Friday Q&A: Kevin Kemmerer of Safeguard Scientifics
Updated: Corrected numbers, general edits.
Of the many investment firms in Philadelphia, there is no one quite like Safeguard Scientifics.
In Internet years the company is ancient. Founded in 1953, one of its early investments was Jerrold Electronics, a company that eventually saw its cable operations bought out by Ralph Roberts to become a little company named “Comcast.” Since then, the company has been a staple of the local investment community surviving the Web 1.0 days to emerge stronger than ever. Since 2006, Safeguard has invested $175 million.
While most firms receive money from private individuals with tight strings attached, Safeguard is one of the small handful of firms to be publicly traded. Being publicly traded allows the company to be much more patient with its 17 partner companies, avoiding situations like the recent Zappos deal where the company’s investors forced it to sell to Amazon.
But Safeguard is most proud of what it calls its “operating platform”: a series of legal, administrative and operational services to help its investments quickly grow revenue.
We chatted with Kevin Kemmerer, EVP and managing director of Safeguard’s technology group about investing locally, the company’s much-respected “operating platform” and what entrepreneurs can do to get Safeguard’s attention.
