Author: Ben Pidgeon

One of VisionTech Partners’ core missions is to support people through the process of starting and investing in new companies and successfully commercializing new technologies. We do it through partnerships with universities like Purdue and IU. We do it through events like the Innovation Showcase held in Indianapolis in July. And we do it through our leadership team and working one-on-one with entrepreneurs and investors.

Both Don Scifres and I have been in the business of leading organizations and business formation and capital raising our entire careers. Recently, we added two new members to the VisionTech Partners leadership team, Tony Petrucciani and David Helmer, Indiana entrepreneurs who both have founded and run thriving companies for decades. They are now ready to share their experience with others through VisionTech Partners.

Tony’s been an entrepreneur since his senior year at Ball State. In 1985, he founded his company, Single Source Systems, in Fishers, Indiana. He built the company from the ground up in an industry in its infancy, business software. After participating in custom developed solutions for more than 300 customers, he led Single Source to develop “off the shelf” software solutions. Today, more than 650 companies have licensed SM-Plus worldwide, the company’s solution for service management companies. On two occasions, Tony’s company has been listed among the INC 500 Fasting Growing Companies in America. Tony is now a VisionTech managing partner, and enjoys mentoring and problem solving.

David is another lifelong entrepreneur. In 1977, he co-founded Helmer Scientific in Noblesville, Indiana. Helmer Scientific is a manufacturer and worldwide distributor of laboratory equipment for the clinical and research markets. David is a man with big business sense and a big heart. He is a founding principal in Collaborosity, which advances purposeful, entrepreneurial leaders and their organizations toward higher levels of capability and contribution, and the executive director of Helmer Generosity Initiatives, an international philanthropic/volunteer effort within Helmer Scientific that is focused on providing aid and justice for poor and marginalized people. He is also a mentor in Praxis’ national Business Accelerator Program. David now serves as a VisionTech Partners general partner.

It’s exciting to add the bench strength of Tony and David to VisionTech Partners. They walk the talk and are committed to contributing to the growth of Indiana’s innovation ecosystem.

 

 

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., December 16, 2014 – – Call it the “Good Housekeeping Seal” for angel investing groups and a way for entrepreneurs to more easily address securities regulations.

VisionTech Angels, the angel-investing arm of VisionTech Partners, is now one of five angel investing groups in the nation and the first in Indiana to become certified as an Established Angel Group (EAG) by the Angel Capital Association (ACA), the leading professional and trade association supporting the success of angel investors in high-growth, early-stage ventures. EAG certification indicates to entrepreneurs that the organization has taken reasonable steps to verify that angels in the group are accredited investors, reducing the burden for entrepreneurs who general solicit their investment opportunities to verify their investors are accredited.

The EAG certification program was developed to address new rules from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that allow entrepreneurs to generally submit or advertise their investment offerings as long as they take reasonable steps to verify that their investors are accredited investors. An individual accredited investor must have a net worth of at least $1 million (not including primary residence) or an annual income of at least $200,000. The EAG certification addresses detailed requirements of the SEC rules; many attorneys have endorsed the new certification as a reasonable verification process in generally solicited offerings, rather than requiring investors to provide financial documentation to issuers or third party verifiers.

ACA Executive Director Marianne Hudson said, “The ACA is pleased to count VisionTech Angels as a certified Established Angel Group and one of the first in the country. This certification should make the investment progress easier for VisionTech Angels members and entrepreneurs by removing verification concerns around generally solicited deals, leading to the growth of more innovative startup companies and jobs.”

VisionTech Angels met a number of stringent criteria to earn certification as an ACA Established Angel Group. The Indy-based angel group had to prove its purpose is to invest in early-stage companies, that its members are accredited investors, are aware of the risks associated with investing in early-stage companies and are thoroughly vetted before becoming members; that the group adheres to an established code of conduct and has a formal deal/investment process, and has a process for members to affirm accredited investor status no less than annually.

The ACA recommends that ACA Established Angel Groups offer regular education sessions for members about early stage investing. VisionTech Angels has a robust educational program with the IU Kelley School of Business, which not only educates members, but also conducts active community outreach to universities, business groups, and entrepreneurs interested in learning more about angel investing.

