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Value

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Offering Strategic Venture Capital Solutions

Spartan Ventures is a strategic venture capital partnership firm with a focus on fast-tracking value for creative entrepreneurs and innovative products. Combining the perceptive vision and awareness of our seasoned team, we identify strengths in businesses that meet unmet consumer needs and then act as investors that add real value. We provide both capital and business expertise to decrease risk, enhance product development, and secure successful exit(s).

Spartan Ventures fills an important funding gap for businesses of all sizes, making investments of time, money, and high-level consultation over the life of an investment.

The firm has collaborated with more than 30 seed or early-stage companies, nearly half of which have already realized successful exits, such as acquisitions, IPOs, partnerships, and other liquidity events.

Team

Reg

Reg Lapham is a seasoned entrepreneur and dedicated “deal maker” who consults and invests time and capital in projects that have the vision and that inspire positive change.

Having established several successful ventures across a span of market spaces, Reg seeks creative, collaborative, and innovative opportunities, regardless of the business sector – “Necessity is the Mother of Invention.”

He is an accomplished executive with proven skills in strategic vision and tactical business plan execution with valuable expertise in strategy, financial management, and developing and growing high-performance workgroups in a myriad of settings.

Most recently, Reg co-founded a now publicly-traded biopharmaceutical drug development company, Nemus Bioscience, Inc. (NMUS), which is actively engaged with numerous departments at the University of Mississippi with its research and development lab located at the Insight Park Innovation Hub. He is committed to continuing to build his friendships and relationships within Ole Miss and desires to become more of a force for positive economic change in the state of Mississippi as a whole.

For many start-ups, Reg has been ultimately responsible for fund-raising, investor relations, overseeing all financial aspects of the business, identifying strategic partners, growing the management team, and managing legal and regulatory compliance.

Before exiting the constraints of “Corporate America” as a full-time entrepreneur over 15 years ago, Reg consistently proved himself as a leader and valuable asset for companies such as The Goldman Sachs Group, Kiewit Corp., McCaslin Development Co., and Eckland Consultants, Inc. Reg is highly regarded as an effective negotiator with an “intuitive instinct” who has built and managed large scale, multi-faceted projects on a national and international basis. He is recognized as a high-performance leader dedicated to excellence and outstanding communication.

He is also a proud supporter of Mississippi Development Authority, MS Society, Second Harvest Food Bank, Collette’s Children’s Home, Food Allergy Research & Education, Project Self Sufficiency, American Heart Association, Heal The Bay and Wounded Warriors to name a few.

Reg has been received the California Senate Certificate of Recognition for commitment to the safety and well-being of our community, a County of Los Angeles Commendation in recognition of dedicated service to the affairs of the community and for the civic pride demonstrated by numerous contributions for the benefit of all the citizens of LA County and a Long Beach Police Dept. Certificate of Community Service for voluntary acts of bravery in response to the protection of human life and property.

our Team

Rob Chandler
Consultant

Rob Chandler has a diverse background in commercial real estate. He began his career at a national firm focusing exclusively on investment sales. From there, he was recruited to run the investment sales division of a large real estate firm where he later became a partner. Rob has been hired to dispose of assets for Fortune 500 companies and multiple financial institutions.

Rob began buying commercial real estate assets in 2004. Since then, he and his partners have acquired and developed many incoming producing assets. He has also managed, asset managed, and leased their assets. Rob’s primary duties are sourcing new deals, overseeing the construction of his projects, financial analysis, and securing debts. Rob and his wife Jeannie reside in Houston with their two children.

