ATX Venture Partners

SOFTWARE  AI, IoT, Frontier Tech

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Pensa Systems's AI system has hit 98% accuracy with recognizing products on retail shelves! #AI #Retail #Innovation #Tech #venturecapital Texas visionaries including @sling_shot_aero lead the way in Space initiatives! #Aerospace #innovation #Texas Always proud to see our portfolio companies recognized for their hard work and innovative solutions! Congrats @alertmedia, @qbdvision, @cyvatar, @SourceDay, and @ZenBusinessInc!!! #innovation #venturecapital #investment #atx #startups #technology Chris Shonk started his first business at fourteen, was named the Special Operations Soldier of the Year, and has operated, advised, and invested in consumer service and tech companies for over fifteen years Chris co-founded Virtus Financial Group (now a $3 5B private equity fund), and served as managing director of the private equity unit Chris sold his interests in 2006 and co-founded EZ Money Pawn, bringing technology and eCommerce to the secured lending and pawn business There after he co-founded Sneaky Games and was also their lead investor taking that to a successful exit via IPO Chris has taken companies he has operated and invested in to exit via acquisition, merger, recapitalization and IPO Chris earned his B A in Business Administration & Economics from Campbell University and his M B A from the Acton School of Business where he was the first alumnus to start an endowment to offer other deserving entrepreneurs the opportunity to change the world Chris is on the board of the Boys & Girls Club and focuses on their STEM efforts for underprivileged children He resides in Austin, Texas with his wife, son, and giant schnauzer Princess Leia He has been interviewed by Business Week, Inc Magazine, Entrepreneur Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, and Forbes

Knows what it means to take decisive action Learned from the world’s most elite Military operators, the fifteen years spent operating, advising, and investing in companies, and the entrepreneurs he serves Favorite Superhero is Professor Xavier (Capt Picard)… and some days Ironman

Brad Bentz graduated with honors from UC Berkeley (1990) and earned an MBA with a focus in entrepreneurship from the Acton School of Business in Austin in 2005 He spent ten years as a field archaeologist working on research projects in Pakistan, Syria, Bulgaria, and the U S before establishing a second career as a software developer and team lead After business school, Brad joined a boutique private equity firm and participated in over a dozen transactions involving more than $72M in equity capital More recently, he worked at IDC and Boston Consulting Group before joining the investment team at ATX Venture Partners

Knows what it means to be adaptable and do more with less

Learned from working across a variety of domains: finance, academia, and IT

Favorite Superhero is Indiana Jones (AKA James Harvey Gaul)

Danielle Weiss Allen is Partner + Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer at ATX Venture Partners Danielle graduated from Tulane University (2001) and earned an MBA focusing on Finance & Investments from the Zicklin School of Business in 2005 She spent 14 years on Wall Street at top hedge funds, private equity firms, and investment banks including JPMorgan, Nomura and Millennium She has been responsible for investor relations, product management, marketing, business development, and infrastructure design Currently Danielle is a mentor for TechStars as well as other startups in the area Danielle is a native New Yorker and proud Texas transplant

Knows what it means to excel in ludicrous mode

Learned from Wall Street mentors and the clients she serves

Favorite Superhero is Captain Jack Sparrow

Jeff Thompson is a seasoned operator and executive leader, bringing deep capital market and investment acumen from leading complex investment management and private banking businesses that spanned diverse geographies and broad cultural dynamics Jeff has held senior executive roles at Merrill Lynch, Smith Barney, Legg Mason and most recently Wells Fargo, where he led the deployment of over $200BN across multiple asset classes in both private and public market securities

Jeff earned an Army ROTC scholarship and graduated from Pennsylvania State University Upon graduation, he served as a Captain in the 4th Infantry Division and began his career in the financial services in 1999 Jeff is on the Board of the Kate Amato Foundation whose mission is to find safer, smarter, and more effective treatments for children with cancer He splits time between Darien, CT and Austin, TX with his wife Kathleen, and their daughter

Knows what it means to approach strategy development from an execution state of mind that learns and adapts to changing circumstances with agility Learned from leading our nations soldiers, serving the needs of clients, and collaborating with incredible people across the financial services industry

Emerson Miller is an Senior Associate with ATX Venture Partners He spent over ten years, as a co-owner, managing and expanding an entrepreneurial junior formula-car business in the auto racing industry During his time in direct management, Emerson’s team net assets increased by over 50x, while addressing operations, investments, data analysis, engineering, recruiting, hiring, and marketing Sensory data systems for suspension analysis, aerodynamic CFD software simulations, and hybrid energy-harvesting system engines are some of the tools that excited him Staying on the cutting edge of technology from week-to-week, understanding the business, and scaling the company’s assets were some of the factors that contributed to the successful company

Emerson graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a BBA in Finance, where he also spent time working on quantitative trading, equity analysis, computer science, and performance management systems He joined the Venture Capital industry as a member of the investment office of a long-time startup investor and former President and Vice Chairman of Electronic Data Systems, the first IT consulting company He has experience with data science, managing organizations, performance analysis, competition, scaling companies, and following trends

Knows what it means to know your competitor and push the limits

Learned from great mentors he met along the way

Favorite Superhero is Rocket Racoon

Spencer Lucas brings over a decade of experience in the accounting field including 6 years at Big 4 Public Accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers and 4 years at a Real Estate investment firm, Amherst Residential, specializing in Fund Accounting At PricewaterhouseCoopers he led audit engagements for large multi-national companies including Dell Technologies At Amherst he managed the accounting function for up to 15 joint ventures covering a portfolio of $15 2 billion in assets under management

He graduated Summa Cum Laude from Oklahoma State University with a Master’s degree in Accounting as well as a B S in Accounting and Marketing and became a CPA in 2013 He earned the Oklahoma Society of CPA’s Silver Medal Award for his performance on the CPA exam He is a top-performing accounting professional that brings first-class support to our operations He is originally from Oklahoma City and moved to Austin in 2015

Knows what it means to give your best and leave the rest

Learned from empathetic, thoughtful, and inspirational mentors throughout his career