EdSurge Managing Editor, Tony Wan, recently interviewed Mark Grovic:
New Markets Venture Partners is making a return trip to familiar grounds. The Fulton, Md.-based venture firm is close to launching a second fund dedicated to education technology startups.Dubbed “New Markets Education Partners II,” the new fund will support 10 to 15 edtech investments, Mark Grovic, co-founder and General Partner of New Markets, shared with EdSurge in an interview. He didn’t disclose the size of the fund but estimated that “we’ll probably write $1 to $5 million checks, with big reserves” for follow-on rounds.
Expect his team to lead some Series A and B deals.Founded in 2003, New Markets current lists 14 companies in its education portfolio that deliver a broad range of services, from K-12 math curricula (ThinkThroughMath) and classroom management tools (Kickboard) to data analytics support for higher-ed institutions (Civitas Learning). Most of these companies were funded through the firm’s first education-focused fund, launched in 2010. (New Markets also invests in business services, health and IT sectors.)
“Our focus is to understand the pain points that keep people from successfully navigating the education system,” shared Grovic. “What we’ve learned is that there are plenty of achievement and skills gaps that lend themselves to exciting business models in both K-12 and higher-ed.”
Read the full article, at: “New Markets’ New Education Fund”