VisionTech Partners Managing Director Oscar Moralez says that the number of angel investing groups in North America has exploded in the last decade, fueled in part by the popular reality show Shark Tank, which highlights the “sexy” side of startup companies. Universities, state and federal governments, economic development experts, entrepreneurs, and corporate America have elevated their interest in and involvement with angel groups as a way to increase access to capital and support company formation and job creation. Experts believe that entrepreneurs will increasingly take advantage if the new general solicitation rules to raise angel capital.

“The interest in angel investing is high,” agreed Moralez. “There is a realization that entrepreneurs and small companies drive economic growth—look at Facebook, Angie’s List and ZocDoc for example—but they need money to get their ideas off the ground. Angel investors are often one of the few sources of early stage capital so it’s only natural that people want to connect with angels,” Moralez said.

Which is why, added VisionTech Partners Managing Partner Don Scifres, it was important for VisionTech Angels to have ACA certification as an Established Angel Group. “We want VisionTech Angels to set the standards for building successful companies, and that includes engaging qualified investors, deal flow, due diligence, investor and startup education, and collaboration with universities, the business community and other investment groups. Operating at this higher level, with the ACA’s resources behind us, allows VisionTech Angels to be our best and also the first angel group people call.”

Being an ACA Established Angel Group demonstrates that VisionTech Angels adheres to best practices, education and professionalism in angel investing, while offering its investors and portfolio companies the opportunity to network and collaborate with investors who belong to other ACA member angel groups. Angel investing is considered a “high risk, high reward” activity and requires participants to be accredited investors under SEC guidelines.

VisionTech Angels has five Indiana chapters that meet on a bi-monthly basis to review investment opportunities, the majority of which are early stage or early growth companies headquartered in Indiana. These chapters are located in Bloomington, Indianapolis, Lafayette, Warsaw, and a virtual group that supports investors who wish to participate on-line.

Other ACA Established Angel Groups are Sierra Angels in Nevada, Hyde Park Angels, Chicago; Cherrystone Angel Group, Providence, R.I.; and Alliance of Angels, Seattle.

VisionTech Angels aspires to be among the top angel investing groups in the country. Today’s announcement that we’re among the first five angel groups to earn certification from the Angel Capital Association (ACA)—which has more than 300 angel group members—as an Established Angel Group (EAG) signals that we’re well on our way.

The EAG certification program addresses new rules from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that allow entrepreneurs to generally submit or advertise their investment offerings as long as they take reasonable steps to verify that their investors are accredited investors. An individual accredited investor must have a net worth of at least $1 million (not including primary residence) or an annual income of at least $200,000. Many attorneys have endorsed the new certification as a reasonable verification process in generally solicited offerings, rather than requiring investors to provide financial documentation to issuers or third party verifiers.

EAG certification is like a “Good Housekeeping Seal” for angel investing groups and a way for entrepreneurs to more easily address securities regulations. It means that companies that pitch to VisionTech Angels can do so with confidence that our group is composed of accredited investors as defined by the SEC.

VisionTech Angels is in good company. Other ACA Established Angel Groups are Sierra Angels in Nevada, Hyde Park Angels, Chicago; Cherrystone Angel Group, Providence, R.I.; and Alliance of Angels, Seattle.

We had to meet stringent criteria to earn EAG certification. This included proving that our purpose is to invest in early-stage companies, that our members are accredited investors, are aware of the risks associated with investing in early-stage companies and are thoroughly vetted before becoming members; that our group adheres to an established code of conduct and has a formal deal/investment process; and we have a process for members to affirm accredited investor status no less than annually.

Securing ACA certification was of utmost importance to VisionTech Angels. We want to set the standards for building successful companies, and that includes engaging qualified investors, ensuring a strong deal flow, conducting thorough due diligence, educating investors and startups, and collaborating with universities, the business community and other investment groups. Operating at this higher level, with the ACA’s resources behind us, allows VisionTech Angels to be our best and also the first angel group people call.

 

 

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., December 15, 2014 – – VisionTech Angels, the angel investing arm of VisionTech Partners, has invested in App Press, helping the Indianapolis-based startup complete its fully subscribed seed funding round. Participating in the nationwide coalition of investors were Elevate Ventures, VisionTech Angels and other angel investing groups.

