VisionTech Partners

Author: Ben Pidgeon

  • IBJ’s May Power Breakfast on Life Sciences to Feature VisionTech’s Ben Pidgeon

    Ben Pidgeon, VisionTech

    INDIANAPOLIS (April 15, 2019) – – The Indianapolis Business Journal (IBJ) has selected VisionTech Partners I VisionTech Angels Executive Director Ben Pidgeon as a panelist at its upcoming Power Breakfast Series on Indiana’s life sciences industry. The discussion will focus on the sustainability of Indiana’s success in the life sciences space, which last year attracted a record $115 million in venture funding.

    The IBJ Power Breakfast is set for Friday, May 3 at the Indianapolis Marriott. Roche Diagnostics is the presenting sponsor.

    Since joining VisionTech as its first executive director in 2016, Pidgeon has become one of the most familiar faces in Indiana’s startup circles. Each year, he and his member-based selection committee screen some 400 startups before selecting the 12 to 15 invited to present to VisionTech Angels’ investor network across Indiana and Ohio. Under Pidgeon’s leadership, VisionTech’s investment portfolio has swelled to 30 companies, the majority of which are in the life sciences and/or headquartered in Indiana.

    Pidgeon will be joined on the panel by a respected group of life sciences executives and experts, including Marietta Harrison, associate director, Purdue University Center for Cancer Research; Ketan Paranjape, vice president, Diagnostics, Information Solutions, Roche Diagnostics; Mike Sherman, former president and CEO, Endocyte; Derek A. Small, president and CEO, Assembly Biosciences; and John Spegele, vice president, Business Solutions, Covance Central Laboratory Services. The Indianapolis Business Journal’s John Russell, the publication’s health care and life sciences reporter, will moderate.

    The IBJ Power Breakfast Life Sciences event will be held at the Indianapolis Marriott, 350 W. Maryland Street. Individual tickets and table sponsorships are available. Register now as space is limited.

    About VisionTech Partners I VisionTech Angels

    Founded in 2008, VisionTech Partners I VisionTech Angels is a privately held company that links investors to high-potential, early-growth companies. Based in Indianapolis, capital of one of the nation’s most vibrant innovation regions, VisionTech is where inventors, entrepreneurs, investors, universities, and strategic partners convene to share, fund, and launch innovative technologies and companies. VisionTech Angels has chapters in Bloomington, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, Lafayette, Dayton, Ohio; and an Affinity chapter for physicians, AngelBom.

  • VisionTech Angels’ 2018 Startup Investments Top $3.3 Million

    INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., (April 2, 2019) – – VisionTech Angels’ investments in startup companies, including many based in Indiana, continues to soar. The Indianapolis-based group that has five chapters across Indiana and a sixth in Dayton, Ohio, invested a total of $3.3 million in ten companies in 2018, strengthening its position as a top source of early-stage investment capital not just in Indiana, but nationally as well. Half of VisionTech Angels’ 2018 investments were in Indiana-based companies.

    Companies receiving investments from VisionTech Angels in 2018 include ANGLR, Pittsburgh; Bolstra, Indianapolis; Corvida Medical, Coralville, Iowa; Elevate K-12, Chicago; Scale Computing, Indianapolis; Scioto Biosciences, Indianapolis; Salarius Pharma, Houston; SpinTech, Xenia, Ohio; Toralgen, Indianapolis; and WorkHere, Carmel, Indiana. VisionTech Angels has 28 active portfolio companies.

    VisionTech Angels Executive Director Ben Pidgeon says his group fills an important niche in Indiana’s startup ecosystem, providing much-needed investment capital in early growth startup companies that often rely on themselves, family and friends for funding. “Access to capital is critical to startups, but also to a healthy, sustainable startup community. One of the biggest reasons investors join our network is an appreciation for entrepreneurs and the opportunity to get in on the ground floor and diversify their investment portfolios in this asset class.”

    VisionTech Angels takes a purposeful, thorough approach to the companies its members ultimately invest in, screening as many as 400 startups a year to select 12 to 15 companies to present to its angel investors during bi-monthly pitch weeks. The goal is to bring the most investable companies to its members.

    Added Pidgeon, “While our focus is primarily the life sciences—four of our 2018 investments are life sciences-based companies—tech is also very attractive to our members. Both industry sectors are strong in Indiana so it makes sense to align with these industries within the startup community.”

    The strategy is paying off for VisionTech Angels. Among its first portfolio companies is Warsaw, Indiana-based OrthoPediatrics (NASDAQ: KIDS). In October 2017, OrthoPediatrics priced it initial public offering at $13 per share. As of March 20, 2019, its share value has nearly tripled to $45.50 peer share. In October 2018, Scale Computing announced it had secured $34.8 million in a Series F fundraising round.

