disappointed

I got the call today from VEDA, the Vermont agency that ran the RFP process to allocate $2.15M seed capital to a fund or manager. There were three candidates, including me, bidding for the right to manage that capital. One (Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies or VCET) had the strongest political base--Senator Leahy had awarded a $1M earmark to VCET for a seed fund just after the Vermont legislature voted the bill (that funded the $2.15M award into life.) The other candidate, Ken Merritt, is a lawyer, seed investor and active venture activator in VT.

Just got the word that they gave it to VCET. Can't say I'm surprised but won't say I'm not disappointed. I'd known all along that this was something of an uphill climb for me--not so much on the merit of my experience and plan but rather on factors other than fund investment and management experience.

To this point, here's a summary I presented to the VEDA board comparing my venture experience with that of the other two candidates; the full presentation is on the Clear web site.

I'm sure that the VEDA board found it hard to overlook the Leahy award, VCET's relationship to UVM and VCET's connected, Vermont-based manager David Bradbury. I can see how they could justify picking a manager with less experience given other considerations.

I wish them well. In a market that is starved for capital, seed capital--the hardest to find--will be a welcome sight for Vermonters.