Founded in 2010, App Press is the creator of a web-based mobile authoring solution of the same name that is used to create, deploy and manage mobile applications (apps). The company seeks to transform enterprise and consumer mobility through a new method of app creation, bringing a design-first approach to app authoring..

“App Press is at a pivotal point. Company in all sectors are looking for more efficient, cost effective ways to develop and deploy custom apps to build business and customers relations,” said App Press Founder and CEO Grant Glas. “Having Elevate Ventures, VisionTech Angels, and this strong group of individual investors will give App Press the resources and guidance to rapidly grow our business.”

App Press aims to use the funding from this round to redefine the way app creation will get done, address key industry mobility challenges and spark true mobile-led business and consumer change.

The App Press design-first for iOS and Android solution draws on the distinct strengths of two app creation approaches: coding capabilities, with the power to use web-based building blocks like HTML5 and Javascript, fused with App Press’ revolutionary design-first experience. The combination creates a platform that transforms specific aspects of how businesses develop and deploy apps, allowing companies to achieve new levels of efficiency, effectiveness and customer satisfaction faster and easier than ever before.

Don Scifres, co-founder and managing partner of VisionTech Partners, is pleased to add App Press to the VisionTech Angels’ investment portfolio. “We are committed to bringing our investors early stage and early growth Indiana-based companies with the potential for strong return on investment. We welcomed the opportunity to invest in App Press, which has a strong, highly desirable solution is the fast-growth sector of mobile apps.”

App Press’ mobile experts have been at the forefront of mobile innovation. App Press has secured more than 100 customers worldwide, including Nordstrom, WeddingWire, Simon Property Group, and some of the largest creative agencies in the United States.

Todd Saxton approaches his passion for endurance sports in the same way he approaches venture activities—as a long but rewarding journey mixing education, experimentation, discipline, and hard work.

Todd has started five Ironman distance triathlons (covering 140.6 miles by swimming, biking and running) and finished four. He enjoys ripping off 50 miles on his road bike in a single afternoon, then chasing it with a 10-mile run when in heavy training mode. Dos Equis may have the Most Interesting Man in the World, but #VisionTechAngels just may have one of the more fit on its Board of Advisors.

When not pushing himself to physical extremes, Todd is an Associate Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship and the Indiana Venture Faculty Fellow at the IU Kelley School of Business in Indianapolis. He accepted the position after earning a PhD in Business from the IU Kelley School and teaching at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Prior to this, the New Jersey native was a business consultant for six years in Washington D.C. and Philadelphia.

“Business consulting was great, but required an intense travel schedule. When my wife Kim and I found out we were expecting our first child, I decided to change careers. Education has always been in my blood, and a return to academia seemed inevitable. Teaching at the IU Kelley School of Business and working with entrepreneurs and early-stage investors as part of my outreach activities became my passion,” he explains.

Today, Todd and his wife Kim Saxton both are professors at the IU Kelley School of Business. He teaches strategy and entrepreneurship in a number of Kelley MBA programs, including one geared specifically for physicians, one of only a handful in the country. Todd’s research focuses on activities that help entrepreneurs navigate the complex early stages of venture development to be successful. Kim teaches marketing and is also involved in the venture community. Their daughters are now 20 and 24.

Todd first became aware of VisionTech Partners many years ago, when Managing Director Oscar Moralez spoke at the Venture Club of Indiana (Todd is a board member). Discovering a shared passion for angel investing and its importance in the venture ecosystem, Oscar invited Todd to serve on the VisionTech Partners Board of Advisors. He is now the chair.

“The role of the Board of Advisors is to help with the strategic direction of VisionTech Partners and VisionTech Angels. This is a very enthusiastic group and there’s wealth of what it can do—the board sometimes has to deliver a reality check and make sure VisionTech is true to its mission,” Todd said. “We need to be sure our activities support our primary strategic objectives—managing a strong pipeline of new investment opportunities, supporting and growing our angel group, and helping our portfolio companies be successful.”

A significant part of that mission is educating fellow Hoosiers on angel investing. Last July, VisionTech Partners and the IU Kelley School of Business co-sponsored the Innovation Showcase’s educational session on angel investing, attracting 300-plus attendees. The Innovation Showcase, which featured almost 75 entrepreneurial pitches, had some 850 attendees.