    VisionTech Angels has more than 120 members in its open network. Those interested in angel investing are encouraged to contact VisionTech. The group’s next Pitch Week is April 15-18.

  • Atlas Energy Systems: Heat to Electricity, No Moving Parts

     

    Ben Pidgeon, VisionTech

    VisionTech Angels’ Executive Director Ben Pidgeon recently sat down with Ian Hamilton, founder and CEO of Atlas Energy Systems, to learn more about the company that’s repurposing technology originally developed in the 1960s by NASA for space applications into an exciting new solution for the oil and gas, nuclear and solar energy industries. Ian, a Purdue graduate with a Masters in Nuclear Engineering, will be presenting Atlas Energy during VisionTech’s upcoming Pitch Week, April 15-18. Read on!

    BP: The story behind Atlas Energy Systems’ technology is unique. Tell me about it.
    IH: Our thermionic energy converter (TEC) was inspired by technology previously developed in the 1960’s by NASA for space nuclear power. When the Soviet Union fell in the 1980s, NASA cancelled its space nuclear power programs. Russia was our competitor and with the end of the Cold Way, there was no reason to pursue it further despite the fact the technology was proven to work in space. So patents expired. I learned about it while an undergrad at Purdue, got interested, founded Atlas Energy Systems, and now we’re using NASA technology to develop plasma thermionic energy converters for waste heat power generation, concentrated solar and advanced nuclear reactors.

    BP: How does your technology work – in layman’s terms?
    IH: It’s all in our tagline: Heat to Electricity, No Moving Parts. What we’re doing is directly converting heat from any source you can think of, whether it’s sunlight, nuclear or the waste gas from oil wells, into electricity. If you have a source of high intensity heat, we can generate electricity with a convertor that has no moving parts. Digging deeper, Atlas Energy Systems is leveraging modern materials science, new plasma physics simulations, and advanced manufacturing techniques to develop a thermionic energy converter for the 21st century. Our novel device designs incorporate proprietary electrode materials and coatings as well as an electrode form factor to increase converter performance and reduce operating temperatures. Bringing this new capability to the technology is the necessary step in taking thermionic energy converters from a lab technology to a commercialized product.

    BP: What’s the driver behind the technology?
    IH: The short answer is that it’s a simple way to generate electricity. Also, the technology is proven; we’re not breaking new ground, we’re finding new applications. What makes it attractive is the simplicity of the process and the converter itself. The device has no moving parts so there’s nothing to break. It’s compact and saves space. We were originally thinking of compact power source for nuclear subs, but there are many other applications.

    BP: You were targeting the nuclear industry with batteries made from nuclear waste, but now you’re focused on the oil and gas industry. How did that come about?
    IH: We initially were working on nuclear batteries for NASA and the U.S. Navy and its nuclear subs. We got a call from far left field—a company in the oil and gas industry. They were interested in replacing current three-decades old technology used in oil and gas sensors combustion fuel systems with our thermal electric converters. So it seems oil and gas chose us.

    BP: What benefits do your thermionic energy converters offer the oil and gas industry?
    IH: Oil and gas production sites such as wells and offshore rigs use flare stacks, a gas combustion device, to burn off unusable, waste gas.  The main application of our thermionic energy converters would be to replace the old combustion device with ours and convert the flair gas into electricity. The advantages are significant. Current systems are inefficient and expensive. Our converters turn the waste gas into electricity that can be used at the well site or on offshore rigs. Our converters have no moving parts and are proven to survive in the harshest environment possible, space, so maintenance is minimal; always a good thing in remote locations. Repurposing the waste reduces CO2 emissions and methane, which is good for the environment. Overall, it’s a smart solution for the industry.

    BP: What type of patent protection do you have?
    IH: Original technology designs were either top secret or patent protected. What’s interesting is most of the original patents were for space and nuclear applications and expired in the 1980s when the government lost interest. Now anyone can access the old patents and use the information, which we have done. Atlas Energy Systems now has a patent pending on our plasma thermionic energy converter and will file additional patents on uses and applications.

    Ian Hamilton, CEO, Atlas Energy Systems

    BP: You have the unique honor of being included on Forbes’ 2018 “30 Under 30” list in 2018  that recognizes the brashest entrepreneurs across the United States. You were all of 25 years old when you won. That’s impressive.
    IH: It was exciting and also an honor as I was nominated by two different people. I’ve always been interested in entrepreneurship and, in fact, founded Atlas Energy Systems during my sophomore year at Purdue with three classmates. After earning my masters in Nuclear Engineering, I did a fellowship at Argonne National Labs Chain Reaction Lab in part because of their emphasis on entrepreneurship and how to translate energy tech into the marketplace. I’ve always thought it’s one thing to do research and scientific discovery, but if you can’t turn commercialize your technology and deliver a product the market cares about, it goes to waste.


