Philo Ventures

Utah’s population is projected to reach 5.6 million by 2065. Meeting that growth will require not only more housing—but entirely new cities to support the state’s expanding tech economy and quality of life. Join Christian Gardner (CEO, Gardner Group), M. Chad Staheli Staheli (CEO & Managing Partner, Philo Ventures), and Tyler Jennings (Founder, Reference Group, powered by The Nucleus Institute) on Friday, December 12th at 11:30am for a behind-the-scenes look at how Utah’s top real estate developers and builders are shaping that future. 📩 RSVP: https://lnkd.in/dSjhQ6vY ⏰ 11:30am - 1pm (Lunch provided) 📍 Pelion Ventures HQ This session will explore: ➡️ How Utah is planning for significant population growth ➡️ City-building at scale: affordable housing, infrastructure, open space, and long-term livability ➡️ How tech, capital, and development reinforce each other ➡️ The future of sustainable design and master-planned communities Lessons from building the places where Utahns will live, work, and innovate. Whether you’re a founder, operator, developer, investor, policymaker, or simply someone who cares about Utah’s future, this conversation will offer a clear, grounded view of how real estate and technology are converging to shape the next era of Utah—and what it means to build cities from the ground up. RSVP: https://lnkd.in/dSjhQ6vY About the Speakers: Gardner Group has developed more than 30 million sq. ft. across Silicon Slopes, playing a defining role in the region’s tech growth. Their projects include the Pelion Venture Partners HQ at Baltic Pointe—Utah’s first mass-timber office building—the Pluralsight headquarters, and Adobe’s Lehi campus. These landmark developments have become the physical backbone of Utah’s Silicon Slopes innovation economy. Philo Ventures is taking the next leap: leveraging a 2024 Utah law to form new municipalities and master-planned communities. Their Willow City project in Southern Utah includes nearly 1,400 housing units, parks, commercial districts, and hospitality. In Wasatch County, Philo is negotiating a 4,500-acre city designed with mixed-use development and preserved open space—timed with regional growth ahead of the 2034 Olympics.

After months of growth, major client wins, and consistent usage, one of Philo Ventures’ fast-growing companies, Checkk AI, has clearly found product-market fit. Checkk AI delivers automated, accurate workflows for P&C insurance agencies, handling policy review, quote comparison, and documentation in minutes instead of hours. The platform analyzes policy documents, eliminates manual entry, and helps brokers scale efficiently without increasing headcount. We’re thrilled to introduce the founding team driving this momentum: Reed Farnsworth(CEO) is a serial founder who brings more than a decade of proven operational leadership to the team—including helping scale Acima to a $1.65B acquisition. He’s led companies through hyper-growth, operational transformations, and successful exits, and now applies that experience to guiding Checkk’s strategy, growth, and culture as it scales into a category-defining insurtech platform. Caleb Kamalu (Co-Founder, Head of Product) blends hands-on insurance broker expertise with deep SaaS and AI experience—transforming years of broker-side frustrations into a product that’s redefining how the industry works. Before Checkk, he helped build several early-stage startups including Buster (Y-Combinator backed) and Tradeangel, and now leads Checkk’s product vision from concept to launch. Jake Parkinson (Co-Founder, CTO) is a seasoned technical founder with a decade of experience building and scaling SaaS and YC-backed insurtech platforms. He leads Checkk’s AI-driven engineering efforts, architecting the platform’s core automation and data infrastructure, and translating complex technology into seamless, high-impact solutions for brokers and carriers alike. At Philo Ventures, we believe in the power of both product-market fit and exceptional founder teams. Reed, Caleb, and Jake are proving the combo works and we’re excited to back them as they scale Checkk AI into a category-defining leader in insurance tech. https://www.checkkai.com/

Yesterday’s Convoi Ventures Accelerator Demo Day brought together more than 100 investors and community leaders to hear pitches from some of Utah’s promising early-stage founders. It was a great reminder of the depth of talent and collaboration across Utah’s startup ecosystem - and how events like this help strengthen the connections between founders, funders, and operators who are building the next generation of companies here at home. Appreciate Trent Mano, Reuben Holdaway, and the entire Convoi Ventures team for putting together such a well-run program and for their continued work supporting Utah’s earliest founders. We’re grateful to have programs like Convoi’s accelerator contributing to the growth of Utah’s tech community. Great to see so many friends and faces showing up to support startups. #UtahTech #VentureCapital #Startups #DemoDay #ConvoiVentures #UtahEcosystem

