First Round Capital, a nationally prominent seed-stage fund, is moving to 40th and Locust into the space where Strikes bowling alley was before it struck out (sorry, had to). The 16,253 square foot space was once home to a very early Urban Outfitters; home to the late, lamented movie rental store Video Library; home to Redcap's Corner gaming center and Locust Moon comic books, which have both moved; is currently home to Keswick Cycle; and will be home to Ramen Bar Inc., aka ???? ??, which is now hiring, according to this Craigslist ad. Looks like Ramen Bar will have alcohol, in case anyone at First Round Capital makes an unwise investment and wants to drown their worries.
The Conshohocken-based venture company's move is being touted by the Nutter administration. From Technically Philly:
“The arrival of [First Round's] Josh Kopelman in Philadelphia is a game changer,” said Mayor Nutter in a statement. ”When one of America’s leading entrepreneurs and investors sees Philly as a place of ideas and innovation, a place where those ideas can be transformed into successful businesses and jobs, and feels he needs to be part of it, that sends an incredibly powerful message about what is going on in our city.” So now we’ve got a major venture capital firm right where we want it to be. The bigger question is: Can First Round start the momentum of VC’s relocating to University City? Kopelman sure hopes so.
“I hope it is a trend,” he says, about his firm’s relocation. “I hope it’s the start of something.”
Uber, Technically Philly and Curalate will also be in the space.
· First Round Capital to relocate HQ to University City from Conshohocken in September [Technically Philly]