    BP: Why should VisionTech Angels invest in Atlas Energy Systems?
    IH: Although we’re an early stage energy startup, we’re positioned as a hard tech scalable manufacturing company capable of providing thousands of units to companies. And the oil and gas industry is a great launch pad for us with interest from customers and a potential acquirer that I will discuss in my pitch. We currently have a demonstration unit and money from VisionTech Angels would fund our initial units for immediate sales and support our go to market strategy for oil and gas.

    To learn more about Atlas Energy Systems, visit their website. For details on VisionTech Angels’ April Pitch Week, visit our events calendar.

  • Don’t Panic: React Mobile Is Keeping Hospitality Industry Workers Safe

    Ben Pidgeon, VisionTech

    VisionTech Angels’ Executive Director Ben Pidgeon recently sat down with Robb Monkman, co-founder and CEO of React Mobile, to learn more about the company that’s dedicated to protecting people working in the hospitality industry from on-the-job assault, harassment and other dangers, Robb will be presenting React Mobile, a SaaS platform, during VisionTech’s upcoming Pitch Week, April 15-18. Read on!

    BP: What motivated you to found React Mobile?
    RM: When I was in college, I lived off campus with roommates. One night, two guys with guns broke into our apartment, held guns to our heads and robbed us. I was literally frozen; there was no way to call for help. That led me to create an app college students could use for emergencies. Since then, the app has grown into a powerful enterprise platform that gives people from all walks of life – at universities, in business environments and now the hospitality industry – a way to call for help. Ultimately, my partners and I are motivated to make the world a safer place.

    Robb Monkman, CEO, React Mobile

    BP: You started at universities and then moved to hotels and resorts. What attracted you to the hospitality industry?
    RM: It’s simple: the obvious need for personal safety and  increasing acknowledgement and action by lawmakers and leaders in the hospitality industry that the issue of employee safety has to be addressed. Here’s a quick fact for you: more than half of hotel workers, primarily housekeeping staff, face harassment and assault on the job. And it happens every day! Laws are now being passed to implement panic buttons for hospitality employees. React Mobile’s hometown, Seattle, was among the first in the country to pass a law. New York, Chicago, Miami, and other major destination cities have passed similar laws. They’re serious, too. Failure to comply could result in a hotel having their license revoked, fines and/or increased liability insurance costs.

    The hospitality industry has also addressed the problem, creating the 5 Star Promise to provide panic buttons to all employees by 2020 to keep people safe should they encounter any threat on the job. This initiative is backed by the top 19 brands, including Hilton, Marriott and Disney Resorts, for a total of more than 18,000 properties.

    BP: Explain how React Mobile works.
    RM: The React Mobile platform utilizes both GPS geolocation and blue tooth beacon technology that allows hotel security to pinpoint the whereabouts of employees in real time down to a specific room when a distress call is received. It works equally well in a high-rise property as is does in a sprawling casino property. Should a distress call be off-property on a golf course or in a pool area for example, we provide exact GPS coordinates for Google map tracking. React Mobile is cloud-based and integrates with the leading hotel platforms, making it easy to install. Finally, React Mobile is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Hotels can choose from several solutions.

    BP: I know this is intended for employee safety, but it could protect guests as well.
    RM: Absolutely! The sniper at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas in 2017 was an eye-opener for the industry. After that incident, employees were afraid to go to work. They never know what they’re going to find behind a hotel door. The unions began to pressure hotels to provide employees with panic buttons. I am proud to say that React Mobile was the first solution to be deployed on the Vegas strip.

    BP: Tell me about the market. Is there an ideal customer?
    RM: The market for React Mobile is huge; any hotel would benefit from our panic button solution. Our technology is particularly well suited for multi-story buildings, multi-building properties and golf, ski and other themed resorts. Currently, our focus is the major brands due in part to their commitment to implementing employee panic buttons by 2020.

    BP: What’s your traction look like?
    RM: It’s an exciting time for React Mobile. We have nearly 150 properties under contract and are a preferred vendor with a number of top brands, including Choice Hotels, Best Western Caesar’s Entertainment, Accor Hotels, and the Sands, owner of the Venetian in Las Vegas. We recently won an RFP with a major theme park company. We have a huge opportunity with hotel management groups and aggregators.

    BP: What’s your revenue model?
    RM: React Mobile is sold as a software-as-a-service, but we have three revenue streams: hardware that includes the Bluetooth beacons and panic buttons; recurring service fees based on room counts; and lastly, installation and onsite training.

    BP: What’s your exit strategy?
    RM: It’s fairly clear-cut. An acquisition partner would likely come from one of our integration partners or someone in the security industry.

