VisionTech Partners

Author: Ben Pidgeon

  • Crops that Talk? Meet March 19th Pitch Presenter Kyle Mohler Whose Company, Insignum AgTech, Makes It Possible

    Crops that Talk? Meet March 19th Pitch Presenter Kyle Mohler Whose Company, Insignum AgTech, Makes It Possible

    Growing up in West Lafayette, I have “fond” memories of my summer job de-tasseling corn. This entailed waking up at the crack of dawn, walking through corn fields getting soaked by dew and cut by the corn stalk leaves, pulling off the tassels, and  finishing by 2 p.m. just as it was starting to get really hot—all for $300 a week. See how it’s done here.

    Corn came back into my life when I met Kyle Mohler, founder and CEO of Insignum AgTech, several years ago. He shared how his biotech company was developing genes that could solve some of ag’s biggest crop protection problems. The genes allow plants to “talk” with farmers about what ails them, so farmers can effectively treat their crops and avoid losses. The idea of “talking plants” caught my attention. Kyle is now preparing to commercially launch Insignum’s first product after meeting impressive milestones. It’s a unique investment opportunity and invite him to pitch to VisionTech investors on March 19. Here’s my preview.

    BP: How did you hear about VisionTech?
    KM: If you’re developing a startup in Indiana, you know VisionTech. Insignum AgTech has been in its R&D phase since 2020. Now that we’re moving into commercialization, the time is right to actively engage with your group.

    BP: What’s your experience in the agriculture industry?
    KM: How far back would you like me to go? (Laughs) I grew up on a farm outside of Lebanon, Indiana, that raised corn, soybeans, cattle, and pigs. I was a member of 4-H and FFA, and as an FFA project in my teens, I rented a field from a neighbor, rented equipment from my dad and raised my first corn crop. I’m sure they both gave me a deal to help steer me to a career in agriculture. It worked! I went on to earn a BS in Plant Biology at Purdue and a PhD in Plant Biochemistry at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. I followed up with post doc research stints at the University of Georgia and Purdue. 

    BP: What’s the back story on Insignum? 
    KM: I was doing research at Purdue for my post doc from 2015-2018 and looking at farmers’ crop protection strategies. About this time, Mohler Family Farms had just begun applying fungicides as a prophylactic. This of course was another input cost to already thin margins. I believed there was a better way to approach crop protection by engaging the plants themselves in the process. In a sense, having the plants “talk” to farmers when facing stresses like fungus, insect pests or lack of fertilizer.

    Without getting too deep in the science, I devised a way to leverage naturally occurring color genes in plants that are activated to fight disease. In many varieties, these genes have been switched off to ensure the corn or grapes or cabbage is green. But we reactivate the genes to do something new, to communicate at the earliest stage of stress.  For example, when corn is attacked by a fungus, purple spots appear on the leaves—kind of like real time sensors. With this information, farmers get both precision ag and decision ag. With Insignum, they can precisely treat when and where needed rather than arbitrarily treating an entire field. This has a positive impact on yields, input costs and the environment.

    Insignum’s patented gene system allows crops like corn to signal farmers at the very earliest stages of stress from fungus, insects, and infertility using color. Farmers can then treat accordingly.

    BP: Are there any negatives about using this type of genetically modified seeds?
    KM: No. We are leveraging existing genes and natural processes in the plant. We are not making artificial modifications. That’s a win for agriculture, consumers and the environment.

    BP: Is your gene technology limited to corn and fungus?
    KM: Not at all. The Insignum system can be applied to all crop categories such as row crops, vegetables and high-value crops like fruits, nuts, grapes and hops. While we started with fungus, we are developing genes that also detect and signal insect damage and infertility/lack of adequate fertilizer at early stages so farmers can react and treat accordingly. Insignum is definitely a gene technology platform.

    BP: What’s going to make farmers say, “I need this”?
    KM: Agriculture is full of uncertainty—droughts, floods, hurricanes, global tariffs—and involves a series of complex decisions to deliver profitability on every acre.  As operations become larger, every decision costs more for the farmer, the crop and the environment. Insignum gives farmers a powerful new tool that allows them to respond specifically and quickly to what their crop signals is threatening its health before typical symptoms appear. No more guesswork. This is a gamechanger.

    BP: Who are your customers, the seed companies or the farmers? 
    KM: Farmers are our end users. However, our business model involves licensing our gene—and ultimately genes—to seed companies. They will cross breed our genes with their seeds to deliver new value-added seeds with enhanced crop protection. This helps their customers achieve better outcomes and builds brand loyalty.

    BP: What are major milestones to date you’d like to share with VT investors? 
    KM: 2023 was a big year for us. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service approved the use of our gene quickly and without regulatory hurdles because we use genes naturally occurring in plants. This cleared the way for us to sign an agreement with Beck’s Hybrids to test Insignum’s corn traits in Beck’s elite varieties. This relationship has been very positive and we’re now in year three of testing with Beck’s.

    We recently signed an agreement with another top five seed company and will be testing with Keystone Cooperative, which supports farmers across Indiana, Michigan and Ohio.

    BP: Do you have IP protection?
    KM: Although our gene for fungus detection in corn is natural, it is novel. We have patented the platform to make plant sensors out of pieces of DNA that are naturally in the plant.

