Ryan Gilbert, a former general partner at Propel Venture Partners, the venture capital firm established by financial services firm BBVA, has launched a US-based VC firm called Launchpad Capital.
The firm has raised $35m for its debut fund, from nearly 100 limited partners including several financial technology entrepreneurs from the San Francisco Bay Area of California, according to San Francisco Business Times.
Gilbert spent five years at Propel Venture Partners before leaving the firm last month. He held board seats at portfolio companies Guideline, Ease, Steady, Charlie Finance and Grabango.
Launchpad will focus on pre-seed and seed-stage companies in the financial, insurance and real estate technology sectors, and also plans to participate in late-stage deals through special purpose vehicles and special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs).
Operating out of offices in the US and Lithuania, the firm intends to invest in and set up companies in the Baltic region that are looking to enter the US market as part of its activities. It plans to make five investments sized at $100,000 to $2m in 2021.