    BP: Why should VisionTech Angels invest in React Mobile?
    RM: We have serious traction—almost 20,000 hotels are committed to implementing panic button technology. As one of the firsts in the space, we’ve built a strong foundation and our platform is easy to implement as it integrates with current security platforms. We’re trusted by large hotels, casinos and resorts. The 2020 implementation deadline is almost here. All we need is rocket fuel for our growth to take off.

    To learn more about React Mobile, visit their website. For details on VisionTech Angels’ April Pitch Week, visit our events calendar.

     

  • February Pitch Week Preview: Glutenostics Redefines Celiac Disease Diagnostics and Monitoring

    Ben Pidgeon, VisionTech

    VisionTech Angels’ Executive Director Ben Pidgeon recently sat down with David Winternheimer, co-founder and CEO of Glutenostics, to learn more about how his company is redefining how those with celiac are diagnosed and manage their disease. David will be presenting Glutenostics during our first Pitch Week of 2019, February 25-28.

    BP: What is the current state of celiac disease in the U.S. and how is it diagnosed?
    DW: Celiac disease is a serious autoimmune disease triggered by ingesting gluten that damages the villi of the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food. More than 1% of the U.S. population—about 3.5 million people—have celiac disease. Of those individuals, 85% have yet to be diagnosed. As many as 10% of the population are gluten intolerant and have painful symptoms after eating products containing wheat, barley or rye. The standard test for diagnosing celiac disease involves an endoscopy and biopsy and requires eating gluten daily for four to six weeks before the procedure. Many patients seeking diagnosis are already gluten-free, so this ‘gluten challenge’ is a major barrier to diagnosis. Our new blood test circumvents the need to eat gluten in order to get a diagnosis, and is much easier than a biopsy. Additionally, there has been no way to monitor compliance with a gluten-free diet.

    David Winternheimer, Glutenostics

    It’s also worth noting that access to diagnostics and ongoing care for this condition is highly lacking. Family doctors and internists don’t do biopsies to diagnose celiac disease and gastroenterologists don’t have a way to diagnose patients who are gluten free and refuse to reintroduce gluten into their diet. There are; however, about 1,200 celiac physicians in the United States and about 200 celiac clinics nationwide. Glutenostics’ technologies were developed over the past decade in response to thought leaders’ explicit call for better tools to diagnose and manage the disease.

    BP: What solutions does Glutenostics offer?
    DW: Glutenostics was founded in 2016 with the mission of bringing new technologies to market that improve the diagnosis, monitoring, and quality of life of those with celiac disease and gluten intolerance. In 2017, we launched our first product line, Gluten Detective, a rapid at-home urine and stool monitoring test, that’s much like a pregnancy test, to measure compliance with a gluten-free diet.

    We’re now preparing to launch our lab tests, including a blood flow cytometry test for diagnosing celiac disease that involves a proprietary HLA gluten tetramer reagent and doesn’t require the eating gluten prior to the test. We also plan to launch a lab version of the urine/stool test for diet monitoring as well for physicians to order We’re working with multiple collaborators nationwide at major institutions to drive the adoption of both of these technologies into the official celiac clinical guidelines. The Harvard celiac program continues to be our biggest advocates.

    BP: Is this technology you developed or licensed? Is it patent protected?
    DW: Glutenostics has exclusive licensing rights for both the blood diagnostic and urine/stool monitoring tests in the U.S. and Canada. The blood test comes from Ludvig Sollid’s lab at the University of Oslo, Norway, a world-renowned immunology lab that is well respected among the celiac community. The urine and stool tests comes from Biomedal of Seville, Spain, whose CEO is also a co-founding member of Glutenostics and credited with developing the world’s second most commonly used test for assessing gluten content in foodstuffs.

    BP: What are the regulatory and reimbursement requirements?
    DW: As lab developed tests, the FDA does not regulate tests such as our flow cytometry and at-home rapid tests. CMS currently reimburses similar blood tests at a rate of about $400 and private payers reimburse at around $1,000, which is a third of the cost of a biopsy, hence the appeal to payers. We don’t yet have reimbursement rates yet for the at-home rapid test, but we’re working on that.

    BP: Does Glutenostics have an Indiana connection?
    DW: I’m a native of Evansville and our CLIA lab partner, Xeno Diagnostics, is located in Indianapolis, where we’re in the process of establishing our blood diagnostic test as a CLIA Lab Developed Test. Immediately after closing this round of financing, we will move our distribution center for the at-home kits to Indy as well as establish our physical headquarters office here, too.

    BP: What kind of patient advocacy support do you have?
    DW: The celiac community is extremely enthusiastic and supportive about what we’re doing. We have partnerships with Beyond Celiac and the Celiac Disease Foundation, which are both trusted U.S. non-profit groups for celiac disease. By partnering with these organizations, we will work to educate the celiac community about our diagnostic test and at-home testing product, Gluten Detective. We also have the support of all major celiac centers and key opinion leaders nationwide.