    BP: How have you funded Insignum to date?
    KM: We received non-dilutive funding and support from the Indiana Corn Growers Association last year. We’ve raised just over $2 million in dilutive funding from a farmer-led investment group in Iowa called Ag Ventures Alliance, Elevate Ventures, Purdue Ventures, and angel investors.

    BP: What investment round is this and what are your intended use of funds?
    KM: We are looking to raise a $2.5 million Seed Round. We will have a first in March. I’ll make sure there’s room for VisionTech.

    This round will be used to propel our commercialization efforts of our first gene and expanding our gene platform to include a new product and new plant species, likely canola. Corn is king in the Midwest, and canola is the premium crop for Canadian farmers. We’re currently recruiting a business development person as well as an agronomist for field trials and additional data scientists. 

    BP: Give me three reasons VisionTech investors should invest in Insignum AgTech.
    KM: First, it’s the right time to invest in the agriculture industry. The seed industry has consolidated and have cut R&D budgets. They are looking externally for innovation. Second, genes in agriculture are like pharmaceuticals in health care. A single gene can be worth a billion dollars. And we are creating a suite of genes. Finally, we are early in our development, so our valuation is low. It’s a good time to get in with Insignum AgTech.

    VisionTech’s Virtual Pitch Event on Wednesday, March 19 begins promptly at 12 noon ET. Plan to join me and Insignum AgTech Founder and CEO Kyle Mohler and fellow VisionTech investors. Please register here.

  • Join VisionTech for Breakfast with Ben February 20th

    Join VisionTech for Breakfast with Ben February 20th

    Breakfast with Ben Pidgeon, executive director of VisionTech, is always a fun networking event. But our next installment on Thursday, February 20 at 8 am at YOLK-Ironworks in Indianapolis is a big deal. Ben will be announcing the launch of:

    This totally new approach to deal flow and member engagement is designed to:

    • Help us create a stronger, more connected VisionTech community.
    • Identify high potential deals of most interest to VisionTech investors; and
    • Deliver to individual VisionTech investors curated opportunities aligned with their specific criteria.

    Plan to attend our first in-person networking event of 2025, Breakfast with Ben, on Thursday, February 20. The event is open to VisionTech member-investors, sponsors, portfolio companies, and those interested in joining our group. No RSVP required. Just show up and grab a seat!

    YOLK-Ironworks is located at 2727 E 86th St, Indianapolis, IN 46240-4394

  • A Cap Table Dilemma: Founders, Boards, and the Hard Call to Reset

    A Cap Table Dilemma: Founders, Boards, and the Hard Call to Reset

    Conversations around cap table resets have come up with more company founders than you might think over the last year.

    Here’s the situation: The company has raised capital from investors on terms reflecting the broader funding environment and are typically favorable to investors. Everyone aligns on a set of milestones, knowing that while they’re ambitious, they represent the company’s best path to increase valuation and attract future funding. Fast forward 18 months. The company has made meaningful progress, hitting some milestones, though not all.

    With the board’s approval, the founder starts conversations for the next fundraising round. But the feedback quickly turns from product and market strategy to cap table complexity. Some typical comments: “Your cap table is messy.” “Founders should hold more equity at this stage.”

    That’s when the dilemma sets in.

    There’s a strong temptation to “fix” the cap table proactively. That is, to align equity stakes with what new investors expect before the next round. It’s within the founder’s control to do so and seems like it could set up the next raise for success.

    But here’s the unpopular opinion: changing the cap table ahead of a funding round can be like a “Field of Dreams”—if you build it, they might come. The illusion is that a reset will make the company instantly more attractive, but without fresh capital or a value inflection point, it’s often just a cosmetic change.

    So what’s the path forward?

    Transparent Board-Driven Discussion. Before resetting equity, boards and founders should align on whether these changes genuinely impact the company’s ability to reach its next value milestone. If not, they risk sending mixed signals to investors.

    Timing Is Everything. The true value of a cap table reset often comes in tandem with a funding round, reinforcing both the new capital and the refreshed structure as a cohesive step toward growth.

    Clarity for Future Stakeholders. Rather than a field of dreams, investors want a clear path to ROI. Cap table structure should reflect the company’s growth story, not a rebalancing for the sake of optics. If a new investor wants to pursue an investment because they have conviction in the opportunity, they will work with the founder to create a solution concerning the cap table.

    Over the next 18 months, more founders and boards will face this choice: to simplify their cap table now or wait until new capital validates the reset. While the appeal of a clean cap table is undeniable, timing and strategy matter more than aesthetics.

    What would you do in this situation? Drop me a line at bpidgeon@visiontech-partners.com

    Ben Pidgeon is the executive director of VisionTech, a position he’s held since 2016. During this time, Ben has grown member in the angel investing group to 130+ members, the portfolio to 72 companies, and led VisionTech to nearly $4.3 million in deployed capital. Past president of the Venture Club of Indiana, serves on the board of directors for several early-growth companies and does speaking engagements on angel investing and startup capital.

  • Baby, It’s Cold Outside: VisionTech Announces Hot Pitch Lineup of NuvOx,  SinuSauna and NICKLpass

    Baby, It’s Cold Outside: VisionTech Announces Hot Pitch Lineup of NuvOx,  SinuSauna and NICKLpass

    Register now for virtual pitches January 10, 13 + 14!

