Key Takeaways
- • The Champagne Fund, a community initiative focused on advancing women in venture capital, has formed a strategic partnership with Market Square Ventures, a Knoxville-based early-stage VC firm established in early 2024.
- • Market Square Ventures operates with a mandate to invest in exceptional founders across Tennessee, the Southeast, and Appalachia—regions historically underserved by venture capital—and currently manages a portfolio of 18+ portfolio companies spanning healthcare, AI, fintech, and consumer sectors.
- • The partnership directly addresses a documented market inefficiency: VC firms with at least one female partner are 2.3x more likely to invest in female founders, while firms with ≥30% female partners deploy 4.7x more capital to female-founded companies.
- • Market Square Ventures' leadership includes co-founder Brandon Bruce (formerly of Cirrus Insight), John Bruck (BHE Environmental founder), and Rosa Mar (former executive management at Levi Strauss & Co), providing both operational and diversity-focused expertise.
- • This collaboration expands access to venture funding and professional networks for women entrepreneurs in underrepresented geographic regions, leveraging Market Square's established deal flow and institutional relationships.
Summary
The Champagne Fund has partnered with Market Square Ventures to expand women's participation and influence within the venture capital ecosystem in the Southeast and Appalachia. The Champagne Fund, described as a community created to bring women together around education, meaningful connections, and venture capital, has identified Market Square Ventures as a strategic institutional partner to amplify its impact.
Market Square Ventures, headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee, was registered in Delaware and Tennessee during Q4 2022 and executed its first investment in Q1 2024. The firm targets early-stage startups across Tennessee, the Southeast, and Appalachia—markets the firm characterizes as traditionally overlooked by mainstream venture capital. The firm's investment thesis emphasizes deploying capital and connections in regions where founder talent and market opportunities remain underexploited.
The partnership addresses a quantifiable disparity in venture capital allocation. Industry data demonstrates that VC firms with at least one female partner are 2.3x more likely to invest in female founders. More significantly, firms with female partners comprising at least 30% of partnership are 4.7x more likely to allocate capital to female-founded companies. By embedding women-focused expertise within Market Square's investment decision-making framework, the partnership creates structural incentives for expanded female founder funding.
Market Square Ventures' portfolio spans 18+ companies across healthcare, artificial intelligence, fintech, and consumer products, including VetVerifi, Authentrics.AI, Laborup, Clockout, and Adele Health. Leadership comprises Brandon Bruce (co-founder of Cirrus Insight), John Bruck (BHE Environmental founder and angel investor), Marty Brown (CEO at PYA and Forbes Top 200 CPA), Rosa Mar (former executive management at Levi Strauss & Co), and Harry Boston (Boston Government Services founder). This composition combines operational execution experience with enterprise-scale management expertise, positioning the firm to support scaling founders beyond capital deployment alone.
Market Square Ventures, headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee, was registered in Delaware and Tennessee during Q4 2022 and executed its first investment in Q1 2024. The firm targets early-stage startups across Tennessee, the Southeast, and Appalachia—markets the firm characterizes as traditionally overlooked by mainstream venture capital. The firm's investment thesis emphasizes deploying capital and connections in regions where founder talent and market opportunities remain underexploited.
The partnership addresses a quantifiable disparity in venture capital allocation. Industry data demonstrates that VC firms with at least one female partner are 2.3x more likely to invest in female founders. More significantly, firms with female partners comprising at least 30% of partnership are 4.7x more likely to allocate capital to female-founded companies. By embedding women-focused expertise within Market Square's investment decision-making framework, the partnership creates structural incentives for expanded female founder funding.
Market Square Ventures' portfolio spans 18+ companies across healthcare, artificial intelligence, fintech, and consumer products, including VetVerifi, Authentrics.AI, Laborup, Clockout, and Adele Health. Leadership comprises Brandon Bruce (co-founder of Cirrus Insight), John Bruck (BHE Environmental founder and angel investor), Marty Brown (CEO at PYA and Forbes Top 200 CPA), Rosa Mar (former executive management at Levi Strauss & Co), and Harry Boston (Boston Government Services founder). This composition combines operational execution experience with enterprise-scale management expertise, positioning the firm to support scaling founders beyond capital deployment alone.
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