    BP: Do you have customers and are you generating revenue?
    DW: We are currently generating revenue from our direct-to-consumer at-home monitoring test, Gluten Detective. We have a clear plan to drive future sales and clinical adoption of our new tests.

    BP: Looking forward to your pitch!
    DW: We’re looking forward to the road show!

    To learn more about Glutenostics, visit their website. For details on VisionTech Angels’ February Pitch Week, visit our events calendar.

  • February Pitch Week Preview: Roomored Brings TV Magic to New Home Construction

    Ben Pidgeon

    VisionTech Angels’ Executive Director Ben Pidgeon recently sat down with Farrukh Malik, founder and CEO of Roomored, to learnmore about the company that’s disrupting the residential construction industry by taking the pain out of buying and selling new homes and eliminating the need for expensive spec homes. Farrukh will be presenting Roomored during our first Pitch Week of 2019, February 25-28. Read on!

    BP: You have an interesting story behind Roomored.
    FM: I’m somewhat of a citizen of the world. I was born in India, but my family moved to Australia when I was 15. After university, I was an investment banker for Macquarie Infrastructure Partners for nine years, moving from Sydney to Abu Dhabi and ultimately to New York City. Great companies and technologies are often born of pain points. Early in my career I bought a new construction condo. When it was completed, I was disappointed; it looked nothing like what I expected. With each move, the pain continued. Will my furniture work here? How will this two-inch flooring swatch look throughout my home? I have a numbers brain so visualizing what a condo or home would look like was extremely difficult for me.

    I wanted to start my own company and partly because of my pain point, I believed the residential construction industry was ripe for change. At the time, virtual reality technology was new and I saw an opportunity to create a tool for custom home builders that would replace the need to build model homes and support the sales process in a way that no one else was doing.

    BP: How have home builders traditionally marketed new developments?
    FM: Most will build and furnish one or more spec homes, which have to be staffed with sales people. They put together literature on floor plans and options. They have boards with swatches showing colors, tiles, flooring, shingles – you name it. Home buyers have to come out to development, which is usually just a dirt patch, tour the model home and then spend hours trying to visualize their dream home. It’s a tedious, frustrating process!

    BP: How does Roomored solve this problem?
    FM: Roomored provides a virtual reality (VR) experience not unlike what people see everyday on HGTV. Imagine Fixer Uppers’ Joanna Gaines and the VR designs she shows her clients. Roomored is just like that. We make TV magic real for builders and customers using actual photo-real floor plans, paint colors, finishes, and options offered by the home builder. Roomored creates the home buyer’s dream home in real time so no visualization skills are necessary.

    The benefits to home builders are significant. They can avoid the expense of building, furnishing and staffing model homes. Instead, they can have an onsite design center with design stations equipped with Roomored. They can also use the platform on their website, so home buyers can go to the site and design their home online when it’s convenient for them. Roomored cuts the consultation time—the average engagement time is 30 minutes—and shortens the sales cycle time. There’s also higher satisfaction at the end of the project because the home meets the buyers’ expectations.

    Farruhk Malik, Roomored

    BP: Did you have any unforeseen hurdles as your were creating Roomored?
    FM: We’re very proud of our photo-realism, but early in our product development, we determined that photos are often inaccurate, particularly when we used images supplied by other companies. Lighting and retouching remove the reality of an image pretty quickly. In building our finishes database, we use our own photography to ensure colors, scale, textures, and patterns are as accurate as possible.

    BP: What’s your business model?
    FM: Software as a Service based on the number of floor plans. Very simple and affordable.

    BP: What differentiates Roomored from competitors?
    FM: Roomored’s competitive advantage is our ability to provide photorealism that is customizable, while achieving scalability and volume. There are a number of companies (mainly rendering studios and agencies) that can provide really nice photorealism, but zero customization, and it is pretty easy to provide custom layouts, but no photorealism. Roomored is doing both in a way that it makes sense for homebuilders to license a software that helps their buyers visualize what they are buying pre-construction, and make design decisions.

    BP: Do you have customers and are you generating revenue?
    FM: Yes and yes. We are targeting high-volume builders of residential communities first, followed by mid- to small-sized builders. Our clients currently include Mattamy Homes in Canada, Hillwood Communities in Dallas that has 35 active communities on their books and M. Signature Homes in Austin. The M. Signature Home development, The Grove, is a perfect example of how Roomored supports the sales effort. They are building 1,500 homes and have 25 base floor plans and numerous options and finishes. They’ve chosen to skip the model homes the model homes in favor of a sales center with Roomored for support. With the homes priced from $500,000 up to $1.5 million, that’s a vote of confidence!

