ABOUT
Trammell Ventures is a boutique venture capital and business incubation firm based in Austin, Texas. We incubate and invest in innovative startups, offer professional services, and create venture capital opportunities. Our areas of focus include: information and cyber security, Bitcoin, cryptoasset, and blockchain technology, analytics-driven business modeling, as well as game development and gamification. We invest in strong teams with great ideas and a clear ability to execute.
Interested in our projects? Some of our current work is located in our portfolio.
our TEAM
Dustin D. Trammell
Chief Executive Officer
Dustin brings over 20 years of experience in advanced information security research and secure network and systems architecture. Having long held an interest in cryptography and privacy he became one of the initial adopters of and contributors to Bitcoin. His early involvement led him to need to make a public statement in 2013 that he was not Satoshi Nakamoto. His knowledge of information security technologies and cryptographic systems such as blockchains, along with his passion for the bodyhacking movement and gamification, serve as a wellspring that inspire and inform his investment and inception decisions.
Christina Johnson-Sullivan
Chief Operations Officer
Christina has been heavily involved with the business side of information security since 2009 and is a welcome presence at major industry conferences. As part of Trammell Ventures she leverages her extensive network of government and corporate cybersecurity contacts to secure partnerships and harnesses her comprehensive business management experience to oversee the day-to-day business of the enterprise.
Donovan Allen
Director of Engineering
Donovan Allen has developed a wide knowledge in software engineering and many other technologies, having worked in a variety of companies on a vast array of software projects, from silicon chip CAD system integration tools, IT and IS systems automation, TCP/IP network services, online election voting systems, games, SASS systems of all kinds, and Governance, Risk, and Compliance. His ability to quickly adapt to a project’s particulars, understanding of the full technology stack, thinking outside of the box, obsession with dynamic systems, and vigilant concern for the customer experience have made him not just a good engineer, but also a good bridge to all customers, internally and externally.
Zonk Scott
Chief Technology Officer
Zonk brings over 20 years of extensive experience in Systems Administration, Design, and Implementation to his role at Trammell Ventures. His career has been marked by a strong focus on the Information Security Industry, where he has spent over a decade as a security analyst and consultant. His expertise spans across web application security, cryptography, network security, and cryptographic systems, providing a robust foundation for his role.
Nicole Huebner
Director of Operations
Nicole has over 20 years of experience in Business Management and 6 years in the Capital Ventures space. She utilizes her expertise to ensure all the day-to-day operations of Trammell Ventures run smoothly. Overseeing Human Resources, Finance, Business Operations, Office Management, and Property Management, she has been a welcome asset to the company.
Christopher S. Calicott
Managing Director - Trammell Venture Partners
Christopher S. Calicott concentrates on the venture capital side of the enterprise as Managing Director of the company’s venture investment firm, Trammell Venture Partners . TVP’s first fund, closed in 2019, focused on information and cyber security, blockchain technology, and machine intelligence venture investments. TVP’s second fund, Bitcoin Venture Fund I that closed in 2022, is the first venture capital fund focused exclusively on investing in Bitcoin infrastructure and Bitcoin-native companies. TVP is currently raising its third venture fund, Bitcoin Venture Fund II.
Our Story
CEO Dustin D. Trammell and COO Christina Johnson-Sullivan launched Trammell Ventures in 2011 to manage Dustin’s product incubation projects, events production, and external venture investments. Many of Dustin’s products have since spun-out into their own businesses, including such companies as American Information Security Group, Blockhenge, and Rogue Signal.
Drawing on their deep network of connections in the information and cyber security space, Dustin and Christina began producing events and brought a new information security conference to Austin, Texas. Running for ten years, InfoSec Southwest had been sponsored by household names including Amazon, Cisco, and Trend Micro. The Trammell Ventures events production portfolio expanded in 2016 to include the BodyHacking Convention, which brought together doctors, artists, scientists, and experimenters in the domain of human augmentation and modification technologies.
Trammell Ventures events production portfolio expanded yet again in 2017 to include Rogue Signal, an events production and gamification company incubated by Trammell Ventures which creates bespoke and immersive gaming experiences for conferences and other events.
Trammell Ventures has also invested in early Bitcoin and cryptoasset companies such as Kraken, prior to forming its own venture investment firm, Trammell Venture Partners and the first exclusively Bitcoin-native venture fund in the industry.
Product development and business incubation are the core of Trammell Ventures engineering labs.
Primarily led by Dustin, he brings his ideas to life resulting in products and companies like Blockhenge's Cryptomnio cryptoasset trading platform, the Achieve Mint gamification badging platform, and Rogue Signal’s Scramble live-action immersive gaming platform.