GUESTS:
Andrew More, Director, BlueStone Venture Partners
P.O. Box 17044
Tucson, AZ 85731
520-405-925
email: andrew.more@bluestonevp.com
SOCIAL MEDIA: LinkedIn | Born and raised in Tucson, Andrew is a native Tucsonanand is what is known as a “boomerang”. Andrew moved away in 2008 when he graduated from the U of A, but found his way back to Tucson in 2018 when he turned down a job offer from Amazon to join their Seattle headquarters. Instead, Andrew decided to move back to Tucson and help launch BlueStone Venture Partners with BlueStone co-founders Mara Aspinall and Tom Nickoloff. After moving away, Andrew received his Master’s degree from USC in 2009 and soon after began his career with Ernst &Young’s M&A Transaction Support team in San Francisco. In2012 he joined a Palo Alto-based private equity firm where he invested growth capital into a variety of private companies across a diverse set of industries. BlueStone Venture Partners is a Tucson-based venture capital fund capitalizing on the strength and innovation found in entrepreneurial companies in the Southwest.BlueStone invests in early-stage life science and healthcare startups based in the “NATO” states (New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, and Oklahoma).Fueling Growth
BlueStone’s Story Turquoise, the elusive native blue stone of the Southwest, has enjoyed a special significance across different cultures throughout history. Prized for its distinctive blue color, turquoise is thought to attract success and money. Its power is also fabled to bring protection, courage, and friendship.
Just as turquoise derives its colors from the minerals in the ground where it forms, BlueStone Venture Partners’strength stems from partnering with businesses that reside in our shared innovation ecosystem.
Who We Are
BlueStone Venture Partners is a best-in-class life sciences venture capital fund capitalizing on the strength, creativity, and innovation found in entrepreneurial companies in the southwestern UnitedStates.Our firm is rooted in the Southwest and our experience has shown that there are investment gems likewise hidden in the desert Southwest. There is a dearth of venture capital support in the region despite strong universities, unique research centers, and significant infrastructure. We believe that our management skills, existing deal pipelines and relationships with industry-leading advisors and co-investors will enable us to choose companies wisely and in so doing create value for investors.
Target Verticals Investment Criteria
BlueStone invests in early-stage companies that operate within the life Sciences. The Fund primarily focuses on companies that reside within five key verticals including Medical Devices, AdvancedMaterials, Healthcare IT, Diagnostics, and biopharma Platforms.
We seek companies that have developed transformative platforms or disruptive technologies, are protected by strong intellectual property and will have a meaningful impact on healthcare. Our preference is for companies residing in the NATO States (New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, and Oklahoma), however, as a return-driven fund, we will make investments regardless of geography if they fit our “Southwest-like” metrics.BlueStone provides growth capital and strategic support to our portfolio companies in addition to privileged access to strategic partners including investors, customers, and other partners residing within the supply chain.
Jim Cantrell, Executive Vice PresidentR2 Space
Email:jim@r2space.com
SOCIAL MEDIA: LinkedIn |
Jim is the founder of several entrepreneurial start-ups, including vector, StratSpace and Vintage Exotics Competition Engineering.
He was on the founding team of Moon Express and SpaceX and has worked closely with Iceye, Skybox Imaging, PlanetIQ, PlanetLabs, and Rocket Lab.
He has worked on 45 satellite missions including iridium Next, the Pluto mission, Osiris-Rex, and Lightsail. Jim also served as CEO of IDair, a bio-metrics company.
He holds Board and Advisory positions at The Planetary Society, ATLAS Space, Morf3D, York Space Systems, Infinite Composites, Iceye and the Sports Car Club of America and is an active angel investor.
