Market Square Ventures Research
Investment Thesis
Market Square Ventures (MSV) is a Knoxville, Tennessee venture firm that backs early stage startups in Tennessee, the Southeast and Appalachia. Its stated aim is to invest in exceptional founders in a traditionally overlooked region, where its capital and local connections can make a large difference. The firm launched in early 2024 after registering in Tennessee and Delaware in late 2022, and it says it plans to keep that pace of investing through 2025 and 2026. Founders apply by emailing a pitch deck to [email protected].
Stage Focus
MSV invests early. Press coverage and the firm's own site describe pre-seed and seed investing in startups in and around Knoxville, and it co-invests alongside larger funds on later rounds of its companies. Tracxn lists the firm at the seed stage.
Check Size
A September 2024 article describes MSV writing checks of roughly $100K to $250K, mostly on convertible notes or SAFEs, with a single priced round at that point. The firm has not published its fund size; in 2024 the team told Hypepotamus it was targeting a "median sized fund". Fund size and AUM are therefore unknown here.
Lead Tendency
The firm mostly writes small checks and often participates in rounds led by others. For example, Las Olas Venture Capital led VetVerifi's round with Roo Capital and Market Square Ventures participating. Lead tendency is left as unknown because the evidence is thin.
Recent Activity
By March 2025 MSV had invested in eleven Tennessee-based companies, six of them in Knoxville. The site's PortCos list now names 30 companies, so the pace has continued since then. The firm also supports the local ecosystem; its homepage highlights Innovation Night at the Park, which featured 40 founder pitches and 32 startup exhibits and is described as the biggest startup showcase in Knoxville's history. The firm's office is at 121 Tech Hub, 121 E. Jackson Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37915.
Portfolio Highlights
The homepage lists 30 portfolio companies with one-line descriptions. They span health (Adele Health, Trinity Guardion, subQdocs, Whitecoat, Sylvan Health, Tessellate), AI and software (Authentrics.AI, AGYL AI, Laborup, MenuData, MemVid, Rebel Audio, ASQR, Oply, Vinny, Unified Track, Station), consumer products (Daily Crunch, Blank Beauty, Green Llama, VetVerifi), logistics and commerce (Vamo, Shappi, Offload), fintech (Clockout), infrastructure (StratusGrid) and deep tech and energy (Blackwing Space, Scaled Atomics, Voltwing Energy, Shift Thermal). No exits are listed on the site.
Team
- Brandon Bruce, General Partner: co-founder of Cirrus Insight and Uncat
- John Bruck, General Partner: founder of BHE Environmental and an angel investor
- Marty Brown, General Partner: CEO at PYA, named a Forbes Top 200 CPA
- Rosa Mar, General Partner: former executive management at Levi Strauss & Co
- Harry Boston, General Partner: founder of Boston Government Services
Decision Process
The firm is run by five general partners. How decisions are made (solo or committee) is not published, so it is left blank.
Founder Preferences
The site says it looks for exceptional founders in an overlooked region. The partners are mostly operators and founders, and the portfolio shows no single sector preference. Most companies are in or near Tennessee, though some are elsewhere in the US.
Geographic Focus
Tennessee first (Knoxville, Nashville), then the Southeast and Appalachia. Applicants should expect a regional tie to matter.
Gaps
No fund size, no explicit stage or check-size statement on the firm's own site, no stated decision process, and no dated investment records beyond press coverage. Portfolio stage per company is not stated, so none is recorded.