Kevin Merritt

Kevin Merritt is a technology-focused entrepreneur, angel investor, and advisor based in Seattle, WA.

He has successfully founded, led, and exited two venture-backed companies, including Socrata and MessageRite.

Kevin's recent focus has been on investing in and advising startups in Seattle, vertical SaaS, GovTech, and WineTech sectors.

His passion for the wine industry led him to study viticulture and enology, working in a winery and aspiring to become a winemaker.

In addition to his investments, he owns Wine Industry Insight, a daily newsletter for the wine industry.

At Socrata, Kevin raised $54M in venture capital and later served as the President of the Data & Insights Division at Tyler Technologies post-acquisition.

Before Socrata, he founded MessageRite, which was acquired by FrontBridge Technologies and subsequently by Microsoft.

He has a background in software engineering, application architecture, big data, analytics, and email infrastructure.

Kevin's specialties include angel investing, entrepreneurship, software as a service, and technology innovation.

He holds a degree in Computer Science from Sierra College and has studied Viticulture and Enology at the Northwest Wine Academy.

Kevin has been involved in various organizations including Wine Industry Insight, Authorium, InnoVint, and more, contributing as an owner, board member, advisor, and executive.