A new venture fund for Tampa Bay.
Gazelle Ventures is a Tampa Bay-focused fund being raised now. The plan is straightforward: back high-growth local founders with capital that lets them scale without relocating.
An honest roadmap.
We believe the best fundraises are transparent ones. Here's exactly where Gazelle Ventures stands.
Thesis Defined
Tampa Bay-rooted, high-growth thesis built and pressure-tested with operators.
Raising Founding LPs
Actively talking to Tampa Bay operators, families, and institutions about the first close.
First Investments
Once funded, deploy initial checks into Tampa Bay's strongest pre-seed and seed founders.
Portfolio & Follow-On
Build a portfolio of Gazelle companies and unlock follow-on capital across the Southeast.
Local capital, deployed locally.
Tampa Bay founders have historically had two options when it's time to raise: stay local with limited capital, or relocate to access it. Most companies end up moving — and the jobs and wealth tend to follow.
Gazelle Ventures is being built as a different option. A Tampa Bay-rooted fund focused on high-growth local founders, structured so backing them doesn't require uprooting them.
Built to run. Rooted to stay.
Gazelle Companies
Founders capable of 20%+ annual growth, who create real jobs in the region.
Local Capital
Locally raised, locally deployed. LPs are Tampa Bay operators and institutions who win when the region wins.
Community Impact
Term sheets structured to keep jobs, talent, and follow-on capital local.
Tampa Bay's already producing.
Two major exits, 15,000+ new tech workers since 2020, and a cost structure that makes early-stage capital go further.
Tech workers added
Since 2020. One of the fastest-growing tech labor pools in the Southeast.
ReliaQuest valuation
Tampa-built cybersecurity company. Enterprise-scale outcomes happen here.
Penny Hoarder exit
St. Pete-built consumer media. Consumer-scale outcomes happen here too.
Extra runway
The same dollar lasts 18+ months longer in Tampa Bay than in SF or NYC.
ReliaQuest and The Penny Hoarder are Tampa Bay market benchmarks, not portfolio companies of Gazelle Ventures. Cited as evidence the region produces real outcomes.
Run by operators, not allocators.
Gazelle Ventures is being built by people who've spent their careers inside Tampa Bay companies — not financiers looking for deal flow.
Ashby has spent 25+ years inside Tampa Bay businesses.
Fractional CFO and operator who's worked alongside dozens of founders across the Bay — closing books, modeling raises, working through transitions, and getting companies investor-ready.
- 25+ years of finance, audit, and operating experience
- CFO advisor across The Penny Hoarder, IT Authorities, SOMA Global, agDirigo, and more
- Adjunct professor at the University of Tampa, teaching Entrepreneurial Finance
- Truist Board of Advisors · Florida Governor's Business Ambassador (2016)
Plugged into the people who already make Tampa Bay work.
Direct relationships with founders, advisors, talent, and capital across the region. Less parachute-in, more already-in-the-room.
- Active in Tampa Bay's founder and investor community
- Connections to USF, regional corporates, and local talent pipelines
- Warm-intro paths to Series A funds across the Southeast and tier-1 firms
- Long history with Tampa Bay's ecosystem builders
Tampa Bay Market Proof
Tampa-built cybersecurity. Enterprise scale, locally rooted.
Cited as Tampa Bay market evidence — not a Gazelle portfolio company.Tampa Bay Market Proof
St. Pete-built consumer media. Consumer scale, locally rooted.
Cited as Tampa Bay market evidence — not a Gazelle portfolio company.What founding LPs get.
Concentrated Tampa Bay venture exposure, plus the access and voice that comes with being early.
Tampa Bay exposure
Concentrated venture exposure to one of the fastest-growing tech markets in the U.S. — without leaving your own backyard.
Operator-led diligence
Capital deployed by an operator who's been inside Tampa Bay businesses for 25+ years.
First-look deal flow
See the strongest founders we evaluate. Co-invest selectively alongside the fund.
Community impact
Returns plus regional impact in the same vehicle. Capital structured to anchor jobs locally.
Founding LP voice
Help shape the fund — sector lean, ecosystem partnerships, and how the firm operates.
Transparent reporting
Quarterly LP letters, plain-English performance reporting, and direct access to the GP team.
From first call to first close.
A clear process designed to respect your time. No pressure tactics, no opaque diligence.
Intro Conversation
30-minute call to walk through the thesis, the team, and the structure. No pitch deck wallpaper — just the substance.
Deep Dive & Materials
You receive the full data room: PPM, fund deck, team backgrounds, and the diligence detail you'd expect from any institutional manager.
Diligence & References
Talk to operators, founders, and ecosystem partners we've worked with. Diligence the GP as hard as we'd diligence a founder.
Soft Commit & First Close
Signal interest, confirm allocation, and join the first close. Founding LPs lock in before broader fundraising opens.
Who you're working with.
Operators and investors building Gazelle Ventures alongside Tampa Bay's founder and LP community.
Ashby Green
Founder of Gazelle Capital. Former CFO at Kobie Marketing (9-figure exit). Tampa Bay Business Journal's CFO of the Year, 2017. Adjunct professor at the University of Tampa, teaching Entrepreneurial Finance.
ashby@gazelle.capital →
Kim Vogel
Investor and ecosystem builder focused on talent, network, and follow-on capital connectivity for Tampa Bay's fastest-growing companies.
Building something in Tampa Bay?
The fund isn't deployed yet, but we're already meeting founders to build the pipeline. Send a note, we'll keep you in the loop as Gazelle Ventures comes online.