    While some are still recovering from the holiday break and slogging through snow and ice, VisionTech has just announced a flurry of virtual pitch events set for the second week of January. On-deck for a shot at capital are current portfolio company NuvOx Therapeutics and two newcomers, SinuSauna and NICKLpass. (Dates, times, previews and registration info below.)

    All three presenting company CEOs will get a full hour to pitch in a live, virtual format that gives VisionTech investors from across Indiana and the country to interact with the CEOs and get an insider’s look at the opportunity. VisionTech Executive Director Ben Pidgeon tested the single company pitch event format in 2024 and made the decision to go to it fulltime in 2025.

    “Having more time for investors to really dive in and ask questions of the CEOs following the formal presentation is a huge benefit,” Pidgeon says. “Our investors want to go beyond the pitch deck and uncover compelling reasons to invest in early growth companies. The single pitch company format does that.”

    VisionTech virtual pitch events are open to member-investors and pre-registered guests. Pidgeon encourages those interested in potentially joining VisionTech’s vibrant angel network to experience a pitch event firsthand. Guests may register by contacting Pidgeon. “As one of the Midwest’s most active angel groups, our deal flow, due diligence process, and opportunities are second to none.”

    Here is VisionTech’s January Virtual Pitch Lineup:

    NuvOx Therapeutics
    Rong Wang, CEO + President
    Friday, January 10, 9 a.m. ET
    Website

    A VisionTech portfolio company since 2023, NuvOx returns for a follow-on round. The clinical stage pharmaceutical company has developed first-in-class oxygen therapeutics and is currently raising a $7 million round in two tranches. The first tranche of $3 million will support three active clinical trials: two Phase IIb trials (glioblastoma and stroke) and a Phase Ib (respiratory distress). NuvOx has already successfully completed two Phase IIa trials in Glioblastoma and stroke.

    NuvOx’s lead therapeutic, NanO₂, has a unique mechanism of action that improves the flow of oxygen from lungs to blood and from blood to tissue. Over 30 animal studies have shown therapeutic effect in seven different indications where hypoxia is life threatening. This includes acute hypoxemic respiratory failure, traumatic brain injury, myocardial infarction (heart attack), and hemorrhagic shock.

    NuvOx was co-founded by serial entrepreneur Evan Unger, MD, a board-certified radiologist and Professor Emeritus of Medical Imaging at the University of Arizona. His first biotech company, ImaRx Pharmaceutical, developed three FDA-approved drugs and was acquired by DuPont. His second company, ImaRx Therapeutics, went public. NuvOx’s has a highly experienced leadership team. Learn more.

    SinuSauna
    Nancy Wright, CEO
    Monday, January 13, 12 noon ET
    Website

    SinuSauna is the first respiratory wellness solution invented by physicians that uses the power of heated dry air therapy to counter nasal congestion. Backed by clinical studies that support the benefits of heated, dry air to proactively limit germs before they build up, SinaSauna is a soothing, effective alternative to nasal irrigation products. Users enjoy nasal wellness benefits without drugs, chemicals, mess, and discomfort.

    SinuSauna is the first commercially available product of Respiratory Health Technologies, launched with the support  of Boomerang Ventures, an Indianapolis-based venture fund and studio. The product is available now on Amazon and is generating revenue. SinuSauna seeks to raise $140,000 that remains in a $700,000 pre-seed round to accelerate commercialization.

    NICKLpass
    Sumorwuo Zaza, CEO
    Tuesday, January 14, 12 noon
    Website

    Companies and their teams rely on news sites to stay on top of breaking news and critical trends. The challenge is most news sites require subscriptions, which can be cost prohibitive. There are very few tech-enabled ways for companies to purchase and manage enterprisewide subscriptions. NICKLpass is the solution, a digital platform that provides access to 100-plus (and growing) paid news subscriptions in one account with one login and without passwords or paywalls for an entire team. The savings are significant: up to 50% off retail subscriptions.

    NICKLpass’s client list is impressive and includes Ford, Microsoft, and VISA where senior executives are active users. Its leadership and advisory teams have deep media and technology experience from places like HuffPost, CNN, Thomson Reuters, Google, CBS, iHeartRadio, and The New York Times. The board includes the founder of women.com which IPO’d and was sold to Hearst.

     NICKLpass is raising $1.25 million primarily for business development and ongoing product development. The goal is to break even by mid 2025 and fund company continued growth through earnings or a Series A.

    Registration is required to attend any or all of VisionTech’s January virtual pitch events and digitally meet the CEOs. VisionTech member-investors should email thensley@visiontech-partners.com to register. Guests should reach out to bpidgeon@visiontech-partners.com

  • Check Out VisionTech’s Holiday Roundup of Portfolio Company News

    Check Out VisionTech’s Holiday Roundup of Portfolio Company News

    Despite the headwinds of a presidential election year, a poor economy and high interest rates, 2024 has been a busy year for VisionTechportfolio company, many of which have continued to make measurable progress. VisionTech member-investors have also demonstrated resilience and enthusiasm, completely multiple follow-on rounds with our portfolio companies. As we close out the year and into “Santa Season,” we’re gifting you with a roundup of updates encompassing news from September-November. Keep in mind, we still have one month to go in 2024. We may have more big news soon!

