The Syndicate Group is a company that was created to help startups scale faster by organizing investment access for channel partners and CXOs. Pulse 2.0 interviewed The Syndicate Group founder and CEO Chad Cardenas to learn more.
Chad Cardenas’ Background
Cardenas is the founder and CEO of The Syndicate Group (TSG) and the Managing Director of Syndicate Venture Partners. And Cardenas said:
“With over 25 years of experience in the enterprise technology sector, I’ve developed sales, leadership, business transformation, innovation, distribution channels, investing, and go-to-market strategies for enterprise startups.”
“I previously co-founded Trace3, where I served in a President/CIO capacity. I also founded and served as Managing Director of InstantScale Ventures. The Syndicate Group was born out of these experiences, based on the realization that more could be done to streamline innovation and align the incentives of startups, channel partners, and clients.”
Evolution Of The Syndicate Group’s Thesis
How has The Syndicate Group’s thesis evolved? Cardenas shared:
“TSG was developed to help startups scale faster with revenue growth and new customer acquisition by organizing exclusive pre-IPO investment access for their strategic go-to-market ecosystem. As our network of strategic partners and CXOs has grown, we have increased our ability to customize capital raises based on a company’s stage and go-to-market strategy. This has put TSG in a position to be even more selective in choosing portfolio companies while broadening the startup candidate pool from which we can select.”
Challenges Faced
What challenges did Cardenas face in building The Syndicate Group, and has the current macroeconomic climate had any effect? Cardenas acknowledged:
“The current macroeconomic climate and the resulting downturn in VC funding for startups has reinforced TSG’s unique value proposition by demonstrating how channel-led investments can stimulate success even in times when startup funding is difficult to attain. The best enterprise tech companies are easier than ever to spot, which makes this a game of access. Those providing the most strategic value to the best startups are being granted access to invest. This plays very nicely into the TSG model because the startups need that strategic go-to-market advantage now more than ever. 2022 was our best year ever for new investments and 2023 is shaping up to be even better.”
Favorite Memory
What has been Cardenas’ favorite memory working for The Syndicate Group so far? Cardenas reflected:
“We recently led a strategic investment in an early-stage cyber security company with incredible results, including dozens of high-value intros, net new partners signed, and net new client revenue. The managing partner of the lead VC from the previous round called to say, “We’ve never seen strategic results this valuable, this fast. How can we introduce you to the rest of our portfolio companies?” The way startups, VCs, and strategic celebrate the TSG model makes what we do very rewarding and keeps us highly motivated to continue delivering value.”
Significant Milestones
What have been some of The Syndicate Group’s most significant milestones? Cardenas cited:
“This year, TSG caught the attention of Veza, a well-established security company who reopened their Series C round to allow TSG to join and provide their strategic capital.”
“TSG will also launch and close its 25th investment and will add the 20th company to the portfolio in 2023. The TSG network has grown to encompass over 10,000 unique individuals and more than 500 unique companies.”
Investment Success Stories
Would you like to share any specific investment success stories? Cardenas highlighted:
“Earlier this year, TSG leveraged its ecosystem of 450 leading channel partner companies and 7,500 active members to provide capital and tactical counsel for Grip Security, a leading SaaS security provider seeking strategic funding to accelerate growth during a time when tech funding had been sparse.”
“In less than 90 days, the investment spurred partner interest and prospective customer POCs, which led to net new ARR and stimulated sales pipelines to levels that exceeded expectations, resulting in upwardly adjusted future growth metrics. The company shared that the strategic investment allowed them to do in 2-3 months what would have normally taken well over a year, along with significant additional costs and resources.”
Industry Focus
What are some of the industries that The Syndicate Group is focused on? Cardenas noted:
“TSG focuses primarily on the enterprise technology sector, with an emphasis on cybersecurity startups.”
Differentiation From Other Firms
What differentiates The Syndicate Group from other firms? Cardenas affirmed:
“TSG’s utilization of channel partners to provide both capital and strategic guidance serves as a new and innovative way for startups to source funding that differs from institutional funding sources.”
“For CEOs struggling to source capital from the same entities that have been around for decades, utilizing channel partners provides a transformational change that can increase the rate and magnitude of business success.”
Future Goals
What are some of The Syndicate Group’s future goals? Cardenas concluded:
“We are absolutely thrilled with the growth of our strategic investor network in just a few short years. This is allowing us to look at engaging great startups earlier in their evolution to help them engage and accelerate a high-quality partner ecosystem even faster.”
