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Jackson Killion

GC, Startup-er, Founder

Jackson Killion is a multi-faceted professional with extensive experience in law, entrepreneurship, and venture capital. Here's an overview of his background and roles:

Professional Roles

Founder and Managing Director: Jackson Killion is the founder and Managing Director of Dark Star Ventures, a venture firm he launched to hold investments, carry, and equity in numerous startups and syndicates.34

Legal Expertise:

  • He is a lawyer and the founder of Caddis Consulting Ltd., a boutique law firm providing legal services to startups, investors, and entrepreneurs.2
  • Jackson serves as General Counsel for several organizations, including Denver Angels, Kickfurther, Upstream Education, Quadratic, Sana Packaging, and Tillman Venture Partners.1

Advisor and Investor:

  • He acts as an advisor, fractional general counsel, and in other capacities to numerous startups across various industries, including tech, CPG, cannabis, and non-profits.2
  • Jackson is also an angel investor and Limited Partner (LP) in various ventures.3

Experience and Achievements

  • Jackson has over eight years of experience in the legal field.2
  • He has worked with multiple clients that graduated from prestigious accelerator programs like Y Combinator, Techstars, Boomtown, Canopy, and 43North.2
  • He has handled financings and funding exceeding $400 million.2
  • His clients have included notable investors such as Chan Zuckerburg, Tim Draper, Bill Tai, Tom Golisano, the Walton family, and Harold McGraw.2

Education

Jackson Killion received his J.D. from Saint Louis University School of Law in 2013 and holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Management, and Operations from the same university.1

Philosophy and Approach

Jackson aims to empower and enable entrepreneurs and investors to achieve their goals and grow their businesses. He strives to bring diverse perspectives and experiences to the teams he works with, positioning himself as more than just an attorney by providing advice and guidance on both business and legal matters.2

Highlights

Aug 29 · linkedin

I recently received a notification from LinkedIn alerting me of my 5th work anniversary with Denver Angels. I couldn't believe it had been that long. I've truly enjoyed my work with Denver Angels and how our team has continued to build and improve the group to have a huge impact on the Colorado venture ecosystem and helped numerous local startups along the way.

When I joined Denver Angels it was just a small, local, club that listened to local companies pitch but hadn't syndicated an investment. Since then, we've grown it to a group that has led multiple investment rounds, launched a venture fund, recruited substantial talent, made multiple follow-on investments, helped navigate portfolio company acquisitions, and has become respected and well-known in the community. We now have over 750 members, we've made almost 50 investments, and have almost $50m invested between investments and fund commitments. It has been a crazy journey and I'm incredibly grateful to be invited along for the ride.

Special thanks to:

Paul Foley for bringing me into the team and working together to get everything up and running.

David Prichard for trusting me to handle our deals, listening to my suggestions along the way, and being a great leader (with adequate patience for my personality).

Amy Brandenburg for taking charge of the membership, helping with partnerships, and spearheading the effort to launch our fund (as well as facilitating my ability to have numerous excuses to go golfing with members and partners).

Zachary May and Kenneth Monfort for creating the group and supporting our efforts to grow the group and launch the fund (and a special thanks to Zach for taking me to golf at some super nice private courses along the way, shout out to Frost Creek)

Julian Busch and Kalen Acquisto for meeting with thousands of potential portfolio companies, spearheading our review and initial diligence, and just generally being great ambassadors for Denver Angels.

Can't wait to see what the next five years will bring.

#denverangels #colorado #venture #VC #startups #investing

Jul 8 · linkedin

I was asked to give a little insight into my practice and my work in the startup and VC community. Check it out if you are interested.

Related Questions

What inspired Jackson Killion to start Dark Star Ventures?
How does Jackson Killion balance his roles as a founder and general counsel?
What are some notable projects or clients Jackson Killion has worked with at Dark Star Ventures?
How did Jackson Killion's experience at SmartCapital influence his career path?
What unique approaches does Jackson Killion bring to his legal practice at Caddis Consulting Ltd?
Jackson Killion
Jackson Killion, photo 1
Jackson Killion, photo 2
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Location

Boulder, Colorado, United States