    PORTFOLIO COMPANY NEWS 

    ADIPO THERAPEUTICS

    Indianapolis-based biotech startup Adipo Therapeutics presented scientific data in June at the American Diabetes Association Scientific Sessionin Orlando that demonstrated that their lead asset, ADPO-002NP, can effectively “brown” white adipose tissue in humans. Studies with white adipose tissue from patients undergoing bariatric surgery have shown the expression and up-regulation of two key biomarkers in the process of mitochondrial biogenesis (browning of white adipose tissue,) which has the potential to increase energy expenditure or calories burned. 

    Adipo welcomed two new team members this fall. Marco Verwijs, PhD, is a senior CMC advisor for Adipo and has over 18 years of product development and manufacturing experience. He has a passion for bringing meaningful drugs to patients and has worked on multiple commercial products, leading them from clinical product development through NDA filing and commercial launch. He joins Adipo from Aerovate Therapeutics, where he served as chief technical officer responsible for developing and manufacturing its drug-device product for pulmonary delivery. He has also worked at Vertex, Flexion Therapeutics, and Epizyme. 
     
    Sumitra Ghate joined Adipo as vice president of Product Development and Global Regulatory Affairs. She has nearly 30 years of experience in drug development across both large pharma and emerging biotech firms. Sumitra spent almost two decades at Eli Lilly in Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls (CMC) and Regulatory Affairs. Much of her time was spent advancing diabetes therapies. Notably, she played a pivotal regulatory lead role in the development and submission of the market application for Trulicity (GLP-1 analog), as well as leading submissions across the insulin portfolio. 

    AKADEUM LIFE SCIENCES

    Akadeum Is closing out 2024 with solid progress. Akadeum, which has developed a patent-protected flotation-based separation platform that is revolutionizing biotech workflows across cell therapy, research, diagnostic, and therapeutic markets, continues to make progress. The Ann Arbor, Michigan-based company currently has two demo units of its AlerionTM Microbubble Cell Separation System in the field with cell therapy customers who are either looking to use Akadeum products in process development or in active clinical trials. The Alerion instrument will be commercially launched in Q1 2025. 
     
    CEO Brandon McNaughton reports demand for the Alerion instrument is growing, with multiple users interested in integrating it into upcoming clinical trials. Additionally, Akadium has received continued market validation of its industry-first ability to isolate untouched T cells at scale. It successfully completed its first customer GMP audit. Akadeum has also identified FDA-registered, third-party manufacturing sites ready to help scale the company’s product line. Kits are currently available for cell therapy, purification, culture cleanup, and small-scale immunology research. Akadeum is actively collaborating with federal and corporate partners. Inquiries should be directed here.

    AMPLIFIED SCIENCES

    Amplified Sciences’ lead diagnostic test, PanCystPro, received regulatory clearance in its CLIA certified lab in late July, a major milestone. Congratulations to the Amplified Sciences team and to Jessica Alvarez who led the assay validation efforts with partners at ResearchDX. The company is now shifting focus to the commercialization of the PanCystPro test. This includes navigating the gauntlet to Medicare reimbursement, a pivotal clinical utility trial, and providing PanCystPro to a targeted number of clinicians and patients through an Early Access Program in early 2025. 
     
    CEO Diana Caldwell reported several more recent wins. Amplified Sciences has delivered a second assay, PanHGLG, to further risk stratify patients diagnosed with pancreatic cystic lesions. The assay was able to accurately grade the level of dysplasia as demonstrated in a multi-analyte assay in a diverse cohort of 70 patients. The company has submitted two NIH-NCI grants totaling over $3.4M in potential awards.

    The company has earned well-deserved recognition this year. It won the Innovation Showcase’s Pitch Competition’s Life Sciences Division in June, an honor that came with $10,000 in cash and a $25,000 investment from Elevate Ventures. In September, Amplified Sciences took first place in the RESI Innovators Pitch Challenge and Judges Pick in Boston. 

    Amplified Sciences has added tremendous bench strength to its team with the additions of (L-R) Mike Poderycki, PhD, Director of Research and Technology; Daniel Beck, PhD, Senior Scientist in Chemistry; and Kaitlyn Varela, PhD, Post Doctoral Associate. Poderycki and Beck have nearly 30 years of combined industry and research experience. Varela is launching her career with Amplified. Congratulations  to all!

    AUGMENT THERAPY

    Augment Therapy has teamed up with Niantic, Inc., creators of hit augmented reality games like Pokémon GO and Peridot. The collaboration aims to elevate rehabilitative care by integrating the beloved Peridot virtual pets into the realm of physical rehabilitation, focusing on both pediatric and geriatric care. Patients will engage with their virtual “Dots” within Augment Therapy’s ARWell apps by performing therapeutic movements like throwing, brushing, and walking that are designed to improve mobility and well-being. 
    Augment Therapy will pilot Peridot-inspired experiences in clinical settings, encouraging patients to stay active and adhere to their therapy programs. The company also plans to conduct multi-phased research to measure how these digital companions can enhance patient motivation and performance. The partnership opens up endless possibilities for improving rehabilitation outcomes in fun, engaging ways.

    Asim Ahmed, Global Product Marketing Lead for Niantic, said, “We’re impressed by Augment Therapy’s success in using augmented reality for physical rehabilitation. Together, we’re excited to create engaging therapeutic experiences within the Peridot franchise that transform recovery into a playful journey, enhancing motivation, and making therapy more enjoyable for patients of all ages.” 