“People are very interested in starting companies and angel investing—but like an Ironman, it is a long and challenging journey” said Todd. “We’re here to help them.”

For 34 years, Purdue graduate Terry Schlotterback applied his knowledge and energies to the orthopedic device industry. When he retired in 2006, Terry was running Zimmer’s Spine and Trauma Division and had a wealth of industry experience under his belt. Exploring his options, he decided to join VisionTech Angels (then Stepstone Angels) despite no prior experience with angel investing.

“I wasn’t really sure what I was doing at first,” he said.

“I was attracted to the investment philosophy of an entire group looking at the same deal from different industry perspectives. I was also attracted to the fact that VisionTech Angels is based in Indiana and makes investing in Indiana startups a priority. After the success I’ve enjoyed with an Indiana-based global company (Zimmer), I wanted to give back to young companies,” he continued.

Part of his role as VisionTech Angels’ Warsaw chapter president is member recruitment, recognizing that the risks and rewards are not for everyone. Warsaw now has 15 members, including other former orthopedic industry executives. When meeting with prospective members, Terry is quick to offer three key pieces of advice.

“If you enjoy active investing and want to manage part of your portfolio, angel is investing is a great choice. If you enjoy serving as a business advisor to early stage companies, angel investing is for you. Finally, be prepared to lose your money. Angel investing is high risk, high reward, you must be prepared to lose your money. Angel investing is a numbers game, and you should not risk your retirement fund or any funds you can’t afford to lose.”

All angel-investing groups are not created equal in Terry’s eyes. Some are led by one or two individuals who make all of the decisions. This is not the case with VisionTech Angels.

“Oscar Moralez and Don Scifres—the group’s managing director and managing partner respectively—are facilitators and investors; they do not advise or recommend investments. We have members who are knowledgeable in software, health care and other industries, and we lean heavily on our members to vet deals. It increases investors’ confidence knowing many others in our investment group have reviewed the deals,” he explained.

Terry has invested in eight of VisionTech Angels’ portfolio companies, but has yet to have a successful exit. With only one failure, he is optimistic about his chances. “All of the deals I’m in are active and moving forward,” he said with optimism.

So what makes a startup company a good investment for #VisionTechAngels? Obviously, there’s a tremendous amount of due diligence involved. Our priority is Indiana-based companies; we also look for companies that are a good fit with our members and our knowledge base. When OrthoPediatrics approached us in 2009, they met all of our criteria—and more.

Headquartered in Warsaw, Indiana, OrthoPediatrics was founded in 2006 by Nick Deeter, a longtime orthopedic and medical device industry executive and entrepreneur, who recognized a significant unmet need in the specialized arena of orthopedic implants and surgical instrumentation for children. Quite simply, there was no company in the world offering solutions for children with long bone deformities, trauma and sports injuries, and other musculoskeletal conditions such as cerebral palsy.

In 2011, Mark Throdahl, former group president for global orthopedic company Zimmer, was appointed to lead OrthoPediatrics. It was a challenge Mark embraced.

Mark explains. “In the past —and even now—orthopedic surgeons would use adult implants and cut them down for children even though they are not anatomically appropriate. A child’s skeleton does not mature until the late teens. We saw a tremendous opportunity to give orthopedic surgeons the means to help children with painful and often life-altering conditions. It remains a tremendous motivation to succeed.”

Like other startups, OrthoPediatrics set about raising money in its hometown and succeeded in securing $13 million. But medical device companies are capital intensive, so the company approached VisionTech Angels in 2009. What happened next, explained Mark, put OrthoPediatrics on the road to success.

“There was great synergy between VisionTech Angels and OrthoPediatrics,” said Mark. “We got invaluable counsel from Steve Burns, the CEO of Wheaton Van Lines and from Oscar Moralez. Oscar and Terry Schlotterback, another angel with 30 years in the orthopedic device industry, joined our board of directors. VisionTech Angels invested $1.9 million over several rounds.”

The well-timed capital infusion helped OrthoPediatrics’s build its team, develop an unusually broad product offering and begin expanding internationally. The company now has 16 product systems that address pediatric trauma, scoliosis correction and sports medicine. Three more systems are nearing release. Forty percent of its business comes from outside of the United States. It has established a Surgeon Advisory Panel that has pediatric orthopedic surgeons from Australia, Europe, Latin America, and North America. Sales in 2014 will approach $30 million.

