Irv Bailey

Irving W. Bailey II is a Senior Advisor at Chrysalis Ventures. The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation lists him as having joined Chrysalis Ventures as a Managing Director in 2001 after a 35-year career in financial services. Chrysalis’ own team page identifies him as “Managing Director at Chrysalis,” while DFC and other current listings identify his present role as Senior Advisor.

Before Chrysalis, Bailey was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Providian Corporation from 1988 until Providian’s 1997 sale to AEGON N.V. Chrysalis describes Providian as a Fortune 200 company and one of the region’s largest public companies, and says the sale created several billion dollars of value for shareholders. He had previously served as Providian’s President and Chief Operating Officer.

Earlier in his career, Bailey held senior investment roles at insurance companies: Senior Vice President, Investments at Phoenix Mutual Life Insurance Company from 1976 to 1981, Vice President, Bond Investments at Phoenix from 1971 to 1976, and Assistant Vice President in the investment department at Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York before 1971. Chrysalis credits him with 40 years of formal portfolio-management experience.

Bailey has a BA from the University of Colorado and an MBA from New York University. DFC says he was Phi Beta Kappa at Colorado and received his MBA with distinction from NYU Stern. He has also served on public and private company boards, including Computer Sciences Corporation and Hospira, and is a trustee of Save the Children and a director and co-founder of Operation Open Arms in Louisville.

• Chrysalis’ stated approach is to invest where “technology and our expertise can be applied to businesses in partnership with talented management teams to build enduring value.”
• The firm prioritizes talented management teams with industry expertise and experience scaling businesses.
• Chrysalis looks for fragmented industries where a company can become a platform for acquiring smaller, less-efficient competitors.
• The firm has a regional bias toward the Midwest and Southeast, though it says it will invest anywhere it believes it can add value.
• Chrysalis seeks businesses where predictive analytics and workforce-enabling technologies can materially improve growth or operating efficiency.
• The firm wants to be an active partner, helping with acquisitions, business development, operations, strategy, and applying technology.
• For established companies, Chrysalis says it seeks businesses with $1 million to $10 million of EBITDA.
• For earlier-stage companies, Chrysalis says it actively sources early-stage and expansion-stage opportunities, but rarely invests at seed stage and prefers at least $1 million in revenue.