    Early this fall, Augment Therapy traveled to New York City to participate in the National Down Syndrome Society’s Buddy Walk. CEO Lindsay Watson and her team performed more than 50 live demonstrations of their ARWell app with participants as young as two years old. Check out the fun here. They also shared their software with Kate Eberle Walker, CEO of Presence, a leading provider of teletherapy services to some 10,000 schools and 2,000 therapists. This led to meaningful conversations on the benefits Augment Therapy could bring to the Presence network, particularly in improving therapy engagement for students with special needs. Augment Therapy also met with members of the Sesame Street Workshop, with whom they have a partnership. Augment Therapy has been a VisionTech portfolio company since 2021.

    ELEVATE K-12

    Piyush Lumba was named CEO of Elevate K-12 on September 18, 2024.  Prior to joining Elevate K-12 in 2022, Lumba served in executive leadership roles at Microsoft, Amazon, and CommerceIQ. Founder and former CEO Shailey Baranwal will continue as Chair of the Board and Chief Learning Officer, focusing on advancing the category of LIVE teaching, forming strategic partnerships, and gathering insights from districts, teachers, and students to help enhance the company’s solutions. Elevate K-12 joined the VisionTech portfolio in 2018. 

    ONSTATION

    OnStation hosted its first in-person OnStation Nation on October 1. For the past two years, this was a virtual event and featured OnStation team members only. In 2024, five customers and two prospects traveled to Cleveland for two days of conversation around what they like, want improved, or added to the collaborative digital stationing platform for  highway construction projects. OnStation received valuable input for its product roadmap and gathered use case stories. Those in attendance felt the passion of the OnStation team, and asked if they can come back to next year’s OnStation Nation. One more bonus of the event: CEO Patrick Russo reports that six-figure proposals were written for both prospects and have a strong likelihood of closing. 

    FLYTE BY PELVITAL

    Effective October 1, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) granted PelVital’s Flyte device for treating female stress urinary incontinence a new HCPCS code. PelVital has also received confirmation from Minnesota Medicaid that they are moving Flyte’s HCPCS code from non-covered to covered with prior authorization. This is a significant win for multiple reasons. First, it is the first positive reimbursement policy from a non-Veterans Administration payer. Second, it enables PelVital to drive Medicaid prescriptions in Minnesota. And third, it establishes a precedent to use with other payers in Minnesota as well as other state Medicaid agencies. 

    Flyte, the only at-home therapy of its kind that offers users surgical level results without surgery, has begun shipping its Gen 1.5 device that now includes an app. This upgrade allows the capture of users’ outcome data, supporting clinical care. Flyte users as well as those considering the device also receive expert support from licensed physical therapists to answer questions and ensure proper use.

    HEALIONICS

    Healionics has received the FDA’s Breakthrough Device designation for its innovative STARgraft vascular graft. The STARgraft arteriovenous graft is intended to provide a safer, more reliable means of dialysis access in patients with kidney failure. The FDA’s Breakthrough Devices Program aims to identify important new medical devices that provide more effective treatment of life-threatening and irreversibly debilitating conditions. The Program fast-tracks FDA regulatory review in order to provide timely access for patients and healthcare providers. Healionics’ Breakthrough Device designation signifies FDA acknowledgment that STARgraft clinical outcomes show evidence of significant advantages over current alternatives for dialysis access. The benefits of receiving Breakthrough Device designation include expedited interactions with FDA regarding market clearance and with Medicare regarding potential added reimbursement for healthcare providers.

    “FDA recognition of STARgraft’s potential to significantly improve the standard of care and quality of life for dialysis patients is a major company milestone and validation of our team’s efforts,” said Healionics CEO Mike Connolly. Read press release here.

    In August, Healionics announced that all patients in its current clinical trial of STARgraft had reached the 12-month endpoint with excellent results. The 12-patient cohort implanted with the current version of STARgraft maintained 100% primary unassisted patency through 12 months post-implant, meaning zero interventions were required to maintain sufficient blood flow for dialysis therapy. A zero-infection rate was also achieved. These results are for a limited number of patients, but far exceed the performance of on-market grafts as reported in historical literature and as observed for the Gore-Tex graft control arm of our first clinical trial. The results were recently presented by Dr. John Ross at a major clinical conference, Controversies in Dialysis Access Symposium. Healionics continues to follow patients in this trial, and median duration of functioning implants is now more than 19 months.
     
    HOW’S MOM

    In January 2024, Matt Prasek became CEO of Howe’s Mom and made significant changes to the company’s market strategy to better align with customers’ needs. This included doubling pricing and opening new avenues for growth. One of these is a partnership with Midwest Insurance Group (MIG) established in March. This agreement covers the cost of the How’s Mom Platform automated communications for all 500 senior care facilities insured by MIG. The partnership has contributed to a 56% increase in How’s Mom’s growth resulting in a doubling of annual recurring revenue in just six months. Prasek says the company’s focus for the remainder of the year is to continue success with MIG and scale this model to other carriers to achieve faster growth. 

