EPIC Ventures

EPIC Ventures is not your typical Silicon Valley venture firm. Founded in 1994 and based in Salt Lake City, Utah, EPIC has spent three decades building what is now the Mountain West's most consistent early-stage investment track record. Managing partners Kent Madsen and Nick Efstratis, both Utah natives and University of Utah alumni, have worked together since their days as partners at Wasatch Venture Capital before forming EPIC in 2009.

The firm has deployed over $170 million across 201 investments in 110 portfolio companies, generating 17 IPOs and more than 50 acquisitions. That ratio—roughly one public offering for every six companies in the portfolio—stands out even against top-tier national funds. EPIC's investors include institutional LPs, strategic corporate partners like ARUP Laboratories and University of Utah Ventures, and a network of successful founder exits who reinvest through the fund.

The firm's investment scope centers on B2B software: enterprise SaaS, automation, cybersecurity, and vertical SaaS at the pre-seed and seed stages. EPIC writes $250,000 to $500,000 checks as a lead or co-lead investor in rounds typically ranging from $1 million to $5 million in total raise. The firm prefers to lead, but has co-invested alongside funds including Accel, Bessemer, and CRV when deal flow warrants it.

For founders in Utah, Colorado, or the broader Mountain West seeking early-stage capital, EPIC Ventures remains a first call. The firm's deep local network, operator-style support, and three-decade relationship capital make it a different kind of partner compared to coast-based funds making occasional visits to the region.

EPIC Ventures operates with a clear and consistent thesis: back B2B SaaS and enterprise software founders at the pre-seed and seed stage, typically before product-market fit is fully proven but when the founding team has demonstrated meaningful traction signals.

The firm's focus sectors include enterprise SaaS, workflow automation, cybersecurity, and vertical SaaS—areas where Utah has developed a distinct clustering effect, partly due to EPIC's own portfolio effect creating a talent pool and founder network in these niches.

EPIC does not chase consumer-facing startups, crypto projects, or deep tech requiring long hardware development cycles. The firm's investment committee evaluates opportunities based on three primary criteria: team domain expertise and prior founder experience, clear evidence of bottom-up demand (land-and-expand revenue signals, strong net revenue retention), and a addressable market large enough to support a $100M+ outcome.

Unlike venture firms that push founders toward rapid scaling regardless of unit economics, EPIC has historically shown patience with companies that demonstrate capital efficiency. The firm's extended holding periods and willingness to support companies through multiple financing rounds reflect a conviction that durable businesses beat fast-burning ones in the long run.

The firm's identity is inseparable from its two managing partners. Kent Madsen brings over two decades of venture investing experience and has directly worked on six IPOs during his tenure. He is known for his operator-friendly due diligence process and long-tenure relationship style. Nick Efstratis similarly carries 20-plus years of early-stage investing experience and leads the firm's sourcing in cybersecurity and data infrastructure.

Both partners maintain active roles in the portfolio—attending board meetings, making warm introductions to potential customers and follow-on investors, and supporting hiring at the executive level. This is not a name-and-check firm; Madsen and Efstratis are visibly involved with their portfolio companies through every stage of growth.

The partnership is complemented by venture partners Charles Fisher, Geoff Swindle, and others who bring specialized domain expertise in healthcare, SaaS pricing, and enterprise sales. This layered team structure allows EPIC to offer portfolio companies tactical guidance beyond just capital.

EPIC Ventures has maintained a steady investment pace, completing multiple new investments each quarter across pre-seed and seed rounds. In recent years the firm has leaned into AI-native B2B applications, data infrastructure, and healthcare automation—sectors where Utah's talent base has grown substantially.

Recent portfolio activity includes GetWhys, an AI-powered customer intelligence and go-to-market platform that raised a $5.2 million seed round led by EPIC in early 2024. EPIC also participated in rounds for Daffodil Health (AI-driven claims automation), Redo (customer data unification), and MagicCube (embedded financial infrastructure).

The firm's current portfolio spans enterprise SaaS, fintech infrastructure, healthcare IT, and security, reflecting the evolved specialization of the Utah tech ecosystem that EPIC helped build over three decades.

EPIC's exit track record is where the firm's strategy has proven itself most definitively. The firm was an early investor in Recursion Pharmaceuticals, the Salt Lake City-based AI drug discovery company that IPO'd in April 2021 at a $5 billion market cap and has since grown to become one of the most-watched TechBio names on NASDAQ.

