This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Lehi-based private equity firm Sorenson Capital has formed a new offshoot to focus on early-stage enterprise software and security investments — and brought in a well-known Silicon Valley investor to help guide it.
Ken Elefant, described as "one of the top three most-connected people in the technology industry," will be co-managing director of Sorenson Ventures, the name of this new endeavor. His co-manager will be Rob Rueckert, managing director of Sorenson Capital, which has $1 billion under management.
Sorenson Capital has focused primarily on more developed companies, Rueckert noted, adding Sorenson Ventures was created specifically to focus on businesses in their infancy.
Elefant comes to Sorenson Ventures from Intel Capital, where he was managing director of the software and security group. He formerly was a founding general partner at Opus Capital.
"Sorenson Ventures is the right fit for me," Elefant said in a news release. "I wanted to take my entrepreneurial passion somewhere that was aligned with my values and strategy. The culture and vision of Sorenson Capital is an indication of the way it treats entrepreneurs — putting them first."
Rueckert called Elefant "an investor I trust and respect. … With our decades of Bay Area venture investing experience, along with the deep expertise and networks of Sorenson Capital, we offer a unique and authentic investment partnership to entrepreneurs."
Mike Gorrell