The incubator for startups on the right has increased its second funding round by more than 300 percent with an eye towards backing companies that are engaged in the 2022 midterms.
“We want to make sure that the companies we’re backing are supporting candidates that are running in 2022 because that’s the best proving ground for whether your tech works or not,” Eric Wilson, managing partner of Startup Caucus, told C&E.
While it’s a major increase over the last funding round that totaled $150,000 put into six companies, it doesn’t come close to matching the seven-figure investments typical of startup incubators on the left. Still, Wilson notes that each side is “fighting different battles,” and the latest investment round could help bring innovation to the GOP political technology space by “jump starting this early stage innovation ecosystem.”
“That doesn’t take big dollar amounts,” Wilson said. “It takes smaller seed investments to get people into the space to start building.”
Wilson said entrepreneurs who are interested can reach out directly to him through the Startup Caucus website. Moreover, he expects the cohort his group accepts will be larger than the first round of six companies.
Wilson’s group so far boasts one exit from its portfolio: Pundit Analytics, a startup founded by former Microsoft software engineer Glenn Parham “that uses artificial intelligence (A.I.) to automate competitive intelligence in politics.”
That was bought by Bullpen Strategy Group in August 2020. That track record, according to Wilson, was enough to attract the additional investment unveiled Monday.
“We’ve been spending the last couple years really growing our network and the track record made it really attractive for other investors to come on board,” he said.