Mark, who spent one-third of his career working in Europe and Japan, marvels at the impact OrthoPediatrics is making. “I have never seen a business where foreign surgeons come to us demanding our products in their local markets. Our international growth has exceeded our expectations, and we find strong demand everywhere we go.”

OrthoPediatrics’ goal is to take the company public in a few years, but there’s work to be done before an exit. Meanwhile, OrthoPediatrics is VisionTech Angels’ largest portfolio company and continues to benefit from our group’s involvement. Mark is happy for the help.

“OrthoPediatrics is more than a financial deal. Participating in the cause of helping children is exciting and rewarding for our investors. How often do you get the opportunity to change the lives of children around the world?”

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., September 19, 2014 – – VisionTech Angels, the angel investing arm of VisionTech Partners, has named serial entrepreneur Christy Page president of its Bloomington angel investing chapter. Page is the first woman to lead a VisionTech Angel chapter. VisionTech Angels has five investor chapters—Indianapolis, Lafayette, Warsaw, a virtual chapter, and Bloomington—that support the state’s innovation economy by investing in promising startup and early stage companies.

Page succeeds Bloomington businessman Tony Armstrong as president of the Bloomington VisionTech Angels Chapter. President and CEO of Indiana Research & Technology Corporation, Armstrong has played a pivotal role in building a strong and active group of angel investors in Bloomington. His involvement in VisionTech Angels will continue.

Commenting on Page’s appointment, VisionTech Partners Managing Director Oscar Moralez said, “We are very pleased that Christy has agreed to lead our Bloomington angel investing chapter. We are looking to her to grow membership in Bloomington and create enthusiasm and traction for early stage investing in the southern part of the state. Her experience forming and leading successful businesses make her an invaluable asset to not just VisionTech Angels and our members, but to Indiana’s innovation community at large.”

A proven business leader, Page co-founded Option Six, Inc. an e-learning company in Bloomington that develops custom courseware for corporations, academic institutions and government agencies. The company won the IU Johnson Center for Entrepreneurships Growth 100 Award in 2003, was a MIRA awards finalist twice, and received the FUSE Bill and Gayle Cook Entrepreneurial Growth Award in 2007. Option Six was recognized as an Indiana Company to Watch in 2009 and sold to GP Strategies that same year. Option Six remains in Bloomington and employs approximately 130 people. For her efforts, Page received the Women and Hi Tech Leading Light award in 2004.

A graduate of Indiana University, Page began her career as director of information technology at the University of Iowa Foundation. While there, she helped launch Ascend Technologies, Inc., which marketed custom fundraising software developed at the Foundation. She now operates a consulting and e-learning business and teaches entrepreneurship at the Gayle and Bill Cook Center for Entrepreneurship, Ivy Tech Community College in Bloomington. She is president of Indiana University School of Informatics and Computing Alumni Board and a member of the School of Informatics Dean’s Advisory Board.

About VisionTech Angels

Founded in 2009, Vision Tech Angels is the angel-investing arm of VisionTech Partners, a privately held company focused on linking investors to high-potential early-stage companies. Headquartered in Indianapolis, one of the most vibrant innovation regions in the country, VisionTech Partners is where inventors, entrepreneurs, investors, universities, and strategic partners converge to share, develop, fund, and launch innovative technologies. Learn more at www.VisionTech-Partners.com.

Angel investment groups rely on their technology platforms to manage and share information between entrepreneurs and angel investors. This is particularly true for VisionTech Angels and our five chapters (Bloomington, Indianapolis, Lafayette, Warsaw, and our virtual chapter). As we’ve grown and assumed more of a leadership role in Indiana’s innovation ecosystem—note the recent success co-hosting The Innovation Showcase—communications among our members about deals, portfolio companies, events and other issues, has become increasingly important.

Last spring, VisionTech Angels launched a comprehensive search for a more robust technology platform that would lend itself to supporting our increased complexity as an angel group. The timing couldn’t be better. Several new technology platforms have recently entered the angel group space and offer a variety of tools and functionality to meet the needs of complex angel groups. After consulting with other angel groups, testing the functionality of two contender platforms, and interviewing the management of both companies to ensure financial stability and long-term viability as well as the security and functionality of their platforms, we decided to move to ProSeeder.

