#130: Bill Manby (Interstate Fusion Ventures)

Bill Manby, Founding & Managing Partner at Interstate Fusion Ventures.

An entrepreneur at heart, Bill grew up in NEO and has always been passionate about working every day to make his home better through investments, philanthropy, and whatever else it takes. In late 2016, this vision led to the creation of his first fund – Akron Fusion Ventures (later rebranded as Interstate Fusion Ventures).

While Bill knew the benefits of living in NEO and the strong entrepreneurial spirit, he felt he needed to build relationships with partners on the 
coasts.  So, he set out on a cross-country road trip to introduce this vision to venture capital partners and investors in Silicon Valley.  Along the way, this vision grew to not only seed opportunities for NEO-based startups, but also, get on the cap table of some of the best coastal startups, who benefit from access to NEO. It also allowed fund investors the ability to gain access to unique, and otherwise inaccessible, investment opportunities.

Bill founded Interstate because, for years, he witnessed many local organizations chart escape routes from the Midwest — observing a pattern of businesses, talent, ideas, and capital that leave for established coastal tech hubs, under an impression that doing so was the only path to success. With a belief that success can be achieved here, Interstate Fusion Ventures is the vehicle to prove it Connecting the Coasts to NEO by building an innovative “two-way street” where capital, talent, and knowledge can flow continuously attracting more investment and focus on startups in Northeast Ohio.

I really enjoyed learning more about Bill’s unique perspective and approach to tackling some of the challenges and supporting the local ecosystem

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Connect with Bill Manby on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-manby-878748a/
Follow Bill Manby on Twitter @ManbyBill — https://twitter.com/ManbyBill
Learn more about Interstate Fusion Ventures — https://interstatefusion.com/

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