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Brian R. Smith

Brian R. Smith

Managing Director atS3 VenturesAustin
LinkedIn Full bioFirm profile

Brian R. Smith founded S3 Ventures and serves as its Managing Director. He previously founded Crossroads Systems and held engineering roles at IBM.

What Brian can write

Writes checks of$500K to $30M
Comes in atSeed, Series A, Series BCan lead the round
Ownership target7-10%At first check
Pitch pageSubmit on their siteThe firm asks founders to apply here.

S3 Ventures writes $500K to $30M checks, larger than 71% of firms in the atlas.

Bars: how many firms report each check band. Highlighted: S3 Ventures.

Career

  1. IBM Corporation · electrical engineering positions
  2. Crossroads Systems · Chairman and CEO
  3. S3 Ventures · Managing Director
    Now
  4. IBM Corporation

Companies founded

S3 VenturesCrossroads Systems

Investments named in public bios

Acessa HealthBriggoCrossroads SystemsFavorGravitantLibreDigitalPacket DesignPhurnaceSipera SystemSpectraWAVEStoredIQTango HealthTVA MedicalAlkami TechnologyAlleviant MedicalEndovascular Engineering

Focus

storage area networksventure capitaltechnology

Education

University of Cincinnati, BSEEPurdue University, MSEE

Also at S3 Ventures

Aaron Perman
Aaron PermanGeneral Partner
Charlie Plauche
Charlie PlaucheManaging Director
Eric Engineer
Eric EngineerGeneral Partner
Joe Curry
Joe CurryPrincipal

Partners like Brian

At firms with a similar stage, sector and check size.

Andrew Firlik
Andrew FirlikManaging Partner, Jazz Venture Partners
Doug Russell
Doug RussellManaging Partner & Head of MMV, MassMutual Ventures
Ben Bayat
Ben BayatManaging Partner, NextGen Venture Partners
Aaron Holiday645 Ventures
Hardik Desai
Hardik DesaiManaging Partner, NEXT Fund Manager, Jumpstart Ventures
Maria Pacella
Maria PacellaManaging Partner, Pender Ventures

Alert me when S3 Ventures is active

One email when Brian's firm raises a fund, adds a partner or shows new activity.

Founders and investors at a Mode VC gathering

Send Mode VC your deck

Raising a pre-seed or seed round? We write $1M to $5M first checks and help founders with distribution. A partner reads every deck.

Send your deck

Questions

Who is Brian R. Smith?

Brian R. Smith founded S3 Ventures and serves as its Managing Director. He previously founded Crossroads Systems and held engineering roles at IBM.

How much does Brian R. Smith invest?

Brian R. Smith invests through S3 Ventures, which writes checks of $500K to $30M at seed, series a, series b.

How do I pitch Brian R. Smith?

A warm intro from a founder S3 Ventures backed works best. A short LinkedIn note with one line on traction is the next best route.

What did Brian R. Smith do before S3 Ventures?

electrical engineering positions at IBM Corporation; Chairman and CEO at Crossroads Systems; IBM Corporation.

Last updated 2026-10-15. Is this you? Ask for a correction.