General Info

Massachusetts Technology Development Corporation ( "MTDC" ) is a Boston-based venture firm, formed in 1978 as a quasi-public corporation by the Legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts ( the "Legislature" ), that is owned by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts ( the "Commonwealth" ), governed by an independent Board of Directors, and managed by experienced venture capitalists. Leveraging the entrepreneurial spirit, educated workforce, and centers of innovation of Massachusetts, MTDC has a long history of funding successful companies. The entrepreneur is seeking only $2-3 million of startup capital compared to the $5 million that most firms prefer to invest The Legislature established MTDC in 1978 to address the capital gap for start-up companies and to encourage the growth of early-stage technology firms. Recognizing that Massachusetts would not be in a position to compete for manufacturing jobs on the basis of lower costs, the Commonwealth decided to pursue an economic development strategy that sought to grow innovative companies, companies that require access to early stage, start-up capital. MTDC's enabling and governing legislation is Chapter 40G of Massachusetts General Law as amended in 1993 and 2002. Through its 30-year history, MTDC has worked with most of the region's established venture and angel investors, law firms, accounting firms, and management consultants. It has an extensive network of over 132 management teams and boards of directors that were or are involved with MTDC's portfolio companies. These contacts and MTDC's long-standing presence provide the investment team with a significant portion of the 300 business plans they review each year, a large percentage of which have been pre-screened by people who know MTDC's investment style. The investment team is actively involved with their portfolio companies usually at the board of director level. Through this involvement, they add significant value. The team's collective 50-year involvement in venture investing with over 100 early-stage companies and its experience gained through several major business cycles and countless sector rotations enable it to provide guidance in matters of operational, finance and sales strategy, corporate governance, and CEO coaching. The MTDC team has consistently maintained the discipline of building investor syndicates to leverage the investment capital that MTDC puts to work. While MTDC is usually the first institutional investor to get involved with an early-stage company, it always tries to build an investor syndicate to reduce risk and increase overall resources available. Over its history, MTDC has co-invested with over 100 venture capital firms, many of which remain valued deal sources. Funding of MTDC Initial funding for MTDC came from a $2 million grant awarded by the Economic Development Administration ( "EDA" ), a division of U.S. Department of Commerce, in 1979. These funds were used to establish a revolving loan fund for Massachusetts companies with operations involving a significant amount of technology. These companies also were required to be located in an "EDA" eligible area. In 1981, the EDA awarded MTDC an additional $1 million for a second revolving loan fund to assist in the creation and development of small, innovative, high-technology companies in Massachusetts, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts provided $1 million in matching funds. After that, each year, from 1982 to 1988, the Commonwealth appropriated additional funds totaling $4.2 million, which allowed MTDC to create its first venture capital fund, called the Traditional Fund. This Fund is operated as an "evergreen fund" which uses gains realized from past investments as the primary source of funds for its operations and for investments. More recently, the legislature appropriated $5 million to MTDC as part of the 2004 Economic Stimulus Bill and $2.5 million as part of the 2006 Economic Stimulus Bill.