Ken Fox
Encyclopedia
Kenneth Allen "Ken" Fox is an American
business man best known as an entrepreneur and investor. He was a co-founder of Internet Capital Group
who has gone on to form Stripes Group, Sentinel Fund, Syndero and A10 Capital.
, where he started his first business at the age of 15. In 1993 he graduated from The Pennsylvania State University with a BS degree in economics
.
firm Safeguard Scientifics Inc. and in 1995 established the company's San Francisco office. In 1996, Fox, along with fellow Safeguard executive Walter Buckley, founded Internet Capital Group
(NASDAQ : ICGE) with strategic investors including IBM
and General Electric
. While at ICG he led several investments including Matchlogic, SMART Technologies and TRADEX
. Fox also was Chairman of ICG Asia, a Hong Kong listed company that was sold to Hutchinson-Whampoa. ICG’s market capitalization
peaked in March 2000 at over $50 billion after going public in August 1999. Fox's experience as an investor and operator with ICG during 2000 and 2001, a period in which the company paired its portfolio and operations, impacted his view on risk management
and determined his current approach to private equity
investing.
In 2003, Fox founded Stripes Group, a Manhattan
-based private equity
firm that makes growth-stage minority and majority investments in profitable internet
, software-as-a-service, technology-enabled services and branded consumer products companies. Stripes Group portfolio companies include Perimeter eSecurity, Epic Advertising, NetQuote and SmartWool. In 2009, Stripes Group invested $13 million into MyWebGrocer, a company that manages websites for grocery chains while selling advertising to consumer packaged goods companies that is based in Colchester, VT.
Fox also is chairman and co-founder of Syndero, a marketer of beauty products on the Internet. Its products include the Ookisa hair care line, TriClear acne treatment, OnLingo language learning CDs, and the Internet CareerKit.
Fox is also a co-Founder of A10 Capital, a Boise, Idaho
-based distressed commercial real estate lender. A10 Capital maintains a $100 million fund to provide loans to buyers of troubled office, industrial, retail and multi-family real estate assets.
Fox is also a co-Founder of Sentinel Fund, a Long/Short Fund of Hedge Funds.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
business man best known as an entrepreneur and investor. He was a co-founder of Internet Capital Group
Internet Capital Group
Internet Capital Group , is a publicly-traded venture capital firm founded in 1996 by Ken Fox and Walter Buckley. ICG raised $178.8 million in an initial public offering on the Nasdaq in August 1999....
who has gone on to form Stripes Group, Sentinel Fund, Syndero and A10 Capital.
Early life
Fox grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, where he started his first business at the age of 15. In 1993 he graduated from The Pennsylvania State University with a BS degree in economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
.
Entrepreneur and investor
In 1994, Fox joined venture capitalVenture capital
Venture capital is financial capital provided to early-stage, high-potential, high risk, growth startup companies. The venture capital fund makes money by owning equity in the companies it invests in, which usually have a novel technology or business model in high technology industries, such as...
firm Safeguard Scientifics Inc. and in 1995 established the company's San Francisco office. In 1996, Fox, along with fellow Safeguard executive Walter Buckley, founded Internet Capital Group
Internet Capital Group
Internet Capital Group , is a publicly-traded venture capital firm founded in 1996 by Ken Fox and Walter Buckley. ICG raised $178.8 million in an initial public offering on the Nasdaq in August 1999....
(NASDAQ : ICGE) with strategic investors including IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
and General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
. While at ICG he led several investments including Matchlogic, SMART Technologies and TRADEX
Tradex Technologies
TRADEX Technologies Inc. was a venture-backed company that became a leading provider of B2B marketplace e-commerce exchange solutions in 1999. Entirely Java-based, its product TRADEX Commerce Center was an out-of-the-box software and enabled the streamlining of processes like real-time online...
. Fox also was Chairman of ICG Asia, a Hong Kong listed company that was sold to Hutchinson-Whampoa. ICG’s market capitalization
Market capitalization
Market capitalization is a measurement of the value of the ownership interest that shareholders hold in a business enterprise. It is equal to the share price times the number of shares outstanding of a publicly traded company...
peaked in March 2000 at over $50 billion after going public in August 1999. Fox's experience as an investor and operator with ICG during 2000 and 2001, a period in which the company paired its portfolio and operations, impacted his view on risk management
Risk management
Risk management is the identification, assessment, and prioritization of risks followed by coordinated and economical application of resources to minimize, monitor, and control the probability and/or impact of unfortunate events or to maximize the realization of opportunities...
and determined his current approach to private equity
Private equity
Private equity, in finance, is an asset class consisting of equity securities in operating companies that are not publicly traded on a stock exchange....
investing.
In 2003, Fox founded Stripes Group, a Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
-based private equity
Private equity
Private equity, in finance, is an asset class consisting of equity securities in operating companies that are not publicly traded on a stock exchange....
firm that makes growth-stage minority and majority investments in profitable internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
, software-as-a-service, technology-enabled services and branded consumer products companies. Stripes Group portfolio companies include Perimeter eSecurity, Epic Advertising, NetQuote and SmartWool. In 2009, Stripes Group invested $13 million into MyWebGrocer, a company that manages websites for grocery chains while selling advertising to consumer packaged goods companies that is based in Colchester, VT.
Fox also is chairman and co-founder of Syndero, a marketer of beauty products on the Internet. Its products include the Ookisa hair care line, TriClear acne treatment, OnLingo language learning CDs, and the Internet CareerKit.
Fox is also a co-Founder of A10 Capital, a Boise, Idaho
Boise, Idaho
Boise is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho, as well as the county seat of Ada County. Located on the Boise River, it anchors the Boise City-Nampa metropolitan area and is the largest city between Salt Lake City, Utah and Portland, Oregon.As of the 2010 Census Bureau,...
-based distressed commercial real estate lender. A10 Capital maintains a $100 million fund to provide loans to buyers of troubled office, industrial, retail and multi-family real estate assets.
Fox is also a co-Founder of Sentinel Fund, a Long/Short Fund of Hedge Funds.
External links
- Stripes Group
- Syndero
- A10 Capital
- CrunchBase Profile
- Internet Summit - The Final Descent, a transcript of a July 2000 interview with Fox, Dave Wetherell, Halsey Minor and Sky Dayton from the GTA website