Randall Crowder

Randall Crowder is a Texas-based investor and operator associated with TEXO Ventures, an early-stage healthcare venture firm in Austin. TEXO’s website lists him on its team as “Randall Crowder Adviser,” while multiple investor and public-company sources describe him as a co-founder and Managing Partner of TEXO Ventures. TEXO focuses on building healthcare companies “with great care” and emphasizes active, collaborative involvement rather than passive investing.

Before TEXO, Crowder was Executive Director of the Central Texas Angel Network. Kauffman Fellows says he increased CTAN’s investment activity by 6x and helped it become the fourth most active angel network in the country according to the Angel Capital Association. He also conceived and co-founded Texas Venture Labs at the University of Texas at Austin to connect graduate-student resources with investors and entrepreneurs for mentoring, validation, commercialization, and venture-building support.

Crowder earned an MBA from the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin, where Kauffman Fellows says he served as Director of Venture Fellows and received the 2010 McCombs Student Leadership & Service Award. He holds a BS from the United States Military Academy at West Point in General Management and Environmental Engineering and is a Kauffman Fellow, Class 15.

Crowder was also an operator at Phunware. A 2023 Phunware proxy states that he served as Chief Operating Officer from February 2018 and on Phunware’s board from December 2018 to September 2022; the same filing says he founded Nove Ventures in September 2017 to invest in established companies using blockchain technology. Phunware later filed an 8-K stating that it notified Crowder on November 16, 2023 that it was terminating his employment, expected to be effective November 30, 2023.

• TEXO says it “does not believe in passive investing” and gets “proactively and continuously involved” so entrepreneurs are resourced and supported.
• TEXO targets “exceptional entrepreneurs who address persistent pain within the healthcare industry” by leveraging advances in technology and business models.
• The firm invests in the “business” of healthcare rather than the “science,” prioritizing companies that are less capital-intensive, more scalable, have fewer regulatory hurdles, and can generate recurring revenue.
• TEXO’s stated sector focus is Health IT & Technology-Enabled Health Services, Managed Care & Benefit Design, Medical Devices & Diagnostics, and Personalized Medicine Technology.
• TEXO says it will not make an initial investment in late-stage companies or higher-regulatory-risk sectors such as therapeutics, biotechnology, and pharmaceuticals.
• TEXO says it will not make an initial investment in companies with pre-money valuations above $20 million and tends to focus on opportunities between $3 million and $10 million.
• For medical devices and diagnostics, TEXO says it typically requires unique differentiation, synergy with healthcare reform, and a clear, cost-effective near-term regulatory pathway such as FDA 510(k) clearance.
• Crowder’s own pitch advice: founders should know whether they are pursuing angels or venture capital; if pitching VCs, they should “understand the dynamics of venture” and make the pitch inspiring.