Notre Dame startup Intrepid Phoenix Ventures lands $2M investment
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Intrepid Phoenix Ventures, a technology startup founded at the IDEA Center on the University of Notre Dame campus, has closed on a $2 million investment.
The funding from Red Rock Equity Group will be used to bolster the company’s substance use disorder recovery software and build its business development efforts.
Intrepid Phoenix has developed an app called Quality of Sobriety that allows users to create a personalized plan of recovery and progress tracking “to predict and combat a relapse before it happens,” according to the company’s website.
Founder and CEO Larry Smith said the investment is more than was originally planned.
“We had a $400,000 round open but Red Rock Equity was so impressed with our business plan and our mission that they decided to fund our operations for the next two to three years,” Smith said in a news release.
Intrepid Phoenix Ventures has worked with the University of Notre Dame and Wabash-based health services provider Bowen Center to develop its software platform. Smith said his company is now in a position to go deeper in the execution of its strategic plan.
“We’ve hired sales executives to build up our business development efforts and a product director,” Smith said. “We’re also boosting our investment on the digital side, from our new website to social media marketing. And as far as the product is concerned, we are investing in our application with a major software development project improving the look and feel of both the phone app and clinician desktop. We believe our software tool empowers individuals to live sober, healthy and happy lives.”
The origins of Intrepid Phoenix Ventures dates back to 2019, when Smith made a five-minute pitch at an IDEA Center Innovation Rally before a Notre Dame football game, which was also attended by representatives from Red Rock Equity.
Smith noted the importance of the IDEA Center to the company’s success.
“We went through the de-risking and commercialization engine program, and we wouldn’t be where we are at without the IDEA Center,” he said. “We’re doing this to reach and help people with substance use disorder and to help them live a better, more fulfilling life. I can tell you from my own personal experience that being clean and sober is a life-changer.”
Intrepid Phoenix also operates a number of in-person fitness programs for people in recovery at YMCAs and gyms in multiple locations, including La Porte, Michigan City, Valparaiso, Plymouth, Knox, Rochester, Peru, Winamac, and Terre Haute.