Fidelity Ventures Says Goodbye, Volition Capital Says Hello
Fidelity this afternoon announced that the U.S. team of Fidelity Ventures was spinning out into an independent, Boston-based firm called Volition Capital. The new group will continue to manage 20 Fidelity Ventures portfolio companies in the U.S., and jointly manage six European portfolio companies with what is now being called Fidelity Growth Partners Europe. Volition's four managing partners are: Larry Cheng, Andy Flaster, Roger Hurwitz and Rob Ketterson. Other staffers include Geraldine Alias, Sean Cantwell, Don Haile, Anne Mitchell and Jill Roosevelt. I spoke briefly with Larry Cheng, who tells me that the move was made for two reasons: (1) The Fidelity Ventures team was itching to run their own show; and (2) An independent firm would make it easier to raise third-party capital (Fidelity Ventures as solely funded by its parent).