We are very excited to offer this new platform to our VisionTech Angel members as it matches our member needs and our operational processes more closely. We also appreciate the fact that it was co-developed with Golden Seeds, one of the largest angel groups in the country with more than 300 active investors. The system offers many benefits such as a more engaging dashboard, a full suite of communications features, the ability to thoroughly facilitate the end-to-end deal process, manage the investor accreditation process, and support portfolio management and reporting.

We are in the process of populating our new ProSeeder site with our portfolio companies, and will be using it immediately to send out meeting notices. VisionTech Angel members are also encouraged to jump on as soon as possible and create their investor profiles. ProSeeder is a more dynamic platform than our previous one and may require time for users to get comfortable using. ProSeeder has provided us with a very helpful quick start guide that we are happy to share with our members. It provides essential, easy-to-steps in setting up your account and navigating the system.

If you can’t tell, I am very excited about our new investment platform and eager for everyone to start using it. Ultimately, ProSeeder will enable our members to engage at a higher level with other VisionTech Angels and with entrepreneurs. And that’s a great thing!

 

INDIANAPOLIS, July 10, 2014 – The Innovation Showcase 2014 attracted nearly 850 attendees for the sixth annual event for entrepreneurs, investors and community supporters. The daylong event at the Dallara IndyCar Factory included investor education sessions presented by VisionTech Partners and IU Kelley School of Business, pitches and exhibits by Midwest-area startups, a keynote address by sport psychologist Dr. Rob. Bell, and a panel discussion focused on current investing trends.

The Innovation Showcase investor panel selected Cearna Aesthetics as the winner of the largest ever prize package, which included $128,000 in investment and professional services.  Cearna, a Chicago-based company, took home top honors by convincing investors of the market potential of their patented formula for reducing bruising, swelling, and pain related to cosmetic surgical procedures and common bruise-producing injuries.

The event was emceed by Inside Indiana Business creator and host Gerry Dick and included opening remarks by Indiana’s Lieutenant Governor Sue Ellspermann.

The featured attraction for the day was the pitch competition where 74 exhibiting companies were given 60 seconds each to convince investors in the audience that their companies are worthy of investment.

The stakes for this year’s competition were high, with the companies pitching for a prize package of $128,000 in investment and professional services including:

Workspace from Launch Fishers

Public Relations from BLASTmedia

Web Development from Foxio

Tax, CPA & Accounting services from Lehman’s Terms

Web Marketing from DK New Media

Venture Coaching from DeveloperTown

Branding from The Momentum Group

Custom Forms Software from Formstack (2 team plans, $6K value)

Legal Services from Faegre Baker Daniels

Presentation Coaching from Scientifically Speaking

Strategic Planning Services from ReachMore

Product Management Services from InnovateMap

Video Production from Neal Moore New Media

HR Services by Tilson HR

Herman Miller Aeron Chairs from OfficeWorks

The prize package also included $52,000 in investment via a convertible note from Indy-based investors Elevate Ventures, VisionTech Partners and HALO Investors Group.

About The Innovation Showcase

From its humble beginnings in 2009 at The Purdue Technology Center of Indianapolis, The Innovation Showcase has grown to become Indiana’s premier event for fundable companies to connect with capital sources. Originally created by the Venture Club of Indiana in 2009, The Innovation Showcase was enhanced with the addition of Verge in 2011 and VisionTech Partners in 2014, and now is known as the place to connect with the entrepreneurial energy in Indiana.

Innovation Showcase sponsors include: Purdue Foundry, Indiana University, Barnes & Thornburg LLP; Elevate Ventures, TechPoint; BioCrossroad,; IEDC, Halo Capital Group; Tilson HR, ISBDC, Launch Fishers; Launch Indiana, Venture Club of Indiana, Verge, and VisionTech Partners. More information at: www.theinnovationshowcase.com

About Cearna Aesthetics

Founded in 2010 by Dr. Josephine Polich, Cearna is engaged in the research, development and commercialization of surgery and trauma recovery products. Our mission is to help people recover from trauma more quickly by reducing bruising, swelling and pain.