Horan MediaTech Advisors
Horan MediaTech Advisors is an investment and advisory firm that works with companies from concept stage through public markets.
Our theme is “Inventing the future one great company at a time.”
We are builders with a strong focus on the future. We are not interested in deals that count on financial engineering to create value. We choose the founders that we work with carefully and work with people that we like, trust and respect. We strive to be good partners. We are as close to our portfolio companies and are as active as the founders want us to be.
We are most often involved in discussion about corporate strategy, fundraising, product development and go-to-market plans.
We invest directly as well as through several early stage investment funds in the Pacific Northwest. We also have a long history of partnership with leading investment banks and private equity funds across the country to advance later stage companies. Because of our backgrounds, we focus most of our attention on media and consumer internet companies and have worked with B2B services companies and consumer products. We received a 2023 Community Catalyst Award from the Oregon Entrepreneurs Network for our work with the startup community.
We have a unique perspective for three reasons
We are operators.
Although we now function as investors and advisors, we have run businesses at every stage. From five employees to five thousand. We know what it’s like to have to make payroll, make decisions, and hit your numbers. We’ve been there.
We have a broad perspective.
We have worked with a lot of people in a lot of situations. We have won and we have lost. We use all that experience to benefit the companies that we work with.
We know how to exit.
There are many good, small businesses. They can last for decades and feed families. But venture investing is about heading towards a successful and profitable exit. We understand how to create value and realize that value.
Don’t worry about what anybody else is going to do…The best way to predict the future is to invent it.
Peter Drucker
News from HMTA and Our Portfolio
We try to regularly share news about our portfolio companies and the industries in which we work. We’ll also occasionally write thought pieces about topics that we think are interesting and important– most often about early stage investing.
What March Madness Taught Me About Using AI for Business Planning
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The Myth of Overnight Startup Success
Every early-stage investor dreams of overnight success. For a while, it even seemed like that…
Books That I Enjoyed in 2025
An idiosyncratic look at my year of reading Once more, following the example of my…
Horan MediaTech Advisors has worked with a wide range of companies from concept stage startups to mid-cap public companies.
In the past 15 years, we have been part of…
in exits
in acquisitions
in public market value creation
Partners
and Portfolio
Horan MediaTech Advisors has worked with a wide range of companies from concept stage startups to mid-cap public companies.
Our investment activity is primarily channeled through Oregon Venture Fund, Cascade Seed Fund and Portland Seed Fund where we are active investors. We have also invested in Elevate Capital Fund 2 as part of our commitment to increasing access to capital by underserved founders.
We have also enjoyed a long and productive working relationship with respected private equity funds including ABS Capital from Baltimore and Star Mountain Capital (formerly Halyard) from New York. Through these funds we work with larger companies.
Our direct investments tend to be in early-stage media, ad tech and consumer product companies. We are also active in the startup community of the Pacific Northwest through InventOR and the Bend Venture Conference.
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About.com
Peter became CEO of About.com in late 2003 and helped make it one of the first successful SEO-driven media companies. He sold it to The New York Times for $426 million eighteen months later.
Cascade Seed Fund
We have been active on the Investment Committee of Cascade Seed Fund for the past ten years. We work closely with many of their portfolio companies.
Elevate Capital
We became limited partners in Elevate Capital Fund 2 as part of our commitment to helping founders from underrepresented communities create successful startups.
Kevel
A leader in retail media networks with world class partners. We have worked with Kevel since 2008. James Avery, CEO, ran an efficient business and stayed close to his clients until we had clear product market fit. Kevel has grown solidly and attracted top tier investors.
Portland Seed Fund
We work closely with Portland Seed Fund across their portfolio and are co-investors with them in Chela Media and Prelude Early Learning.
Skift
We were fans of founder, Rafat Ali’s prior company Paid Content. When he described Skift in 2011, we immediately invested. Skift has become the trusted source of truth about the business of travel. It offers news, research, recruiting and analysis.
Slumberkins
When we first met Callie Christensen and Kelly Oriard in 2017, they were non-traditional founders. Moms. An educator and a therapist. But they had a compelling vision about how plush toys and books could enhance the emotional well-being of children. One of the reasons that we invested was that they had both been Division One athletes and were competitors with a winning attitude. Suzanne Kolb has now joined the team as CEO and is working with them to continue our growth.
Star Mountain Capital
Peter helped to arrange Star Mountain's investment in WatchMojo and works with them on that board.
Wildfang
We believe in strong brands that are driven by passion. WildFang is not just a fashion company, it is a rallying point for a new generation of consumers who challenge traditional norms and want clothing that expresses their true self. Founder Emma McIlroy has propelled the brand through partnerships with Debbie Harry, Juliette Lewis, and even the girls of Peanuts. We’ve been investors since 2017.
In the realm of investors and advisers, Pam and Peter are godsends. They bring deep experience, robust networks and care as much about the people as the money. We are incredibly grateful to have them on our team.
[Peter] is always there whenever I need him, always willing to pick up the phone or intro me to anyone, or roll up the sleeves and figure out strategic issues with the company. And his impact is beyond work and company, he has always formed a personal relationship with everyone he invests and advises and I am lucky to have his wise counsel and friendship.
HMTA have been fantastic partners and investors for A Kids Book About. We've been scaling at such a dramatic pace this year and they've been instrumental in helping us navigate the growth.
Peter's advice and guidance come from a lifetime of experience, creativity, thoughtfulness, and savvy, and there's no way we would be where we are without it.
Peter took a chance on me all the way back in 2008, investing and joining my board when it was just myself, one other investor, and a small vertical ad network. Peter has been indispensable for his industry insights, fundraising advice, and being a friend and mentor as Adzerk (now Kevel!) has grown over the years.
Mediasmith has been very fortunate to have Pam Horan on our Board of Directors for almost two years. Not only has Pam’s perspective and technical knowledge about our industry been invaluable, but she’s also proved to be a real sounding board for me as CEO. Pam’s listening skills and good forthright advice have been very helpful to me at key moments
Who We Are
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Peter C. Horan
Founder -
Pam Horan
Co-Founder
Peter C. Horan
Founder
Pam Horan
Co-Founder
Pam Horan joined Horan MediaTech Advisors in June 2014 following her successful tenure as President of the Online Publishers Association (now known as Digital Content Next). That organization was the essential thought leader for America’s leading media companies as they developed their strategies for the internet and mobile.
As the leader of that organization Pam was the catalyst for important conversations about internet advertising, strategies for partnering with the FANG platforms, audience development, and technology. She also regularly met with federal and state regulators on issues of privacy and information security.
During her career, Pam has been a successful marketing and product marketing executive at Symantec, Women.com, and Zinio. As part of the global account team at International Data Group, Pam crafted large, strategic and profitable partnerships with the executive management of leading technology companies including Microsoft and Apple.
As part of HMTA, Pam is active in early stage investing both directly and through her work with the early stage venture funds in which we invest. She has also been a strong advocate for increased representation of women on boards of directors and actively mentors female entrepreneurs. Pam currently sits on the board of directors for MEDIASMITH, the Shorty Awards Academy and the board of advisors for DIGITAL PRISM ADVISORS and GearBrain.
Photo Credit: Joan Brady