Mark Montgomery Joins Claritas Capital

Mark Montgomery has joined Claritas Capital as the firm’s first entrepreneur-in-residence. He was co-founder of Echo, a Nashville, Tenn.-based digital media and services company acquired by IAC/Ticketmaster in 2007.

PRESS RELEASE
We are pleased to announce Mark Montgomery has joined Claritas Capital as its first Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR).

Over the past 15 years, Mark has worked with hundreds of entertainment and corporate clients, including names like Sony, Kanye West, Keith Urban, RIM/Blackberry, Bon Jovi, Pearl Jam, Best Buy, Gnarls Barkley, Rascal Flatts, and General Motors to name a few. He is a pioneer in the e-commerce and business-to-consumer marketing space.

Mark was the co-founder of echo, a Nashville-based digital media and services company focused on building communities around entertainment brands. He was the co-creator of the patented platform echotools™, a direct-to-consumer delivery and data management system which ultimately grew to serve millions of users and distribute hundreds of millions of pages, data feeds, and e-commerce transactions. The company was successfully sold in 2007 to IAC/Ticketmaster, generating nearly a 10x return to echo’s investors.

A winner of multiple “Best in Business” awards, as well as “Entrepreneur of the Year” in 2007, Mark is a frequent keynote speaker and panelist at music business and industry functions from well-known university business schools to Grammy organizations throughout the United States.

“I am excited to be part of the team” states Montgomery. “Based on my love of the city of Nashville, the working experience with Claritas, the brilliant folks at Studio Now (led by David Mason and Adam Solesby), the growing commitment to entrepreneurism in general in the city, and Claritas’s commitment to the digital media space, I felt strongly a continued relationship with the firm would be a win-win for all parties.”

John Chadwick, Managing Director of Claritas Capital says, “We are honored to have Mark join the firm as an Entrepreneur in Residence; our existing digital media entrepreneurs and portfolio companies as well as many of the promising start-up ventures we are reviewing in the space will all benefit from Mark’s broad network of relationships and experience in digital media, from his own success and efforts as an entrepreneur, and from his proven ability to profit from disruption in a multi-billion dollar industry through technology and business model innovation. In addition to working with existing portfolio companies, Mark will be a valued voice in working with Claritas Capital principals in assessing the many digital media investment opportunities presented to the firm.”

Per Don McLemore, Managing Director, “Mark’s experience, insight, and intuition in digital media have directly benefited our entrepreneurs and clients through his involvement with StudioNow, a Claritas Capital portfolio company recently acquired by AOL. Mark was recruited to join the Board of Directors for StudioNow with a clear understanding of the impact his contribution would have on a technology expanding its presence in the digital media marketplace. We are eager for Mark to continue the value creation for additional portfolio companies as he officially partners with Claritas Capital as an Entrepreneur in Residence.”

About Claritas Capital:
Nashville-based Claritas Capital is one of the leading investment firms in the South, focused on supporting entrepreneurs who are pursuing compelling, innovative business opportunities. Claritas Capital provides startup through growth financing for information, health care, and business services companies operated by talented and experienced entrepreneurs. The firm is instrumental in the success of its investments by first right-sizing business models and ultimately pairing companies with the best human and financial resources. Claritas Capital utilizes an entrepreneur-friendly approach which operates in a culture built on execution and service and is uniquely positioned with a team of 6 investment professionals possessing over 75 years experience in providing both equity and debt financing solutions to entrepreneurs. The firm also has a presence in Irvine, California.