Ancestry.com, the genealogy platform acquired by Blackstone in 2022 for $4.7 billion, was another EPIC portfolio success—demonstrating the firm's ability to identify consumer-facing data businesses that have deep enterprise scalability.

Health Catalyst, a healthcare data analytics company, went public in 2019 and trades under HCAT. Domo, the Utah-born business intelligence SaaS platform, IPO'd in 2018 under the ticker DOMO. Everspin Technologies, a leader in magnetoresistive memory, went public in 2016. Each of these exits represents a decade-plus patient capital from EPIC.

The firm also saw exits through acquisitions: Instructure (the company behind Canvas LMS) went to Platinum Equity; Shape Security was acquired by F5 Networks; and Nuvi was acquired by private equity. This mix of IPOs and strategic acquisitions reflects EPIC's flexible exit orientation.

EPIC Ventures prioritizes founder-domain expertise above all else. The firm wants to see that the entrepreneur has lived the problem they are solving—not just studied it from the outside. A founder who previously ran operations at a healthcare system will get more traction for a healthcare SaaS pitch than an outsider with a strong general track record.

Bottom-up evidence of demand is the second critical signal. EPIC evaluates companies with demonstrable net revenue retention above 100%, land-and-expand revenue patterns, and strong customer concentration risk only if the customer profiles represent a large total addressable market.

The firm specifically avoids companies that require heavy infrastructure investment before demonstrating product-market fit. If your startup needs to build significant custom hardware or hire a large sales team before seeing signal, EPIC will likely pass. The firm prefers software-first, low-CAC business models where the product can sell itself at small company sizes.

EPIC Ventures receives pitch decks primarily through warm introductions—founders in the EPIC portfolio, regional accelerator directors (including those from Boomtown, Purple Innovation, and Silicon Valley Bank's Utah arm), and attorneys who work with Utah venture deals.

The firm maintains a deal pipeline through epicvc.com and reviews every submission, but cold inbound pitch decks face significant competition. A warm introduction from a founder EPIC has backed before—or a co-investor with established credibility—shortens the timeline from first contact to first meeting from months to weeks.

Founders who have interacted with EPIC alumni, University of Utah创业中心 contacts, or ARUP Laboratories network members have higher conversion rates, because EPIC treats these relationships as a reliable signal of founder quality.

Once you secure a meeting, expect a direct, no-fluff conversation. Madsen and Efstratis both ask hard questions about customer acquisition costs, retention cohorts, and competitive moat durability. Come with clean financial models and a clear narrative for the $100M+ outcome you are building toward.

For founders ready to begin the process, the official EPIC Ventures website at epicvc.com is the primary inbound channel. The site lists current portfolio, team bios, and contact information. For direct outreach, email info@epicvc.com with a one-page executive summary and a link to your data room. Keep subject lines specific: include your company name, sector, and round size to avoid filteredspam.

EPIC also maintains a presence at regional events including Silicon Slopes conferences, MountainWest Capital Network deal flows, and Utah Venture Forums. Attending these events and building rapport with the team in person is a legitimate, time-tested path to a first meeting with Utah-based venture firms.

Founders sometimes wonder whether to pursue EPIC Ventures or take a meeting with a coastal fund that has Utah in its investment radius. The key distinction is relationship orientation. National funds view Utah as one market among many; EPIC treats Utah and the Mountain West as home turf with a 30-year relationship map.

For companies requiring follow-on capital beyond the seed stage, EPIC's value is particularly distinct. The firm has a strong co-investment network of regional funds including Pelion Venture Partners, Album Capital, and Kickstart Fund that often participate alongside EPIC in seed and Series A rounds. This interconnected investor base reduces the fundraising burden for portfolio companies in subsequent rounds.

Given EPIC's emphasis on domain expertise and bottom-up traction, founders should arrive at the first meeting with clean, investor-ready financial data. This includes monthly cohort retention reports, net revenue retention by customer segment, and a burn rate model that accounts for your actual CAC paybacks.

For pre-revenue or early-revenue companies, EPIC will want to see a credible 18-month cash runway projection and evidence that the current round extends that runway by at least 18 months without requiring a down-round. Preparing these financials with a fractional CFO who understands venture-backed company mechanics positions founders to answer the hardest questions with precision.

Whether you are raising a pre-seed round for the first time or a Series A for a SaaS company with $2M ARR benchmarks, EPIC Ventures is worth a conversation if your business is B2B SaaS and your founding team has deep domain expertise. The firm's three-decade track record, Utah ecosystem depth, and consistent check sizes of $250K to $500K make it a fitting first call for Mountain West founders building durable software businesses.