    LAXIS

    Laxis has introduced OSO: The AI-powered earbud revolutionizing conversations. OSO is an AI-powered personal assistant that is designed to capture, transcribe, and summarize conversations effortlessly. Powered by Laxis AI, OSO records in-person discussions, phone calls, and virtual meetings, generating real-time transcriptions and summaries in 50+ languages. With seamless integration across platforms like Zoom, Google Meet, Teams, Hubspot, and Salesforce, OSO gives users’ productivity a serious upgrade.View promotional video here. 

    Laxis will be exhibiting its AI-powered sales automation solution  at CES, the most powerful tech event in the world, January 7-10, 2025, in Las Vegas. It is the premier show for introducing hot tech, making deals and connections. Additionally, Forbes recently published an article submitted by Laxis that explores how AI is transforming the sales landscape. Read it here.

    MENTAVI HEALTH

    Mentavi Health, a provider of mental health diagnosis and treatment, has introduced a new affordable offering aimed at helping individuals proactively steward their mental wellness. The Mentavi Mental Wellness Snapshot is a tool that provides a quick, accessible gauge of a person’s mental wellness. It takes about 20 minutes to complete and costs $29.99, with the option for employers to cover the cost for employees. The assessment provides a Mental Wellness Score of Green Zone (all is well), Yellow Zone (consider some proactive actions), and Red (seek further specialist help). The Wellness Score includes detailed breakdowns across various conditions such as anxiety, depression, PTSD, dementia warning signs, ADHD, and loneliness. These results can help determine if a comprehensive diagnostic evaluation and treatment are needed. Contact Corey Hart for more information. Mentavi Health (ADHD Online) joined the VisionTech portfolio in 2023.

    NUVOX

    NuvOx Co-founder, Dr. Evan Unger, won the 2024 Harry Fischer Award for Excellence in Contrast Media Research (CMR). The award recognizes Unger’s exceptional contributions to the field of contrast media research. A commemorative medal was conferred at the annual CMR meeting in October in Oslo, Norway, in early October. Unger, executive chairman of Nuvox Therapeutics, has been at the forefront of ultrasound contrast agent development since 1994. He pioneered the best-selling microbubble contrast agent, Perflutren, and continues to innovate at NuvOx by applying his expertise in microbubble technology to develop nanobubbles for oxygen delivery, the basis of NuvOx’s product, NanO2TM.
     
    Commenting on behalf of CMR, Dr. Jeff Bulte, a professor of Radiology and director of Cellular Imaging at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, said,  “This award honors a long-term track record of outstanding research that has significantly shaped the field of contrast media. Specifically, Dr. Unger is recognized for his work toward the creation, thorough characterization, and demonstration of the feasibility of ultrasound contrast agents in clinical practice.”

    FLYTE BY PELVITAL

    PelVital is capitalizing on growth opportunities within the Veterans Administration (VA). Sales of the Flyte device for female urinary incontinence within VA health centers rose by 10% in September over August. In that same time period, the number of contracted VA Centers rose 17% with 27 centers contracted. PelVital CEO Lydia Zeller says the VA represents a significant growth opportunity as it operates a total of 160 health centers across the United States. PelVital has broadened its prescriber base beyond OB/GYNs to include Primary Care/Family Medicine physicians and nurse practitioners, a move that will increase access to the Flyte device and grow sales.

    ONSTATION

    OnStation has welcomed a former Montana DOT official, Mack Long, as a strategic advisor. Long is responsible for guiding relationships with public sector officials, research and grant funding. Long has 30 years of industry experience, including serving as director of the Montana Department of Transportation. Long also chaired the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials’ Construction Committee. Learn more here.

    TRIO LABS

    Trio Labs sees more growth from commercial production.The company, which combines the speed of metal additive manufacturing with the precision of CNC machining to create complex, microscale parts, is seeing more growth from customers transitioning from prototypes to in-market production and from those in full scale production. Trio Labs CEO Adam Steege reports that third quarter revenue exceeded the company’s target by 5% despite anticipated seasonal slowdowns. Trio Labs has also made progress in adding production capacity to meet customer demand. It recently qualified a strategic partner to bolster capacity and supply security.

    SCALE COMPUTING

    Scale Computing was named in Gartner® Hype Cycle™ for Data Center Infrastructure Technologies this year. A market leader in edge computing, virtualization and hyperconverged solutions, Scale Computing announced on September 18 it was recognized as a Sample Vendor in the 2024 Gartner® Hype Cycle™ for Data Center Infrastructure Technologies. Commenting on the news, CEO and Co-founder Jeff Ready said, “Scale Computing has long been dedicated to developing innovative solutions that empower businesses to meet their goals in an increasingly complex IT environment.” Read the release here. Scale Computing joined the VisionTech portfolio in 2015.

    SPINTECH HOLDINGS

    SpinTech has added two to its Board Directors. VisionTech is pleased to announce that VisionTech member-investor Gail Rominger has joined the Board of Directors of SpinTech Holdings. Rominger is president of Rominger Consulting and has more than 30 years of experience in business development. In addition to VisionTech, she is an active mentor, investor, and founder of Dayton, Ohio, area startups. Brian Schafer, managing director of McKenna & Associates, has also joined the SpinTech Board. McKenna is a fast-growing advisory and investment firm that manages complex mergers and assists on government arbitrage efforts for Fortune 500 companies and high-net-worth individuals. Schafer also served more than 25 years in the U.S. Air Force, including time as an F-15 fighter pilot.

