Startups

Why this Philly VC firm is doing deals in DC

Osage Venture Partners led financing rounds for two different District startups. “It’s like the quality of stuff we’re seeing in D.C. is higher than what we’re seeing most other places,” said the firm’s managing partner.

Osage Venture Partners is looking to Washington, D.C. for deals. (Photo by Flickr user @ricricciardi, used under a Creative Commons license)

Philly’s Osage Venture Partners has led two investment rounds for Washington, D.C. companies in the last six months. The Washington Business Journal chatted with managing partner Nate Lentz and vice president Sean Dowling about why they’re keeping their eye on D.C.

What’s your general take on the local tech scene here?

Lentz: It’s like the quality of stuff we’re seeing in D.C. is higher than what we’re seeing most other places. There are lots of good quality companies, and a good pipeline of entrepreneurs building interesting businesses. We’ve heard from lots of entrepreneurs that there’s not a huge amount of local, venture-stage capital. D.C. is very much in our geographic focus and it’s been very fruitful for us to build inroads there.

That’s Lentz repeating the idea that access to capital is a problem in many fledgling tech scenes, not just Philly’s. We heard that in our Startup CEO Survey, too.

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Companies: Osage Partners
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