Charities

  • Immunization Partnership
  • St Francis Episcopal Church
  • MD Anderson Cancer Center
  • Jr League of Houston
  • Memorial Assistance Ministries
  • Baker Hughes
Rob Chandler

Rob Chandler

Consultant

Todd Jones
Consultant

As the President of retail mortgage at Bridgeview Bank Mortgage, Todd is always looking for ways to grow, both professionally and personally. His goal is to surround himself with motivated industry leaders, expand his business, and better himself in everything that he does. He has launched new offices all across the nation and is constantly looking for top-producing loan originators/loan originating teams to add to his highly motivated staff. Throughout his career and personal life, he has always valued leadership. It is what allowed him to succeed in his education at West Point and in his trade. He expects all of his staff to possess strong leadership characteristics and to have a firm grasp on the information necessary to get their jobs done. Bridgeview Bank Mortgage can help those interested in achieving a higher level in their professional careers, as well as provide many benefits.

Bridgeview Bank Mortgage provides the benefits of a small mortgage correspondent with the backing of a large, federally insured bank, and provides access to all of the major mortgage products at competitive prices. We utilize a highly innovative online marketing platform, which generates as many as six new loan inquiries per day / per LO. These inquiries are delivered in real-time to the LO; our LO’s are able to focus on sales without the time-consuming aspects of processing because of our great operations system. We at Bridgeview are unblemished in the market, play to LO strengths, and cater to them to produce more.

Todd Jones

Todd Jones

Consultant

Kevin Roe
Consultant

Kevin Roe is an entrepreneur and executive with a diverse background in finance, technology, international business, and real estate and is currently an investor and Director at Uplogix.

Kevin joined the three founders of Uplogix in 2005 in pre-funding, start-up phase and has helped raise venture capital for the company and provides leadership in sales, product, and marketing strategies. Since joining, Kevin has led sales and marketing and has grown the organization to a multi-million-dollar leader in the technology software and hardware space. His management expertise has been critical in building a global footprint for the company fostering relationships and driving sales in the Americas, UK, Europe, Middle East & Africa, and Asia.

Kevin built his foundation of sales and executive leadership technology roles at large, blue-chip public companies Dell Computer, BMC Software and BEA Systems (acquired by Oracle). He brings a unique perspective to the entrepreneurial world, having been involved in both small, start-up, and large, multi-national technology companies. He has traveled to or done business in over 75 countries giving him a lifetime of experience in the international marketplace.

Prior to entering into the technology space, Kevin earned his degree in Finance and Spanish from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Starting his career in the Corporate Lending Group at Wells Fargo, he built his base of knowledge in investment banking, treasury and risk management, and business lending analysis. He moved from Wells to a boutique securities and investment firm (acq. by Washington Mutual), where he earned his securities licenses and proficiency in strategic investing and private wealth management.

Kevin is also the founder of Boulder Ventures, a Real Estate firm with assets in Texas, California, Mississippi, and Central America. The Company invests in both residential and commercial assets and has tripled in growth over the past three years by leveraging favorable capital markets and a conservative asset allocation approach.

Kevin is an angel investor with a diverse portfolio of investments in the Oil and Gas, Technology, Real Estate, Social Media and Medical industries and is also an active advisor for early-stage companies.

Companies

  • Citigroup
  • Standard Charter
  • South African Police Services
  • Schlumberger
  • Enbridge Energy
  • Baker Hughes

Charities

  • St. John Vianney Church
  • Houston Area Parkinson Society
  • Wellsprings Village, Inc.
  • Wounded Warrior Project
  • AIDS Foundation, South Africa
  • Cade R. Alpard Foundation

Kevin Roe

Consultant

Chris Gandolfo
Consultant

Chris is a seasoned sales leader and technology executive with a strong background working with Fortune 500 enterprises, small businesses as well as pre-revenue start-ups.
Chris currently runs a sales division for Oracle in the Western US and is responsible for revenue generation, go to market execution, and overall customer satisfaction for over 2,000 customers. He oversees a sales team of over 100 sales professionals in both field territories and inside sales.

Chris began his software career with CA, Inc., where he led sales teams in Texas and California. He was often called on to assist the executive staff on projects such as Strategic Forecasting and Sales Strategy and Execution. He was routinely recognized for his team’s standout sales performance and was known to have a unique blend of sales, finance, and operational skills. Chris was also the Chief Sales Officer for [24]7, Inc., a leading provider of analytics-based customer support operations. During his tenure at [24]7, he was able to work with leading executives of some of the world’s largest B2C brands by integrating predictive analytics into their customer experience operations.