    BP: Looking forward to your pitch!
    FM: We’re looking forward to the road show!

    To learn more about Roomored, visit their website and watch this cool video. For details on VisionTech Angels’ February Pitch Week, visit our events calendar.

  • Don’t Whine About the FDA: How to Talk so Regulators Will Listen

    Don’t Whine About the FDA: How to Talk so Regulators Will Listen

    This Don’t Miss Event Is Co-Sponsored by
    VisionTech Angels + the Indiana Chapter of the Society of Physician Entrepreneurs (SOPE).

    Bob Seevers is a master storyteller. Before you ask him if he’ll tell stories to your kid’s first grade class, you have to understand one thing: the stories he shares are not about The Three Little Pigs, Curious George or Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

     No, Bob’s stories are about promising medical devices and drug candidates. And they’re intended for a very specialized audience, the U.S.

    Bob Seevers, PhD, Pearl Pathways

    Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Rather than entertain, the purpose is to streamline the FDA regulatory process, which is infamous for being confusing, time consuming and costly.

    As a senior advisor at Pearl Pathways, there’s nothing Bob likes better than grooming clients to become master storytellers so they can tell their story in a way FDA regulators understand and how they want to hear it. (With not even a peep of a whine!)

    Now he’s ready to share his insight with you.

    On Thursday, February 7, 5:45 pm at Leaf Software, Bob will share 25 years worth of experiences on the inside track of the FDA in a special VisionTech-SOPE event titled: Don’t Whine About the FDA: How to Talk so Regulators Will Listen. 

    The topic is important to a diverse audience that includes:

    • Life sciences startups with medical devices or drug candidates facing or in the process of securing FDA clearance
    • Physician entrepreneurs considering their own startup.
    • Angel investors looking for a greater understanding of investable companies that require an FDA approval to advance to commercialization.

    At the core of Bob’s discussion and generous question and answer segment is how best to present your story so your drug or device moves smoothly through the regulatory process. Here’s a taste of what you’ll learn:

     

    “FDA reviewers are solid scientists who have seen good work and bad, including cases where folks have tried to cheat. Reviewers know where to look for information. Best to build trust by giving them what they want.”

    “The entrepreneurs I’ve had the pleasure to work with have worked their butts off getting their device or drug to this point. They can’t help but tell a reviewer, ‘We’ve tested this and it’s good.’ Don’t give in to this temptation. There’s no shortcut; the FDA needs to see your data.”

    “It’s tempting to tell FDA reviewers everything, but I advise clients to cut 80 percent of what they want to say. At the first meeting, all you need is a high level summary that gets to core of your device or drug. The FDA will take it from there.”

    Intrigued? We sure are. Bob’s “inside baseball” perspective on how best to navigate the FDA regulatory processes was earned at the FDA itself and at Eli Lilly and Company. He spent eight years at the FDA as a team leader, managing a staff of PhD reviewers for the evaluation of CMC sections of INDs and NDAs. During his 16 years with Lilly, Bob was a principal regulatory scientist, leading the regulatory CMC submission strategy for drugs in preclinical development through their NDA/MAA submission and the approval process for both small and large molecules. He’s also served as a World Health Organization invited lecturer on drug development.

    Additionally, Bob’s knowledge spans all major therapeutic areas with specific expertise in CNS, endocrine, metabolism, autoimmune, oncology, pediatric drug formulation and clinical research, radiopharmaceuticals, and drug delivery systems.

    “Don’t Wine About the FDA: How to Talk so Regulators Will Listen” with Pearl Pathways’ Bob Seevers is set for Thursday, February 7, 5:45 pm, less than two weeks away. Space is limited. RSVP here> Find directions to Leaf Software here>

     

  • 5 Steps for Avoiding Risk-Related Accidents, Mistakes and Mishaps

    5 Steps for Avoiding Risk-Related Accidents, Mistakes and Mishaps

    Hylant’s Mike Cremeans

    After 25 years of helping more than 450 clients in the life sciences industry, I have plenty of war stories about what can happen to startup companies.

    Like the time a device company startup was shipping a $100,000 load of products to a distributor and the train derailed, destroying everything. No insurance.

    Or the time another startup company’s contract manufacturer had a fire that shut down production, leaving the startup unable to fill critical orders. No insurance.

    Or the time a startup drug company entered the European market without telling their insurance broker (me), got sued and then wondered if they were covered. Yes, but not in Europe.

