By David Aponovich Village Ventures Inc. , the venture capital firm that mines the hinterlands looking for dot-com startups to bankroll, recently joined a Vermont affiliate fund in making its first investment in the Green Mountain State. Village Ventures' involvement in this deal was critical in making it happen. According to Cairn Cross, who helps run Village Ventures' Middlebury, Vt., affiliate, the result speaks to the value of local investment and the potential for VCs in markets like his state.
Venture capital is primarily a local business.
There are many more of those companies in this area. Village Ventures, of North Adams, Mass., was formed in June by Bo Peabody, co-founder of Tripod Inc., which was acquired by Lycos, and Matt Harris, who ran a fund for The Berkshires Capital Investors. The recent investment came at a time when the company was in capital-raising mode and needed cash to remain healthy, Cross said. Options included other venture funding routes, but the company might not have been guaranteed to stay in Vermont, which is a big part of its identity, Cross said. Employees are hikers, skiers and mountain bikers who want to live and work in the state.