• Kal Somani ─ Angel investor and founder and CEO of IntraEdge, a technology services and products company with offices across the U.S. and around the globe.

“Entrepreneurial activity across the nation is strong, and Coplex has created winning programs that can accelerate the valuation of the most promising start-ups,” said Michael Kaplan, partner, DFE Venture Fund. “Our investment will help Coplex extend its reach into traditional industry entrepreneurs, and corporations that are seeking to capitalize on the rapidly accelerating global landscape of technology innovation.”

The Series Seed Round comes just over a year after Coplex merged with AZCrown Ventures LLC. To-date, Coplex has helped start over 300 tech companies with an aggregate market value of over $4.5B, which have raised over $1.5B in venture capital. Successful Coplex graduates include Dental Genie, PlutoTV and Qwick.

“The Coplex team is serving a crucial need in the marketplace for traditional industry entrepreneurs and corporations with great ideas, that lack the type of expertise required to start a high growth tech company,” said Tim Crown, principal, AZ Crown. “In addition to its successful programs, Coplex has built an incredible network of seasoned entrepreneurs and technology industry veterans dedicated to supporting its portfolio of ventures.”

Coplex is headquartered in Phoenix and has locations in Seattle, Denver, and Los Angeles. The structured Venture Builder programs at Coplex provide a proven process and teams to shape business modules, quickly test and validate critical assumptions, assemble an operating team, build technology, bring concepts to market, and support in fundraising at graduation.

About Coplex

Coplex is a Venture Builder that partners with industry experts, entrepreneurs, and corporate innovators to start high-growth tech companies. Coplex assembles world-class teams, partners them with expert startup builders, and empowers them with a proven program. Coplex has started over 50 tech companies since 2017 and has been featured in USA Today, The Washington Post, VentureBeat, Inc, Forbes, NPR, and Entrepreneur.