Big news from our portfolio! We’re thrilled to announce that Crew has just closed a $3.8 million seed round co‑led by Capital Eleven and Kickstart Fund, with participation from AZ-VC, Pelion Venture Partners, Sepio Capital, and Run Ventures. This funding will accelerate their mission to help millions of people achieve financial success by reinventing how we bank, budget, and save. Why Crew Stands Out: - A high‑yield checking account (3.2% APY) that puts your money to work. - Unlimited “pockets” to embed your budget right inside your account. - Autopilot rules that split your paycheck across your pockets for effortless budgeting. - Proactive budgeting that lives before transactions happen—giving users control over every dollar. Crew was founded by former Divvy from BILL leaders Gentry Davies and Steve Domino, who know how to scale world‑class financial products. In the past month alone, Crew has doubled its daily active users and debit transaction volume, proving there’s tremendous demand for a banking experience that’s intuitive, automated, and truly customer‑centric. We’ve been proud to support Crew since the beginning, and we couldn’t be more excited to see them on this trajectory. 🙌 Congrats to Gentry Davies, Steve Domino, and the entire Crew team for building “the world’s most powerful checking account.” 👉 Learn more and download the app at https://www.trycrew.com/ – and check out their press release for all the details.

Thank you to KSL for helping spotlight this important step for Utah’s innovation ecosystem. 🔗 Read the full story: https://lnkd.in/gmre8Qs5

Happy Halloween from Team Philo! From startup builders to rockstars (and maybe a few villains), our team brought serious creativity to the office yesterday. Here’s to the kind of team spirit that keeps work fun — even when we’re not in costume.

Scott Evanson recently sat down with Mark Tullis from TechBuzz News to discuss the launch of Philo Ventures’ new Sandbox Fund, created to empower student founders across Utah’s university-based Sandbox programs. Evanson has been mentoring Brigham Young University cohorts since the program’s first year, helping student founders turn ideas into investable companies. “We’re adding a new entry point for student founders—helping more of them get their first shot at building real companies here in Utah. We’ve built an environment with good vibes, high energy, and a strong sense of community among mentors, advisors, and peers," said Scott Evanson, Venture Partner at Philo Ventures & Managing Director of the BYU Sandbox program “[The Sandbox Fund] is about supporting young entrepreneurs, broadening access to capital, and helping reinvent the relationship between education and entrepreneurship," said Cory Cozzens, Philo Ventures Co-Founder and Studio Managing Partner. Check out some of the awesome companies the Sandbox Fund has invested in: Buster Stratus Interval Tarifflo Permitify Flippr BBY Devote Prova Mention Read the full interview on TechBuzz News ➡️ https://lnkd.in/g6AWR5i7 #UtahStartups #Innovation #Entrepreneurship #VentureCapital #HigherEd #PhiloVentures #SandboxFund

We’re proud to officially announce Philo’s inaugural Sandbox Fund designed to back the next generation of Utah founders emerging from the university-based Sandbox program, founded by Chris Crittenden. The fund will invest in more than 30 student-led startups over the next three years, helping turn classroom ideas into real, scalable companies. The Sandbox Fund is built for student founders who are building while still in school — giving them the capital and confidence to keep going, instead of feeling pressure to pause or relocate. It’s already backing eight early-stage companies showing strong traction and real momentum from inside Utah’s classrooms. A huge thank-you to Utah Business for helping share the story: https://lnkd.in/gmPx9NPw If you have questions please reach out Scott Evanson, Venture Partner at Philo Ventures and Managing Director of the BYU Sandbox program, or Cory Cozzens, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Philo Ventures. #UtahBusiness #VentureCapital #Startups #Innovation #Entrepreneurship

Behind every great Philo portfolio company is a founder turning vision into reality. Kyle White brought years of affiliate marketing expertise to the table — and together, we've built Refinery Affiliate to change the way affiliate managers unlock their program’s full potential. As innovation partners, the studio model allows us to blend industry experience with startup rigor—building faster, validating smarter, and creating tools that solve real problems for real teams. As brands head into Q4, Refinery helps affiliate teams spend smarter and see exactly where their next win is coming from. Check it out for yourself ➡️ https://lnkd.in/gSrBVWjF #VentureStudio #Founders #AffiliateMarketing #StartupLeadership #AI

👋 We’re excited to welcome Ryan W. Decker to the Philo Ventures Studio team! Ryan brings a rare mix of sales, recruiting, and go-to-market expertise to the studio. He’s built outbound motions, helped high-growth startups hire top-performing teams, and has developed scalable, high-impact marketing programs. From event dashboards and warm-intro frameworks to practical sales playbooks and operating rhythms, Ryan has a proven ability to build the systems that help founders move faster and execute smarter. Known for his passion for process, curiosity, and builder’s mindset, Ryan thrives in the 0-to-1 stage where ideas become real companies. He’s excited to help accelerate growth across the studio, guide early validation, and lay the foundation for long-term success alongside our founders-in-residence.