    3AWARE

    Congratulations to CEO Bill Moss and the 3Aware team on becoming VisionTech’s newest portfolio company. Twenty-two VisionTech investors wrote checks totaling $145,500 in the deal. Headquartered in Indianapolis, 3Aware has a first of its kind, real-time software surveillance platform, aiSurveillance™, for the post-market life cycle of medical devices. Moss originally pitched VisionTech August 31, 2024.

    WICKED TECHNOLOGIES

    Wicked Technologies continues to meet key milestones in commercializing its Wicked Smart Pad. Designed to combat moisture-related bed sores in seniors, the Wicked Smart Pad is a washable, reusable, sensorized bed pad that detects moisture in real-time and sends alerts to caregivers for quicker response to incontinence events. According to CEO Alli Truttmann, the company is hitting its regulatory pathway target with FDA registration. Wicked Technologies does not need FDA approval as a 510(k) exempt device, just a registration once its Quality Management System is complete. The company’s in-house manufacturing success rate is 98.6% on pads and 97% on modules/software. Additional pad connector modifications are underway to increase durability when laundering the pads. On the sales side, in early October Wicked Technologies successfully installed 23 paying beds at Atria Senior Living’s flagship luxury senior living residence, Coterie, in Hudson Yards, New York.

    ZIVE

    Zive, the creator of Kiwi for Gmail, was invited to participate in the Google Growth Accelerator Program. The accelerator has given Zive direct access to Google marketing experts who have been working alongside the Zive team to refine its marketing approach. Under Google’s guidance, Zive has created new content, targeted new demographics, and explored new pathways to revenue by hitting new keywords. Customer conversion tracking has also been optimized. As a result of these efforts, Zive has increased its marketing spend-to-return ratio from $1.35 to $1.49 in which every dollar spent on ads returns $1.49 in sales. A Q1 marketing blitz is planned to start 2025 strong. See how Kiwi enhances users’ Gmail and office suite experience in this video.

    CLOSED ROUNDS

    Adipo Therapeutics Secures New VisionTech Funding
    VisionTech investors, who wrote checks totaling $242,000 to Adipo Therapeutics in April 2023, invested another $166,000 in early November. VisionTech’s total investment now stands at $408,000. Indiana-based Adipo is advancing a novel treatment to fight the global obesity epidemic. Adipo’s Series A Equity round seeks to raise between $6M and $12M.

    GEOH Closes Seed Plus Round at $3M; Focused on Putting Funds to Work
    GEOH, whose user-friendly software platform is tailored to meet the complex needs of home health agency owners, closed its $3M Seed Plus Round at the end of June. Under the leadership of CEO Tom Bumgardner and CFO David Gunn, GEOH has achieved a 260% increase in year-over-year revenue growth. Proceeds from the round are directed to sales and marketing, expanding geographic footprint, and a hiring business development leader. GEOH became a VisionTech portfolio company in 2022.

    iCHOR Vascular Closed $6 Million Series A Round. 
    iCHOR oversubscribed its Series A Round by $1 million that closed this summer. Queen City Angels led the round with participation from VisionTech and other investors. iCHOR, guided by CEO Tim Blair, is commercializing a platform technology for opening vascular occlusions (blood clots). iCHOR’s first device recently received 510(k) market clearance from the FDA and will be commercially available in October 2024. iCHOR became a VisionTech portfolio company in 2024.

    1LogTech Successfully Closes Round with VisionTech Investors.
    On Monday, October 21, VisionTech closed its round with 1LogTech. Twenty-one VisionTech investors wrote checks totaling $132,500 to the group’s newest portfolio company. Led by CEO JP Wiggins,1LogTech is providing the first transportation-focused integration platform as a service (iPaaS) enabling shippers to self-deploy and maintain carrier integrations. Wiggins originally pitched VisionTech in May 2024.

    OnStation Closes $8.5 million Series A Round in June, Nabs Award.
    Congratulations to CEO Patrick Russo and OnStation team! The round was led by Hardik DeSai and JumpStart Ventures. VisionTech participated, with 37 investors contributing $467,000. VisionTech has invested $1.27 million over three rounds since 2021 when OnStation became a portfolio company. In early September, OnStation was selected as a winner of the Ohio Venture Pipeline All-Star Class of 2024. The award recognized OnStation’s success in closing its Series A round as well as strong growth. 

    Pelvital Closes $1.5 Million Series Seed Plus Round.
    Pelvital CEO Lydia Zeller reported strong demand for Pelvital’s Series Seed Plus financing round, which closed fully subscribed in early September at the maximum authorized amount of $1.5 million. Pelvital is commercializing Flyte, the only at-home, intra-vaginal device that treats stress urinary incontinence in women. Pelvital became a VisionTech portfolio company in 2023. Stay tuned for updates on commercialization of the Flyte device in October.

    Wicked Technologies Led by CEO Alli Truttman Closes Second Round with VisionTech.
    Wicked Technologies CEO Alli Truttmann first pitched VisionTech in October 2023, becoming a portfolio company in early 2024 with an investment of $281,000. Truttmann presented a follow-on round opportunity in October and secured another $100,000 from 15 investors. To date, 35 unique VisionTech investors have ante upped $381,000 to support commercialization of the sensorized Wicked Smart Pad, which is solving the issue of moisture-related bed sores in the elderly.

