Roc Nation will ARRIVE in the Venture Capitalist Arena

Jay Z’s Roc Nation has announced that they are launching a new platform for startups, and they’re calling it ‘ARRIVE’. I’ve never been all that comfortable with using an imperative verb as the name of a venture, but who am I to question the acumen of the man who, along with his wife, just passed the 1 billion dollar mark? 

This new business unit will partner with a select group of early stage startups, providing them with assistance in business development, brand services, advisory services, and of course capital (with a capital Ching).  No details of how many startups they will be working with, nor how much money they will be investing, have been released. 

Roc Nation was founded in 2008 and has established itself as a leading full-service entertainment management company, working with recording artists, producers, songwriters, and athletes.  ARRIVE will be a collaboration between Roc Nation, Primary Venture Partners, and Glassbridge. 

Primary Venture Partners is a seed-stage, New York based venture firm focused on transformative startups. More interestingly Glassbridge was, up until this past February, known as Imation. 

Way back in ’96 the company 3M (the ones who make the real Scotch Tape), spun-off their data storage business into Imation who produced magnetic tape, and other data storage media including CDs. CDs are what used to be the means of distribution for music (after record albums, and before Napster).  Jay Z got his start as a musician.  #chills #seriously

It’s the circle of life my friends…or not.  I've no clue.