Florida Funders Supercharges Portfolio with DragonflyOP’s Elite Operators

Alliance gives VC’s portfolio companies access to leverage exited founders and startup executives to achieve faster outcomes

‍Tampa, FL - June 5, 2025. Florida Funders (FLF), Florida's most active venture capital firm, has partnered with Dragonfly Operating Partners (DragonflyOP), a boutique growth services firm that embeds experienced operating executives in early-stage high-growth startups, to deliver results-oriented, hands-on support to its portfolio companies.

With more than 100+ portfolio companies across its hybrid venture fund and investor network, FLF is deploying DragonflyOP’s proven, KPI-driven operating model to dramatically enhance execution and extend runway for founders - all while increasing value creation for LPs and follow-on investors.

“We’re arming our founders with some of the most battle-tested operators in the startup world,” said Saxon Baum, Partner at Florida Funders. ‘DragonflyOP helps our teams move faster, execute smarter, and reach their next inflection point with precision. It’s not advice - it’s precision execution.’

Embedded Operators. Real Results.

Founded by Jim Barnish and James Burnes, DragonflyOP’s embedded model puts former founders and startup execs directly into portfolio companies. Their leadership team has navigated $1.9B in investment and M&A transactions and worked with hundreds of scaling companies globally.

- Jim Barnish has built and exited multiple tech and tech-enabled services companies and now leads DragonflyOP in his third successful entrepreneurial venture.

- James Burnes most recently served as CEO of New Zealand’s largest startup incubator, bringing two decades of go-to-market, venture, and startup ecosystem experience.

Over the last year, DragonflyOP has partnered with FLF portfolio companies on targeted growth sprints. Operating Partners actively join teams, engage with customers and tackle challenges alongside founders and their leadership teams. Each engagement is tied to clear KPIs, delivering measurable results since the partnership began.

“At DragonflyOP, we don’t just coach from the sidelines - we suit up and get in the game. Partnering with FLF gives us the opportunity to work with some of the most promising startups in the country. Together, we're not just accelerating growth - we’re engineering repeatable execution that drives outsized returns, stronger portfolios and real shareholder value” said Jim Barnish, Managing Partner at Dragonfly Operating Partners.

Impact Highlights

Results for initial engagement with FLF portfolio companies included:

- Accelerated $55M in follow-on investment

- Drove 250% growth acceleration

- Unlocked $5M pipeline via AI-driven GTM strategy

- Cut burn 30%, extending runway to key milestones

- Halved sales cycles with optimized RevOps and pricing

“Their operators don’t just advise; they partnered with us on our go-to-market overhaul, from ICP validation to demand generation to ARR. As a result, we increased pipeline by 350%+, slashed our CAC and are now accelerating revenue “ said Jim Schimpf, Founder & CEO of Chattr.

For Satisfi Labs, it was DragonflyOP’s delivery model that changed CEO Donny White’s approach to managing outcomes across his 75+ person remote team. "Dragonfly’s hands-on, results-focused approach made a huge difference for us. Their Operating Partners helped us rethink how we ran our strategic projects and pulled together a strong execution story that was key to our fundraising,” White said.

Positive outcomes from initial engagements accelerated the friendly relationship to a formal partnership. “Hearing from our founders how the DragonflyOP team is impacting their business underscored for us how embedded execution delivers immediate, measurable impact - positioning our startups to scale confidently and hit critical milestones,” said Baum.

The VC Advantage

FLF’s strategic move is not just about supporting founders - it’s about delivering higher-performing assets for limited partners and the wider capital stack.

For founders, this means a turbocharged runway, the operational muscle to match ambition, and quantifiable KPIs tied to taking their company to the next level of growth.

For LPs, it’s a blueprint for turning capital into consistent, measurable outcomes boosting fund performance and making FLF’s portfolio even more attractive to follow-on investors and eventual buyers.

And for other VCs, it’s proof that access to hands-on seasoned startup operators ready to dive into the details is the ultimate value-creation hack.

About Dragonfly Operating Partners

DragonflyOP embeds proven startup leaders into VC-backed startups to unlock scale, speed, and shareholder value. Their fractional operators bring hands-on execution across product, go-to-market, and operations from Seed to Series B. Learn more at DragonflyOP.com

About Florida Funders

Recognized as the top VC in the Southeast region by Pitchbook, FLF is a venture capital firm and investor network that invests in early-stage technology companies in Florida and beyond. Our experienced team is composed of investors, entrepreneurs and advisors focused on being the most respected and impactful early-stage tech investment firm in the U.S.  To learn more, visit floridafunders.com.‍

Media Contacts‍

For Dragonfly Operating Partners

Matt Kemp, Operating Partner
matt.kemp@dragonflyop.com

For Florida Funders

Cheyenne Stopford

Cheyenne@floridafunders.com

‍