Chris is also no stranger to entrepreneurial endeavors. He is a founding investor in Nemus Bioscience, Inc., and also launched Pacific Street Ventures in 2012 to consult with companies on best practices for software go to market strategies. Chris also co-founded, Finny, a parental engagement platform that is the first mobile solution that turns screen time into learning moments. Targeted to 7-14-year-olds, Finny monitors unproductive device usage and interrupts by triggering a custom quiz. Whether reinforcing traditional academic subjects or introducing new topics, the content library contains over 15,000 questions across a range of categories (Math, Science, Current Events, etc.). Through a comprehensive dashboard, parents can customize settings, receive real-time report cards, and gain visibility into their child’s device usage.

Before entering the workforce, Chris spent two years at the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he was a member of the Army Football team. Before his junior year, he transferred to Vanderbilt University, where he completed his undergraduate studies with a double major in Economics and Human & Organizational Development. After moving to California, he completed his MBA degree at the Anderson School of Management at UCLA.

Chris currently resides in Santa Monica, CA, with his wife Jessica, his son Braxton, and his dog, Rocky.

Companies

  • Oracle
  • CA
  • [24]7
  • finny Charities
  • Catholic Relief Services
  • Disabled American Veterans
  • Claris Health
  • St. Monica’s Catholic Church
Chris Gandolfo

Chris Gandolfo

Consultant

Sydney Burmood

Graphic Design Specialist

Sydney is a Graphic Designer, Motion Graphics Designer, and Web Designer. She currently does freelance through her business, Buddha Belly Designs. Her experience involves logo design, branding, rebranding, advertising, websites, clothing graphics, packaging design, illustration, and animation.

Sydney started her career with Boulder Built, a marijuana production company, being contracted out as the Graphic Designer. She catered to packaging, social media strain graphics, logo redesign, and product information for dispensaries. Since then she has worked on several other projects for DJ logos and merchandise, logo and business card design for a steel company, and t-shirt graphics for Denver restaurant week. Currently she is working as the in-house graphic designer for Your Mom's House and Boogie Groove Entertainment in Downtown Denver, rebranding for Colorado Caregivers and Companions, and web design for Spartan Adventures. 

Sydney is very much a big part in entrepreneurship herself as she created her own creative business. Along with helping brand start up businesses and rebranding ongoing businesses. 

Before starting her career she attended the University of Colorado Boulder. Here she graduated with a Bachelors in Digital Art and double minor in Business and Technical Arts and Media.

Currently she is in Denver, Colorado but working on expanding her clientel.

Companies:

  • Boulder Built                   
  • Unlimited Steel
  • Dining 4 A Cause 
  • Your Mom's House and Boogie Groove Entertainment
  • Colorado Caregivers and Companions

Sydney Burmood

Graphic Design Specialist

Jeremy Gruber
Consultant

Jeremy Gruber is a graduate of CU Boulder, where he studied film and business.  Before heading to California to work in the movies, Jeremy started a candle-making company, and grew it to distribute nationally. Next Jeremy worked at Patagonia, managing their stores in San Francisco and Boulder. Jeremy then worked at Apple, helping establish its retail presence, and to develop the Business Team, an offshoot of Apple retail which pairs businesses with Apple-based productivity solutions. Jeremy then moved into the cannabis space, first acting as a private caregiver at the onset of Colorado’s medical marijuana legality, and eventually developing Bonfire Cannabis, a brand with grows, dispensaries, and extraction facilities in three states.  

After Bonfire Jeremy pivoted toward creating a new product in the banking space—one that combined superior customer service and technical ingenuity with impeccable environmental and social integrity. Jeremy acted as investment banker, investor liaison, and project manager, raising the entirety of the seed round, and directing the project’s many participating members.

Jeremy maintains a business consultancy, helping businesses add efficiency and environmental responsibility to their operations.

