Mike Vichich’s roots are in Michigan, where his family was devoted to public service—his parents were teachers, his uncle a fighter pilot, and his grandparents served in the army. “Public service was deeply respected, and I want my kids to see a government that effectively delivers,” he shared with TechCrunch. Vichich transitioned from consulting to creating a consumer company, which he sold to Olo for $200 million in 2021. After becoming a father to three, he and Brandon Max, an engineer from his previous startup, explored ideas for their careers.
They found a common challenge: selling to the government was difficult. This led to the creation of Pursuit in 2023, a platform designed to help businesses secure government contracts. On Wednesday, Pursuit announced a $22 million seed round, headed by OpenGov co-founder Mike Rosengarten. So far, it has amassed $25.5 million from investors like Jack Altman, Bill Gurley, and Sam Hinkie.
Pursuit gathers and analyzes public data from about 11,000 SLED entities, including budgets, contract registers, and RFPs, to present well-researched opportunities. It identifies agencies inclined to purchase specific services based on criteria like budgets and leadership. Their clients are companies that cater to public service agencies, and Pursuit acts like an “AI clone,” providing comprehensive insights across accounts.
Competitors include Starbridge, GovSpend, and Deltek GovWin IQ. Vichich aims to make SLED contracts more transparent and accessible, highlighting that while data is public, it’s often deeply buried. Pursuit streamlines this data, turning it into actionable insights. “Finding and interpreting this data was historically costly relative to the value of any given contract,” he said. “Pursuit turns available data into valuable resources.”