Venture Fund Member Profile
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Trailblazer Capital is an early-stage and growth capital investor focused on companies based in Texas and Oklahoma. Our management team and partners are comprised of successful entrepreneurs. We believe this gives us keen insight into the unique skill set required to take a company from launch – through rapid growth – to exit. Depending on the opportunity, Trailblazer Capital will lead or co-lead an investment round and commit $500,000 to $2,000,000 into each portfolio company.
Trailblazer primarily invests in companies along the I-35 corridor between Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and Austin, Texas. We do not invest in life science, biotechnology, medical device, real estate or natural resource companies. We avoid opportunities that are saddled with large valuations, complex capital structures or broker fees.
Our areas of interest include: business equipment and software, telecommunications and mobility equipment and software, gaming technology, capital-efficient green technology, health care software and services, Internet (web based) services and software and consumer electronics.
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Joel Fontenot
Managing Partner
Trailblazer Capital |
Joel has brought to Trailblazer Capital unique insights built on his many years of banking, investing and early-stage technology company operating experience.
Prior to joining Trailblazer Capital, Mr. Fontenot worked for Cisco Systems, Inc. He joined Cisco through the acquisition of Metreos Corporation in June 2006. Joel was a Director of Business Development in the Voice Technology Group and managed the partnerships and strategic alliances involving the Cisco Unified Application Environment and related application offerings from Cisco’s Voice Technology Group. His first role at Cisco was Director of Product Marketing for the IP Communications Business Unit, which resulted in the successful integration of the Metreos products into Cisco.
In the fall of 2002, Joel assisted Metreos Corporation as a founder in establishing itself as the first enterprise voice over IP applications platform for the development and deployment of innovative, media-rich IP communications applications. Metreos enabled the enterprise to more effectively leverage and extend their investment in IP Telephony and allowed System Integrators, Independent Software Vendors, and Enterprise IT organizations to leverage a common environment for converged voice and data applications. From the fall of 2003 until the Company’s sale to Cisco Systems, Inc., Joel served as Metreos’ CEO and was instrumental in securing equity and debt funding, establishing strategic relationships, closing its first customers and the sale of the Company to Cisco.
Previously, Joel co-founded Netrake Corporation in January 2000 and served as the Company’s President from founding through July 2002. He was responsible for all areas of the Company which created a unique, patented IP network processing system capable of recognizing, remembering and responding in real-time to network traffic on a session basis. Joel’s leadership from white board to working silicon played a critical role in Netrake’s sustainable competitive advantage – programmable network processors. These processors combine industry-leading pattern matching technology and learning state design to provide unmatched network intelligence and dynamic control. Joel’s strategic input brought the company from concept in January 2000 to successful beta trials in June 2002.
Prior to founding Netrake, Joel incubated the Company through his activities as a Founding Partner and Managing Director of Arkoma Venture Partners. Beginning in 1997, Joel made and managed seed stage and early round investments in technology companies focused on telecommunications, Internet infrastructure, and enterprise software. Mr. Fontenot evaluated investment opportunities and worked closely with portfolio companies in the areas of business planning, financial strategy, and business development. Joel took an active role in seed funding companies, which included creating and refining new business models and strategies, initiating business activities, participating in executive management and serving as a director.
Mr. Fontenot brought nearly ten years of commercial and corporate banking experience to Arkoma Venture Partners, which included lead, and co-lead roles in providing senior credit facilities to several leveraged buyout transactions sponsored by private equity groups based in Texas. These transactions included the leveraged buy-out of Purina Mills and the acquisition of The Dallas Cowboys.
Mr. Fontenot is a member of the Executive Board of the Bobby Lyle School of Engineering at Southern Methodist University. He also serves on the Advisory Board of Silver Creek Ventures and the School Board of Cistercian Preparatory School.
Joel holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from The University of Texas at Austin (1983) and a Masters of Business Administration from Southern Methodist University (1988).
Representative Investments
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SE2 Labs is the innovator behind a revolutionary new product called the ITC One (Integrated Theater Console) - the world's first personalized, compact, all-in-one, plug-and-play home entertainment system.
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Noofangle Media, Inc. works with leading media companies to expand their online revenue potential by providing professionally produced content and products that enable its partners to grow their audience online. |
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NetSocket Using Session2Topology™ correlation technology, NetSocket is the first and only company that gives service providers the vision to see, in real-time, how sessions traverse their IP networks. With the NetSocket Resource Control Point (RCP), carriers can identify and quickly resolve conflicts within their networks, maximizing performance, reducing costs and improving quality. |
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Spawn Labs, Inc. lets gamers play their console video games – either alone or with friends – at home or on the road – from a network-connected computer as if they were sitting in front of their console and TV at home. |
Joel participated in the FundingPost event: Houston Angel and VC Conference
on Thursday, September 22, 2011 in TX, Sponsored by RMSC Law, Nos Caves Vin
To list your Company on our website and make your profile available to Joel and 7,500+ other VCs and Angel Investors, Click Here.
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