ABOUT KELLY
Kelly leads firm operations, including investment development, value creation, portfolio management, finance and marketing. She also manages investments in enterprise SaaS and fintech, serves on Edison’s investment committee, and is the pioneer of our Edison Edge value creation platform. Over the last nine years with the firm, Kelly has worked with more than 55 portfolio companies, been involved in 15 financings and has served as director of 12 companies.
Prior to joining Edison in 2014, Kelly spent 20 years operating in high growth emerging and established B2B and B2B2C companies. A technology optimist who has built her career on a passion for breaking new ground, Kelly has never held a role that someone held before her. She has successful track record creating new categories and accelerating and scaling growth for disruptive SaaS companies such as Sundaysky, Operative (Edison company sold to SintecMedia for $200M), LivePerson (LPSN), and Groove Networks (acquired by Microsoft).
Active with her alma mater, Michigan State, she serves as an Entrepreneur in Residence for Broad’s Burgess Institute and on the advisory board for the university's Center for Venture Capital, Private Equity and Entrepreneurial Finance. She is regularly featured in business, investor and technology media, and is an in-demand speaker at local and national events.
NOTABLE EXITS
Bento for Business, Billtrust, Blue Medora (now observIQ), Emplify (now 15Five), ExecVision (now Mediafly), ItemMaster, Salsa Labs
INVESTMENT EXPERIENCE
Axial, Bento for Business, Billtrust, Blue Medora (now observIQ), Emplify (now 15Five), ExecVision (now Mediafly), GAN Integrity, ItemMaster, Kinetiq, Lawnstarter, Northpass, Salsa Labs, Suuchi, Terminus, Solutions by Text
EDUCATION
BA, Michigan State University
Point of View
My dad spent 34 years at Polaroid, the Ford family’s bread and butter, the subject of every dinner table conversation, and those cameras captured every childhood moment. We had a Polaroid camera collection, but they were all the same camera to me: clunky, instant, so-so photo quality. And when my dad spoke about his colleagues, they were all the same to me, too, because they all seemingly did the same job, readily switching shifts with one another to make Polaroid’s instant film. For me, Polaroid was not terribly interesting because of this perceived sameness. For my dad, Polaroid was all about stability and security – he valued this.
So when I took a position early in my career at IBM, dad was thrilled – big company, stable, secure. But when I’d go further to tell him about new departments, new products, newly-created roles, he’d caution against it. And when I left IBM for my first startup, he definitely questioned whether I was the daughter he raised. Twenty years later, I have never held a job that someone’s held before me (and dad has come around -- er, given up?). As a marketer, invention, experimentation, new technology categories, new markets, making things work, making things scale… this is what keeps me up at night and gets me up in the morning. And this is why I enjoy working with entrepreneurs and their teams along their journey to building market leadership and successful, differentiated companies.
Recent Articles from Kelly Ford Buckley
September 6, 2024
Leveraging Committees to Optimize Your Board
In recognition of his board’s unique skills and...
August 26, 2024
The Four Cs of Good Governance: Foundations of Board Effectiveness
Growth-stage companies require more than a capable
May 29, 2024
Solutions by Text Secures $110 Million Growth Round Led by Edison Partners and StepStone Group
Dallas, TX (May 29, 2024) – Solutions by Text...
ABOUT KELLY
Kelly leads firm operations, including investment development, value creation, portfolio management, finance and marketing. She also manages investments in enterprise SaaS and fintech, serves on Edison’s investment committee, and is the pioneer of our Edison Edge value creation platform. Over the last nine years with the firm, Kelly has worked with more than 55 portfolio companies, been involved in 15 financings and has served as director of 12 companies.
Prior to joining Edison in 2014, Kelly spent 20 years operating in high growth emerging and established B2B and B2B2C companies. A technology optimist who has built her career on a passion for breaking new ground, Kelly has never held a role that someone held before her. She has successful track record creating new categories and accelerating and scaling growth for disruptive SaaS companies such as Sundaysky, Operative (Edison company sold to SintecMedia for $200M), LivePerson (LPSN), and Groove Networks (acquired by Microsoft).
Active with her alma mater, Michigan State, she serves as an Entrepreneur in Residence for Broad’s Burgess Institute and on the advisory board for the university's Center for Venture Capital, Private Equity and Entrepreneurial Finance. She is regularly featured in business, investor and technology media, and is an in-demand speaker at local and national events.
NOTABLE EXITS
Bento for Business, Billtrust, Blue Medora (now observIQ), Emplify (now 15Five), ExecVision (now Mediafly), ItemMaster, Salsa Labs
INVESTMENT EXPERIENCE
Axial, Bento for Business, Billtrust, Blue Medora (now observIQ), Emplify (now 15Five), ExecVision (now Mediafly), GAN Integrity, ItemMaster, Kinetiq, Lawnstarter, Northpass, Salsa Labs, Suuchi, Terminus, Solutions by Text
EDUCATION
BA, Michigan State University
Point of View
My dad spent 34 years at Polaroid, the Ford family’s bread and butter, the subject of every dinner table conversation, and those cameras captured every childhood moment. We had a Polaroid camera collection, but they were all the same camera to me: clunky, instant, so-so photo quality. And when my dad spoke about his colleagues, they were all the same to me, too, because they all seemingly did the same job, readily switching shifts with one another to make Polaroid’s instant film. For me, Polaroid was not terribly interesting because of this perceived sameness. For my dad, Polaroid was all about stability and security – he valued this.
So when I took a position early in my career at IBM, dad was thrilled – big company, stable, secure. But when I’d go further to tell him about new departments, new products, newly-created roles, he’d caution against it. And when I left IBM for my first startup, he definitely questioned whether I was the daughter he raised. Twenty years later, I have never held a job that someone’s held before me (and dad has come around -- er, given up?). As a marketer, invention, experimentation, new technology categories, new markets, making things work, making things scale… this is what keeps me up at night and gets me up in the morning. And this is why I enjoy working with entrepreneurs and their teams along their journey to building market leadership and successful, differentiated companies.
Recent Articles from Kelly Ford Buckley
September 6, 2024
Leveraging Committees to Optimize Your Board
In recognition of his board’s unique skills and...
August 26, 2024
The Four Cs of Good Governance: Foundations of Board Effectiveness
Growth-stage companies require more than a capable
May 29, 2024
Solutions by Text Secures $110 Million Growth Round Led by Edison Partners and StepStone Group
Dallas, TX (May 29, 2024) – Solutions by Text...