2024 Private Market Investment Insights from the BIP Ventures Symposium

The 2024 Private Market Symposium marked its 15th year as a premier gathering for private market investors, advisors, founders, and partners. With a record-breaking attendance of over 500 participants at the historic Buckhead Theatre, the banner event was filled with networking, learning, strategic discussions, and a lot of fun. General Partner and COO Mark Flickinger kicked off the evening with highlights from the year, including how we've grown and how we're continuing to deliver on our mission to serve all participants in the Innovation Economy.

New Private Capital Vehicles and Strategic Expansions

BIP Ventures has seen significant momentum since the 2023 symposium. We reported on new investments, company exits, strategic hires, and funding developments, all of which reinforce our strategy of diversifying investor offerings and our commitment to expanding opportunities within private markets. The recap included report on the growth of the BIP Ventures Evergreen BDC, which launched in 2023. We introduced LAGO Evergreen Credit – a pioneering equity product targeting high-growth companies. And we reintroduced our legacy brand, BIP Capital as a comprehensive and scalable private market platform that integrates BIP Ventures, the Evergreen BDC, and LAGO private credit.

How Artificial Intelligence is Transforming Venture Capital and BIP Ventures

Managing Partner and CEO Mark Buffington presented a forward-looking framework on the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) across sectors. He profiled AI's potential for risk and reward, touching on the use of machine learning in pharmaceuticals and education and potential threats in algorithmic warfare. After setting the context, he showcased the incredible power of BIP Ventures' proprietary AI startup engine. A video walk through of the platform showed how the AI engine enables and enhances complex portfolio company assessment tasks including opportunity sourcing, competitive analysis, and portfolio monitoring.

"We developed this proprietary AI engine so we can generate highly detailed reports that help us, but more importantly, our portfolio company leaders, make effective decisions." (Mark Buffington)

BIP Ventures Portfolio Spotlight Companies

Six BIP Ventures portfolio companies took the stage to showcase their innovative solutions across Fan Engagement, Legal Tech, Healthcare Tech, and Financial Platforms.

• ‍PlayOn: A fan engagement platform for schools, PlayOn offers digital tools for ticketing, streaming, and team sites. The company's innovations enhance the fan experience and administrative efficiency.‍
• Case Status: An AI-powered client engagement tool for law firms, Case Status improves client communication, trust, and reputation management through a mobile-first platform.‍
• ChartSpan: A leading virtual care provider for Medicare patients, ChartSpan reduces healthcare costs and readmission rates through proactive, preventative care.‍
• ConnexPay: An expanding payments platform with applications across travel, loyalty programs, and advertising, ConnexPay is poised for growth across North America and international markets.‍
• Eventeny: A platform that simplifies event management, Eventeny provides solutions to increase organizers' revenue streams through vendor insurance, marketplace integration, and travel booking options.‍
• ShiftMed: The largest nurse labor platform in the U.S., ShiftMed's technology addresses labor shortages in healthcare through a streamlined on-demand staffing model.

2024 State of Startups in the Southeast Highlights Stability and Innovation

Mark Flickinger unveiled the 2024 State of Startups^SM in the Southeast annual trend report. This leading data resource on the region's innovation and investment landscape offers insights into key technology sectors, startups, and investors since 2018. Mark presented data and implications on four primary trends shaping the startup investment ecosystem in 2024:

1. ‍Through the Trough: Startup ecosystems are showing resilience, with signs of growth as they emerge from recent market over-recoveries.‍
2. The Southeast is Ahead (And That's Fantastic): While venture capital pacing has slowed nationally, the Southeast has remained steady – causing time between rounds to be shorter in the Southeast than U.S. and showcasing a unique regional advantage.‍
3. Private Credit is a Big Fish in the Private Capital Pool: The use of private credit has surged, offering founders and investors an adaptable option amid shifting capital market dynamics.‍
4. AI is the Tool, Not the Toolbelt: For investors, AI hype has shifted to sustainable AI integration, where valuations reflect real-world business models and efficiencies.

As it does every year, the BIP Ventures Private Market Symposium reaffirmed our commitment to being a fiduciary for our investors and a steward of our founders' dreams. Through conscientious efforts spanning technology, people, portfolio support, investor care, and funding innovations, we do our part to contribute to a robust and dynamic private market ecosystem. We're grateful to everyone who attended in person or online, and for everyone who is part of our community.

If you're an advisor interested in partnering with us, please contact Phil Davidson. If you're an investor interested in learning more about any of our funds or products, please contact a member of our Investor Success team.

Current investors can access videos from the event in their BIP Capital Vision account.