San Francisco transplant venture capitalist is unlike most; for one thing, he’s backed by Twitter co-founder
Marell Evans is not a typical San Franciscoto-Miami investor. In the first place, he’s already concerned about the rising cost of living in the Magic City.
“We’ve got to do something about the rent,” Evans said in a recent interview, adding that he’s paying about the same price as he did in the Bay Area.
Evans, an African American, is launching Exceptional Capital, a venture fund he hopes to use to finance early-stage startups, particularly those in the business-tobusiness space, as well as ones with a cryptocurrency and blockchain focus.
In the process, Evans, 33, hopes to break stereotypes about venture capitalists, only 3% of whom are Black.
“I think the different lens I have will indirectly empower a different group of folks,” he said. “I don’t need to be intentional about it — I’m already going to be doing that, because I’m Black. The moment the decision-makers start to change ... I’m already changing the scope of what’s possible for an entrepreneur.”
He’s already invested in one in Miami: blockchain technology group Quicknode.
“They’re now in a position where they’re building something that’s special,” Evans said of Quicknode. “I have people backing me that I think will lead to real value creation, where an introduction like that is going to add quantifiable value.”
Said Quicknode co-founder and CTO Auston Bunsen: “Marell’s intuition for finding and backing the best founders at the beginning of their journey is unparalleled. He brought QuickNode into the SoftBank family, and invested personally, making key introductions to customers & investors from Day 1. Miami is lucky to have a fund helmed by Marell. Founders should definitely pitch him at the earliest stages, if they want more than just money.”
While his fund won’t be explicitly focused on Miami-based firms, Evans is hoping to make a larger cultural impact by contributing to social movements.
“You can’t drive the culture of the community out,” he said. “We moved here because of that, so in some kind of way, I think we need to put thresholds or something
else to make sure that is under control.”
Evans and Exceptional Capital are arriving in Miami with a powerful network of backers that include Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, Y Combinator accelerator managing partner Michael Seibel, and Ron Conway, founder of SV Angel seed fund.
Another is Pat Dwyer, Miamibased managing director at NewEdge Wealth group.
“Miami, for the first time in our city’s history, is a player in the fourth industrial revolution,” Dwyer said in an email. “With proximity and access to some of the most important pioneers and founders in B2B, I know Marell will be remarkable.”
In addition to that roster of prominent tech names, Evans is also an alum of high-profile tech shops including IBM, SoftBank, and fast-growing identity platform Okta. (Okta CEO Todd McKinnon is another partner in Exceptional Capital.) Evans is also a former college football player at University of Michigan, and counts successful athletes like Golden State Warriors pro basketball star Draymond Green as friends.
Combined, Evans enjoys a vast tech and investment network that he’s counting on to power Exceptional, and its presence here.
“Some of these high-net-worth individuals, especially in Miami, are not super involved with the community,” Evans said. “I want to be more involved — hopefully I can afford to to do well enough — but I want to be building this as a long-term firm in Miami.”
AEXLAB, TAXFYLE RAISE MILLIONS FROM FUEL VENTURES
Miami-based startups AEXLAB and Taxfyle both have announced funding rounds from Miami investment group Fuel Ventures. AEXLAB, a virtual reality gaming studio, raised $5 million; Taxfyle, a platform for finding tax professionals, received $20 million. Taxfyle has 11 open positions available on its website, Taxfyle.com. If you’re interested in working at AEXLAB, visit https://aexlab.com/Join.
CHILEAN BETTERFLY OPENING MIAMI OFFICE
Betterfly, a Chilean employee benefits company valued at more than $1 billion — making it a “unicorn” in tech parlance — is opening a Miami office. The company, which partners with employers to entice workers to improve their physical well-being using digital rewards, hopes to begin expanding beyond Latin America and into the U.S. with the move. Backed in part by SoftBank, Betterfly has raised more than $200 million to date.
GROVER, GERMAN RENT-A-GADGET GROUP, OPENS U.S. BASE IN MIAMI
Grover, a startup that lets people and businesses rent consumer electronics on demand, has opened a Miami headquarters. The company aims to quadruple its U.S. staff and hire for 100-plus jobs. It follows a widely successful launch in America, including a chief operating officer and chief people officer, as well as directors of U.S. marketing, customer service, and talent acquisition. More information on jobs can be found at grover.com.
Rob Wile: 305-376-3203, @rjwile with Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac financing in the future. Said Farid Moussallem, a broker at Compass and board member at the Miami chapter of the Master Brokers Forum: “Now a condo has to be vetted and approved. It creates an urgency to address any issues a condo may have.”
Brokers and lenders are telling condo buyers and sellers to expect delays in the processing of mortgage applications, at least initially, as banks and associations gather the required information and figure out how to handle the new requirements.
AAndres Viglucci: @AndresViglucci