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Entrepreneurship can and should be the ultimate tool  in the quest for an equitable  American Dream.  I grew up under the umbrella of poverty, crime, and addiction in rural Ohio.  Science, entrepreneurship, and luck allowed me to break free of this generational economic spiral. 

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I was an active participant in the Columbus, Ohio startup community from 2000 to 2013. I sold my first company in 2002. I then spent eight years getting my  PhD in physics at The Ohio State University. During this time I also  moonlighted in the Fisher Business School developing business plans with university IP.  In 2008, we won the Fisher Business Plan Competition and received investment from Rev1 Ventures for an optical device company, Traycer Systems. In 2013 we moved the company to the Bay Area following a VC investment. 

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In 2015 I left Traycer to pursue artificial intelligence applications. I created the quantitative sports firm Fan Fund Inc., which was acquired by Caprica AI Inc. in 2017. During the last 5 years as CEO, Caprica has grown to $200M in trading activity.   In 2021 we created Kobol Fund, a $5M private investment firm.  In 2022, Bay Area friends and a physicist turned investor created Tauron --one of the first legitimate US domiciled DeFi funds.  

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During COVID I returned to Ohio to more easily spend quality time with my family. As I navigated the Columbus startup landscape I found myself in disbelief. Most, if not all of the large investments in the area did not pass a basic scientific "sniff-tests". As I dove deeper into analysis I noticed a palpable technical gap in the technology ecosystem.  

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There needs to be a paradigm shift and restructuring in the VC  market. VC investment is at an all-time high. The number of VCs is growing exponentially.  VC GPs and Managers are lacking critical domain expertise in areas of deep-tech.   LPs and communities are demanding real, quantitative assessment of VC impact and success.​

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This is my motivation for creating Cyrannus. For founders I hope we can create a network of technical and business experts that can mentor you and refine your business.  For VCs I offer you real, un-hyped business opportunities vetted through the Cyrannus Network.