Matt Harris believes that venture capital investing is a local business. As co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Village Ventures, he has created an operating company dedicated to managing locally focused, early-stage venture capital investment on a national scale.

Harris, 27, began his career as a consultant at Bain & Company, Boston, in 1994. While there, he worked in the technology, consumer products, financial services and telecommunications industries, and in 1995 he signed on as an associate with Bain Capital. At Bain Capital, Harris’ most notable transactions included the $1.1 billion purchase and subsequent sale of a credit-reporting agency, and the $90 million purchase of a medical products distributor.

Harris left Bain Capital in 1997 to become the founding managing director of The Berkshires Capital Investors, a venture capital fund chartered to invest in companies in Berkshire County. Under Harris’ leadership, BCI’s first fund of $5 million has generated returns to investors in excess of 100% per year. BCI invested in Tripod, Inc. (sold to Lycos in 1998 for $58 million); Employease, Inc (named to Red Herring magazine’s 100 “Most Important Companies in the World” list for 2000); Berkshire Wireless, Inc. and Streetmail.com. BCI, now a Village Ventures affiliate, recently raised $16 million and anticipates investing that fund by mid-2001.

At BCI, Harris developed his belief in the local venture capital model that is one of the planks in the Village Ventures platform. Many markets boast the attributes of Berkshire County, namely access to intellectual capital, a high quality of life and a low cost of doing business. Village Ventures was created to bring venture capital and services to these markets, which are traditionally underserved by venture capitalists.

Harris graduated from Williams College in 1994, and now lives in Williamstown, MA. He is active in the business community of Williamstown and Berkshire County, and is involved in many civic organizations. He is a member of the advisory committee of BankBoston Development Company, and sits on the board of Skillview Technologies, Inc.; Berkshire Wireless, Inc.; PRG, Inc. and Streetmail.com.