    I could go on, but you get the picture. When you least expect it, something can happen to slow your momentum or even put you out of business. Life doesn’t have to be this way. Here are the five steps for avoiding risk-related accidents, mistakes and mishaps:

    • Recognize that risk exists and be open to discussion. It’s not if something will happen, it’s when. No company is immune to accidents, mistakes or mishaps. No matter how much money you have in your accounts, one mishap can explode your carefully calculated burn rate. You avoid unnecessary costs; why not make avoiding unnecessary risk a priority?
    • Identify exactly where you’re vulnerable. It’s better to know your risks before they become costly liabilities. A thorough risk assessment can pinpoint immediate and even longer-term vulnerabilities and help you develop strategies for mitigating risk through policies, procedures, and protection (insurance).
    • Recognize that insurance—and insurance brokers—are not commodities. Life sciences are very different from other industries. Before doing a risk assessment, make sure you have a broker who is qualified to help. Companies will spend painstaking amounts of money and time selecting the right consultants, accountants and lawyers, but have no problem randomly pulling a few names off the Internet and getting quotes. Invest time in finding a broker with experience in your industry to do the assessment.
    • Don’t procrastinate. Do a risk assessment now. You don’t have to purchase insurance, but you should know your risk.
    • Use the risk assessment to guide insurance decisions. The worst thing a startup can do is be reactive rather than proactive. Case in point: A startup I know landed a huge contract with a group purchasing organization. Buried deep within the contract were insurance requirements. The startup signed the contract without knowing the cost of coverage, making a $50,000 mistake. A risk assessment would have helped identify potential issues like this and eliminated costly surprises.

    If you’d like more tips and strategies for avoiding costly risk-related accidents, mistakes and mishaps, attend a special VisionTech event, “War Stories from a Life Sciences Risk Strategist,” on Wednesday, January 16, 5:45 pm at Leaf Software. The event is open to members of VisionTech Angels and their portfolio companies, AngelBOM, the Society of Physician Entrepreneurs Indiana Chapter, and other guests. Please RVSP here. I look forward to meeting you and swapping war stories and advise.

    Mike Cremeans calls himself the luckiest man in the world. VisionTech thinks his clients – all 450 of them – are pretty lucky to have him watching their back. Mike is the Life Sciences Industry Leader for the Hylant Group, an insurance brokerage firm with 14 offices nationwide, more than 700 employees and 84 years in business. Learn more about Mike here>

  • A VisionTech Don’t Miss Event: War Stories from a Life Science Risk Strategist

    A VisionTech Don’t Miss Event: War Stories from a Life Science Risk Strategist

    Mike Cremeans has been in the game of advising life sciences startups for a long time. Twenty-five years and 450 clients later, he still enjoys helping clients face threats they didn’t even know existed. Some are real land mines that could blow up a company when least expected. Others, at a very minimum, can siphon off a lot of money.

    War stories? The guy’s got them by the bushel. Here’s one:

    “Startup companies are so busy chasing funding, the last thing on their mind is things that could blow up the company. That is until they go to a close a deal and they’re told they have to have a very specific type of coverage. That’s when the scramble begins and costly mistakes happen.”

    Don’t use the term insurance when referring to Mike. He’s a risk strategist who specializes in working with life sciences companies to identify complicated risks and address them with practical solutions. He’s recognized as a subject matter expert in numerous areas of life sciences risk management, including FDA regulated companies, life sciences, medical devices, medical technology, and combinations of the above.

    He’s extremely knowledgeable about product liability, professional liability, contractual liability issues and coverages.

    Believe it or not, it’s very likely Mike won’t even mention insurance when you first meet him. He will; however, tell you how to avoid buying it, focusing on risk mitigation so startups can preserve as much capital as possible before and after commercialization. Mike will also make the case for adding a third person to one’s professional advisors; in addition to an attorney and CPA, smart entrepreneurs need a risk manager.

    “When it comes to insurance, many startups are happy to search the web until they find someone. It’s convenient, not strategic. The right risk advisor has deep experience in your industry and can level the playing field by helping you negotiate insurance requirements, share the risk and ultimately save money. Too many people wait until the last minute and get screwed.”

    On Wednesday, January 16, Mike – the Life Sciences Industry Practice Leader for the Hylant Group – will join VisionTech Partners I VisionTech Angels for a special event at Leaf Software during which he will reveal the minefields life sciences startups can avoid and share war stories on what can happen. Suffice it to say, Mike’s approach is how not to be a “risky business,” but rather a smart and ultimately well-protected, successful startup.

    The event is ideal for entrepreneurs, C-suite and board members, investors in highly innovative life sciences companies. After the formal presentation, the floor will be opened to questions.

    One last bit of advice from Mike:

    “Know where the landmines are. Just because you have a risk, it doesn’t mean you have to buy insurance. There are multiple ways to manage it.”

    This VisionTech event is open to all VisionTech Angels, sponsors and special guests and to members of AngelBOM and the Indiana chapter of the Society of Physician Entrepreneurs. RSVP for VisionTech’s War Stories from a Seasoned Life Sciences Risk Strategist event here.

