The idea was born out of frustration at the inefficient and haphazard way our team went about getting outsourced agency work done. It occurred to Brian that having a curated roster of quality talent in the different functional areas of a business would solve a real problem many entrepreneurs were having. When Brian mentioned the idea to his business partner Raj, he was intrigued. “We already had grown a strong list of vendors and built meaningful relationships with them over the last few years.” Raj continued, “Why not put them all together and work like a full service agency?” In addition, they had started investing in a few of the companies that came to their Manhattan or Ft. Lauderdale offices of their Creative Digital Agency, DB Collective. So it was a natural, organic progression of things they were already doing. In addition, DB Collective had been providing enterprise level software, mobile application development, and creative services for companies like The United Nations, AT&T, The NHL, Forbes, Memorial Hospital, and many more small to large businesses.
“Our partners & vendors could assist with their specific expertise, while growing their own portfolio and experience with high level clientele.”
When it comes to startups, they must have 5 things. “A solution to a problem, knowledge, experience, courage and financing. All 5 make the perfect grouping to execute the dream. But, if a few of those variables are missing, there is help from the Startup Collective. Collective Ventures can be a talented, connected and financially secure co-founder.” They have since invested in 13 companies and continue to get 20-30 pitches each week.
With plans to create Collective Ventures locations in Hollywood, Pembroke Pines, Del Ray, West Palm Beach, Tampa and Orlando before leaving to other states, they believe they will have amazing impact in the nurturing and growth of the startup culture in Florida.