MANCHESTER — After years of holding key positions at Oracle + Dyn, three childhood friends have launched a new investment firm aimed at changing the way tech startup companies begin.

Managing partners Kyle York, Joe Raczka and Adam Coughlin plan to bring a hands-on approach for corporate strategy to the up-and-coming tech businesses they invest in. Products are set to launch next year to help in the effort.

York IE officially launched Tuesday with York, 36, serving as CEO. The three left Oracle + Dyn in July.

Oracle, which bought Dyn in 2016, has downsized its operations in Manchester after several rounds of layoffs.

York, who previously served as vice president of product strategy for Oracle Cloud Infrastructure and the general manager of Oracle’s Dyn global business unit, said the three business partners have worked with and invested in other companies for five years.

“Being here enables us to look for the next Dyns and to help accelerate them,” he said. “We will invest everywhere. We will work with companies everywhere. We will have products and content that we distribute globally and collaborate globally, but we will keep a real strong lens on New Hampshire and New England.”

The company has already invested $12 million in more than 60 startups, 16 of which have exited in deals valued at over $2.5 billion. They include Fastly, which became a publicly traded company in May, and Datanyze, which was acquired by ZoomInfo in 2018, according to the company.

York, Raczka and Coughlin grew up together in Bedford, where they played on the same Little League team.

Coughlin, 36, who previously worked in corporate communications at Oracle + Dyn, said their friendship has helped shape the culture of the new company.

“The thing that was special about Dyn that we’re trying to continue is just how much everyone cared about people,” he said. “I think that is a very New Hampshire-type thing, to take pride in other people doing well.”

The company will operate out of a renovated 3,000-square-foot space on the sixth floor of the former R.G. Sullivan Cigar Factory on Canal Street. A portion of the headquarters will include a co-working space for businesses just starting out. There is also a second office in Boston.

Raczka, 35, a former vice president of strategic development at Oracle + Dyn, said there is a need to provide more diverse resources for young businesses.

“The traditional venture capitalist running the traditional model can’t afford to write a small check the size we are and get involved like we are,” he said.

Bob Brown, a former president of Fidelity Investments’ bond division in New Hampshire, is an investment partner and adviser to the company.

“What I like about York IE is you’re looking at venture capital through the eyes of millennials in a disruptive mindset,” he said. “Instead of going and grabbing as much equity as possible, they are going to work with founders at the genesis of the start of the company.”

He said the company is a blend of venture capital, business consulting and an advertising and branding agency to help companies increase revenues and improve operating margins.

The company says its products, which will be launching in 2020, will eliminate many of the barriers of entry to starting a new business.

“We aren’t just launching a venture capital firm and venture capital fund,” York said. “Yes, we will invest in companies, but we’ll invest capital and resources and passion and products and tools.”

Tags