     

  • SIMBA Chain: Blockchain’s Next Blockbuster?

    SIMBA Chain: Blockchain’s Next Blockbuster?

    VisionTech Angels’ Executive Director Ben Pidgeon recently sat down with Joel Neidig, CEO of SIMBA Chain, to learn more about his company, how it’s disrupting the block chain space and the opportunity that will be presented to our angel investors during October Pitch Week. This is our first pitch company with Notre Dame ties and it’s an impressive one at that. Read on!

    BP: We’ve had other pitch companies with university ties, but never one from Notre Dame. What’s the connection?
    JN: When you think Notre Dame, you probably think football, but a growing number of people are recognizing the robust tech transfer opportunities in South Bend. In 2017, I licensed technology from Notre Dame that resulted in a 3D metal printing software company called Atlas 3D. That company is doing really well so we went back to Notre Dame’s Center for Research Computing and licensed the blockchain technology platform that is the core of SIMBA Chain, our new venture in the blockchain space.

    SIMBA Chain was founded and incorporated in 2017 by co-founders Jarek Nabrzyski, director of Notre Dame’s Center for Research Computing, Ian Taylor, a Notre Dame research professor and computational scientist; Gary Neidig; and me. The technology platform was originally developed for DARPA, the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which awarded a grant to the Center and ITAMCO to develop a secure, unhackable messaging and transaction platform for the U.S. military.

    BP: Block chain is a hot technology space. What is SIMBA Chain’s play?
    JN: Blockchain is best known for underpinning cyber currencies like Bitcoin, but other industries like manufacturing supply chains, health care, energy/smart grids, music licensing, law and government, offer significant opportunities for leveraging blockchain. Up until now, developing blockchains has been very expensive and complex; developers typically have to know multiple languages to code. SIMBA Chain is disrupting the space by offering developers and business and government enterprises a cloud-based, blockchain-as-a-service (BaaS) platform that enables users with even minimal technical skill sets to easily and affordably create and implement dapps (decentralized applications) for specific user bases. To put it simply, SIMBA Chain is to blockchains as WordPress is the website development world.

    BP: Why do you think users, including those less familiar with blockchains, will be excited about what you’re doing?
    JN: Blockchains enable secure, direct connections between users and providers. For example, a hospital and its patients, a financial institution and loan holders. Users and providers share resources – they are linked together in a “chain.” This has distinct advantages. First, a blockchain is decentralized; there is no central data server or “middle man” controlling the flow of data and transactions. Eliminating the central hub also means there’s no longer a single point of failure in the event of hacking or other cyber threat. The blockchain can’t be altered; once a transaction is verified, it’s combined with others to create a new block. The data is very secure, and less subject to cyber threats, which makes blockchains attractive for any industry handling sensitive personal, financial, or mission critical data subject to cyber threats.

    What’s exciting about SIMBA Chain is we’re making blockchain technology accessible in terms of development, cost, speed, and security to those who want to deploy it. We eliminate third parties so users and providers connect more efficiently, have more control over the relationship and a lower transaction cost. Our platform is also very flexible and user friendly. Users choose their network, file storage, create their smart contract, and they’re ready to deploy their dapp.

    BP: In addition to DARPA, Notre Dame and ITAMCO, you have an impressive list of partners.
    JN: We sure do. When Microsoft, NavAir, and the U.S. Department of Energy came on board, we knew we had something. SIMBA Chain is also a “Partner of Choice” of the Government Blockchain Association, which is instant credibility among government enterprises, and has partnered with BlockGeek, which has 100,000 members who are developers.

    BP: You have a very active pipeline. Tell us about it.
    JN: We are actively recruiting developers on our website and the response is great; developers are the early adopters. Our enterprise client list is strong and includes Dow, HealthSpace and EY, which is remarketing to their clients. We’re in discussions with other recognizable enterprises, both corporate and government. Currently, we have more than $1 million in revenue on the books. 

    BP: What is your revenue model?
    JN: Very simple. Like SaaS, our revenue model is subscriptions for developers with the cost based on the number of transactions per month. For business and government enterprises, we offer custom engagements.

    BP: What’s your goal for VisionTech Angels Pitch Week, October 22-25?
    JN: Getting in that car with you and touring Indiana! (Laughs) Pitch Week is a great opportunity to tell our story, answer questions, and ultimately, move us closer to closing a $2 million investment round. While in its infancy, the blockchain industry is moving quickly and we need to finalize our go-to-market strategy, make key hires and assemble what will be a massive team of developers. SIMBA Chain represents a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor of what is projected to be a $2.3 billion industry by 2021.

    VisionTech Angels October Pitch Week is open to our members and their guests. If you are an accredited investor and would like to attend, please contact Ben Pidgeon at bpidgeon@visiontech-partners.com.