TLDR: We need to connect founders to angel investors. Friends and family rounds are often too small to achieve the traction needed by local angel groups or funds like Fresh Tracks Capital.

For Vermont's entrepreneurial ecosystem to truly thrive, we need to address a critical funding gap that's preventing promising startups from getting off the ground.

The Missing Middle in Startup Funding

The traditional startup funding journey often begins with "friends and family" investments of $50,000-$100,000. But this presents an immediate barrier for founders who don't come from entrepreneurial networks or families with disposable capital. On the other end, pre-seed groups and angel syndicates typically expect significant traction and product-market fit before investing $500,000 or more.

This creates a problematic gap: How do founders without personal wealth networks secure enough capital to reach the metrics needed for larger institutional rounds like Dudley Fund or Freshtracks?

Why This Matters for Vermont's Innovation Economy

Vermont startups face unique challenges. Our rural geography and smaller population mean we need to work harder to connect founders with the right resources. When founders can't access that critical early capital to test and validate their ideas, we don't just lose individual businesses—we lose entire innovations that could have created jobs and strengthened our economy.

The Power of Individual Angel Checks

Individual angel investors who can write checks of $10,000-$50,000 represent a lifeline for early-stage Vermont founders. These smaller investments can:

• Fund critical experiments to validate business assumptions

• Support prototype development

• Enable customer discovery and early marketing

• Provide runway to reach meaningful milestones

For a founder seeking a bridge to product-market fit, these investments can mean the difference between pursuing their vision and abandoning promising ideas prematurely.

Are you an angel investor or a founder navigating this gap? Join the investor email list, or submit your startup with Vermont Angel List.