I am always very cautious when it comes to government grants and government supported competitions.  Apart from SBIR/STIR grants (which often literally are used to start companies based on university research), my general view is that startups should NOT overly rely on the government for anything.  As a strategy, it is just too risky and unpredictable.  Municipalities are tough customers, for example.  Often slow paying, bureaucratic, etc.  Likewise, state grant funding is sometimes extremely hard to collect or requires that a company spend first and then get reimbursed after the fact.  That can be tough for a startup!

Well, let’s leave those cautions behind!  EkoStinger (one of CVF’s portfolio companies and one on which I have been a board member of for over 5 years) just won NYSERDA’s 76W competition – first place!  One million dollars of non-dilutive funding!  Yes, there are milestones to be set.  Yes, it will take a while to collect, but holy cow, this is a NICE win!

Congrats to EkoStinger!