On a Mission to Make a Lasting Impact

A clear mission, lean and experienced team, and hands-on approach set Relevance Ventures apart.

Helping people tend to their mental and physical health is big business. The global wellness industry is expected to become a $7 trillion industry by 2025, according to the Global Wellness Institute. For Relevance Ventures, a Native American-owned venture capital (VC) firm based in Nashville, this fast growing category represents something more: a tremendous opportunity to make a difference in people's lives.

Managing Partner Cameron Newton founded Relevance Ventures in 2011 to help bring technology and software companies to Tennessee. The firm has since expanded its reach and its mission, investing in companies that promote wellness and positively impact the social determinants of health. More than half of its portfolio companies are based in the Southeast. "In New York, I would have looked out the window to see 25 other folks trying to do the same thing." Newton says. "One of the reasons we founded the firm here is we wanted to be part of this movement-this expansion in access to venture throughout the country, not just from the coastal areas."