At Morgantown, West Virginia-based Mountain State Capital, Matt Harbaugh is bringing investment dollars directly into Pittsburgh startups. Serving as the VC firm’s co-founder and managing director, Harbaugh is tasked with leading the group’s Pittsburgh office. In 2022, Harbaugh’s office already has invested in several Pittsburgh startups through funding rounds for Meter Feeder, Gridwise and Arieca. These investments come from the firm’s $25 million fund that it launched in 2018. Previously Harbaugh had served as chief investment officer of Innovation Works.
What do you think makes for a successful Pittsburgh startup?
The most promising startups in Pittsburgh are applying cutting-edge innovation to a business or clinical challenge that the founder or CEO has dealt with for many years.
What is a challenge for Pittsburgh’s startup community, and how could it be addressed?
I’d like to see Pittsburgh increase its linkages to the leading tech and life sciences companies nationally and globally. We’ve seen over the past decade that the local presence of Google, Bosch and other large tech companies has strengthened the talent pool in Pittsburgh … so that we have an even larger pool of experienced technologists and business executives who can jump into our local startups when they get the itch to try something entrepreneurial.
What has you most optimistic about the region’s startups in the years to come?
Our startup community has been on a slow-and-steady climb for the past 20 years, and it feels like the momentum is increasing significantly. … I can say with confidence that Pittsburgh’s prospects have never been better.
