Our Mission
Vital Venture Capital’s mission is to use our talents, insights, knowledge, and experience to find, analyze, and structure venture capital investments in companies so as to provide significantly above-market returns on our own capital and on the funds that co-investors entrust to our stewardship. Our hope is that a meaningful portion of this capital will be used to better the lives of others and improve our world.
Company History
Vital Venture Capital, LLC was formed in 2007 under a predecessor name to invest in Certicom, Inc., a publicly traded encryption software company based in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. Certicom possessed a unique market position in elliptic curve encryption technology and had a highly valuable international portfolio of related patents. Vital Venture Capital became one of the largest shareholders of Certicom and interacted with both Certicom management and other large shareholders. Vital Venture Capital completed a successful exit of its Certicom investment in early 2009 through its sale for cash to Research in Motion Limited.
In early 2009 the firm adopted the name “Vital Venture Capital” and formally began to seek additional venture capital investments. We now consist of six principal investors, with offices in Simsbury, CT; Bethesda, MD; Philadelphia, PA; Naples, FL; and Lincolnshire, IL. The Principals’ own funds constitute a substantial portion of each Vital Venture Capital investment. The firm also has a number of individual and institutional co-investors that join Vital Venture Capital in its investments.
Vital Investment Principles
Vital Venture Capital invests in businesses that we understand in fields where we have a high level of knowledge and experience. These currently include business-to-business SaaS software, medical devices, and diagnostics.
We exclusively make investments that:- Provide growth capital to companies led by managers who are incented by equity
- Provide some degree of investment loss protection through both (a) a preferred capital position and (b) the underlying value of either tangible assets or intellectual property
- Are structured with an independent board of directors
- Provide a significant probability of generating attractive investment returns
Earlier-stage companies:
- We typically seek firms with existing revenues but will consider exceptional pre-revenue situations
- The potential future size of the firm’s target market should exceed $100 million
- The strength and track record of management is of paramount importance
Later-stage firms:
- We look for referenceable customers
- Recurring revenue approaches are preferred
- A clearly delineated and sustainable competitive advantage must be evident
We prefer businesses where we can add value through leveraging our experience and contacts.