 

Companies

  • REI
  • Partner expansion of Craft Candle Company
  • Patagonia, Inc.
  • Apple Inc.
  • Assistant Director staff 1492 Productions
  • Private cannabis Caregiver
  • Dispensary manager and owner
  • Cannabis grow manager, designer, and owner

Jeremy Gruber

Consultant

The Heart of Spartan

American Heart Association, AIDS Foundation, South Africa, Ambassadors of the Texas Children’s Hospital, American Heart Association, Baylor Alumni Association, Baylor University Hankamer School of Business Scholarship Fund, Cade R. Alpard Foundation, Camp Sunshine, Catholic Relief Services, Claris Health, Collette’s Children’s Home, Disabled American Veterans, Epilepsy Foundation, First Frisco United Methodist Church, Food Allergy Research & Education, Gabby Krause Foundation, Habitat for Humanity, Heal The Bay, Houston Area Parkinson Society, Houston Technology Center, Immunization Partnership, Jr League of Houston, Memorial Assistance Ministries, Keep A Breast Foundation, Kinkaid, Long Beach Memorial Miller Children’s Hospital, Long Beach Police Officers Association, Long Beach Rescue Mission, Make-A-Wish Foundation, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Mississippi Development Authority, MS Society, National Brain Tumor Society, National Collegiate Cancer Foundation, National Hospice & Palliative Care Organization, Parkinson’s Foundation, St Francis Episcopal Church, Project Self Sufficiency, Regis Jesuit, Second Harvest Food Bank, St. Francis Episcopal Day School, St. John Vianney Church, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, St. Monica’s Catholic Church, St. Thomas More, The Red Cross, Waking The Passion, Walk With Sally, Wayuu Origins Company, Wellsprings Village, Inc., and Wounded Warriors

Praise

I have known Reg Lapham for quite some time now, and I have found him to be an extremely engaging, active listener and an extremely organized servant leader. He makes checklists and executes – he reverse engineers to help find solutions by actively listening to people and company’s problems that need to be solved.

He constantly moves the ball forward, and would be someone that I would always recommend to anyone or any company having difficult issues to solve. As an aside, but important, as I have gotten older and wiser from both successes and failures (learning much more from my failures and never going to be done learning!) – I trust my ‘gut’ and intuition, as, without a doubt, I strongly know he is a solid guy with strong integrity and a moral background. Lastly, he possesses a drive and passion that will serve in making the journey to any solution that much more efficient and less bumpy!

- Todd A. Rustman, CFA, CFP, CLU | Clarity Capital Partners, LLC —

I find him to be a shrewd businessman that always does what he promises to do, a man of his word. He is very passionate about the projects he undertakes and holds no effort to make them succeed. I can’t think of a better person to have a business relationship with than Reg.

- Mahmoud A. ElSohly, Ph.D., BCFE, BCFM | National Center for Natural Products Research

Working with Reg has always been a real pleasure as well as a great learning experience. Reg has a curious mind, is an active listener and learner, is highly intelligent, and has also been extremely generous with his business development knowledge. It is nice to work with people who can apply knowledge so adeptly like Reg. I also love being able to learn so much from experts like Reg. From the very beginning, I knew that Reg was an excellent person and through many years of working, that feeling was constantly verified by his conduct and consideration. When I first met him, he let me know that it might take some time to get back to me, but he did.

Reg has a very warm and personable manner that is sincere and genuine. Some smart people like to constantly prove it while others like Reg, prefer to focus on doing the right thing and are more concerned with the teamwork and actual progress than taking credit. I find this characteristic so refreshing and invigorating in a business person and friend.

Reg is a great guy and the type of person who instills a lot of loyalty and friendship. When you work with Reg, you really, really want to go the extra mile for him.

- Daniel R. Kimbell, Esq. | karish and Bjorgum, PC -

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"MENTAL TOUGHNESS IS SPARTANISM, WITH ALL ITS QUALITIES OF SELF-DENIAL, SACRIFICE, DEDICATION, FEARLESSNESS, AND LOVE.

Vince Lombardi