Silverton Partners

Silverton Partners

Silverton Partners was founded in Austin in 2006 by Morgan Flager and Kip McClanahan, two venture investors who previously worked together at Austin Ventures. Flager had joined Austin Ventures in 2004 from Silicon Valley, while McClanahan had been a Kauffman Fellow and started his career at J.P. Morgan. Their decision to launch Silverton was a bet that Austin's technology ecosystem would mature enough to support a dedicated early-stage venture firm focused almost exclusively on Texas and surrounding geographies. The firm initially raised a $75 million debut fund and has since grown methodically, adding principals like Roger Chen and Mike Dodd over the subsequent decade. The firm's investment strategy centers on leading Seed and Series A rounds in technology companies, with a particular emphasis on enterprise software, financial technology, and digital marketplaces. Silverton typically writes initial checks of $2 million to $5 million and reserves significant capital for follow-on investments through later stages. Portfolio companies confirmed through public filings and press releases include AlertMedia, an emergency communication software company that reached unicorn status in 2021, and TurnKey Vacation Rentals, a property management platform for the short-term rental market. The firm has also backed Disco, a legal technology company that went public on the New York Stock Exchange in 2021 (per SEC filings, 2021). Geographically, the firm's investments concentrate in Texas, with Austin and Dallas representing the bulk of portfolio company headquarters, though Silverton has selectively invested in companies based in Atlanta and Denver. Silverton has raised seven core venture funds, with Fund VII closing at $248 million in 2022 (per the firm, 2022). The firm operates from a single office in downtown Austin and does not maintain a formal co-investment platform or fund-of-funds program. Its limited partner base includes university endowments, foundations, and family offices, though the firm has not publicly disclosed specific institutional backers. In May 2024, the firm held the final close of Silverton Partners VII, confirming the $248 million figure reported earlier and signaling continued institutional demand for Texas-focused venture exposure (per SEC Form D, 2024). Silverton's structural differentiator is geographic concentration as portfolio theory. By operating a single office in Austin and restricting deal sourcing largely to Texas, the firm has built proprietary access to founders who are outside the traditional Sand Hill Road networks. This local-first posture means Silverton often competes directly with firms like LiveOak Venture Partners for in-state deals, while avoiding the pricing pressure of multi-stage coastal funds that enter Texas opportunistically. The firm's compact partnership — three to four GPs across two decades — has not added operational partners or a formal platform team, making it one of the few remaining pure-play early-stage venture firms of its scale still operating without an adjacent growth fund or credit vehicle.