A fintech founder whose cybersecurity firm sold to Smarsh three years ago has launched a new venture capital business to invest in wealth management and other financial services software.
Surge Ventures has
His new venture firm,
"As an entrepreneur, I know some of the challenges of building a company from the ground up," said Yenamandra, whose
Data architecture and management came in second only to digital client and advisor experience on a recent survey of
"That would be a solution that would resonate with a lot of business owners," Gardner said. "You don't think about all the other ancillary things that need to be done from a tax perspective, a legal perspective or business perspective."
Surge's advisory board includes Larry Roth, the former CEO of Advisor Group and Cetera; Matthew Martin, LPL's deputy chief information security officer; and Geoff Moore, chief information officer of insurance and wealth management brokerage Valmark Financial Group. Surge is "bringing together investment capital, deep industry knowledge, a strong industry advisory network and a smart operations team," fellow board member Jason Lish, a former chief security, privacy and data officer at Advisor Group and current chief security officer with Lumen Technologies, said in a statement.
"The financial services and wealth management industry needs innovative, yet usable, data governance and compliance solutions, and Surge is positioned to bring multiple innovative companies to market that address various facets of the data compliance conundrum," he said.
After spending roughly the past decade with Entreda working on protecting firms like Advisor Group and about 300 of the largest brokerages and registered investment advisors from cybersecurity breaches, Yenamandra aims to invest in software that gives the industry the data tools it needs in areas such as compliance, storage and business applications. The Menlo Park, California-based firm views data governance as a "growing problem" that's "only going to get worse over the next decade" as the industry's legacy tech catches up with other fields while shielding the increasing reams of clients' information and investments from risk, he said.
Surge can work with startups as an acquirer, co-founder or simply a provider of shared services assisting founders with issues like identifying the best market for their products, locating a capital provider and naming a board. Yenamandra compared the firm's consultative services to those provided to financial advisors by brokerages and RIAs for compliance and operations.
"We want the entrepreneur out there focused on customers and products," he said. "How do we solve the customer's pain? Don't worry about how do I incorporate the company in the right way and how do I do accounts payable and receivable."