    OPEN ROUNDS AS OF DECEMBER 1

    HAPPE Spine Led by Interim CEO and Co-Founder Dr. Ryan Roeder Is Raising a $1.5M Bridge Round. 
    Roughly 18 months after FDA clearance, early-growth startup HAPPE Spine’s progress is impressive. Some 30 surgeons across the U.S. have implanted more than 700 INTEGRATE-C Interbody Fusion Cages in 300+ patients with cervical disc degeneration with positive outcomes. HAPPE is looking to expand its patented material and manufacturing platform to  other orthopedic applications. This round will close soon. 

    Nuvox Therapeutics Led by CEO Dr. Evan Unger Is Raising $7M to Complete Three Active Clinical Trials.
    This round is intended to mitigate any risks for completing three clinical trials: Phase IIb trials in gioblastoma and stroke and a Phase Ib in ARDS. The raise includes two tranches, with a first tranche of $3M. This will extend Nuvox’s runway on its trials. The company is pursuing non-dilutive funding through the National Cancer Institute and has two grants under consideration. 

    Scioto Biosciences Led by CFO and Founder Jim Schutz, Is Raising a $750K Bridge Round.
    A VisionTech portfolio company since 2018, Scioto Biosciences is developing the next generation of formulated live bacterial therapeutics leveraging the gut-brain axis to optimize microbiome delivery to benefit children and adults with autism and GI disorders. Studies of autistic children treated with Scioto’s therapeutic are promising.

    Seneca Therapeutics Is Raising a $10M Round.
    A VisionTech portfolio company since 2021, Seneca Therapeutics led by CEO Jim Hussey is developing revolutionary immunotherapeutic candidates to provide advanced targeted treatments for solid cancer tumors. A final capital call is expected in December.

    We hope you have enjoyed this isionTech portfolio company news round up. If you have questions about these companies or are interested in joining VisionTech as a member-investor, please reach out to Executive Director Ben Pidgeon. Find his contact information here. If you’re interested in pitching our group, learn more here.

  • Meet October 21st Pitch Presenter Dr. Ryan K. Roeder, CEO of HAPPE Spine

    Meet October 21st Pitch Presenter Dr. Ryan K. Roeder, CEO of HAPPE Spine

    I originally learned of HAPPE Spine in September 2023 when the co-founder and CTO Dr. Ryan K. Roeder was profiled by the Notre Dame IDEA Center. (Read it here.) Ryan’s INTEGRATE®-C spinal fusion cage had recently been implanted in the first patient, offering significant advantages over traditional devices. Fast forward to this year’s RALLY hosted by Elevate Ventures where I met Ryan in person. He shared that HAPPE Spine’s INTEGRATE-C device has since been implanted in 250 patients, with promising results. I invited Ryan to present to the VisionTech Screening Committee and they fast-tracked HAPPE Spine to pitch to VisionTech Angels investors on Monday, October 21st at 12 noon ET. Please read my conversation with Ryan and make plans to participate in HAPPE Spine’s virtual pitch. 

    BP: Tell us a little about your background.
    RR: I grew up on a family farm in Bremen, Indiana. My initial thoughts of studying mechanical engineering at Purdue changed when I discovered materials engineering, which applies chemistry and physics to design and create materials for all types of technology. I was given opportunity as an undergraduate to do research and realized I liked the independence of working in a research lab and exploring new ideas, so I earned a PhD in materials engineering from Purdue. I then did a post-doctoral research fellowship at IUPUI’s Department of Orthopedic Surgery and then accepted a faculty position at Notre Dame in 2001. So I’ve covered the three major universities in the great state of Indiana! 

    BP: People don’t normally equate Notre Dame with medical devices. Explain the connection.
    RR: Of course nationally most people think of football when they think of Notre Dame. What attracted me was the university’s commitment to growing the engineering and research programs. I’ve been at Notre Dame 24 years during which time research expenditures have grown by more than five-fold. During my first decade at Notre Dame, my research lab was focused on studying bone and biomaterials that integrate with bone and even act like bone. HAPPE’s core technology came out of that research more than 15 years ago. 

    BP: Explain the problem you are solving.
    RR:  Nearly all orthopedic implants have at least one component that needs to interface with living bone. These implants or components are primarily made from two materials – a metal (titanium) or a plastic called PEEK – which are both flawed. Titanium implants support bone growth along surfaces and recent advances in 3D printing allow the production of porous titanium implants that support bone ingrowth. However, the rigidity of titanium shields bone from mechanical loads that stimulate bone growth, and the metal’s density inhibits imaging, making it impossible for physicians to get an unobstructed assessment of healing and fusion post-operatively. PEEK implants allow clear radiographic imaging and transmit mechanical loads to bone, but bone does not like PEEK surfaces. Surgeons have to decide between two non-ideal solutions. 

    HAPPE is an acronym for HydroxyApatite Porous PolyEtheretherketone. Our secret sauce is that this platform addresses the deficiency of PEEK in a way unlike anything on the market. We have modified PEEK to integrate with bone. We added porosity to draw blood and other autologous factors into the implant to promote rapid healing and bone in-growth. We also added hydroxyapatite, which is the same mineral found in bone, into the PEEK such that it is exposed on all material surfaces to promote cell signaling and bone on-growth. Once placed in a patient, the implant looks and acts more like bone. HAPPE also allows clear post-operative imaging of both the implant and new bone growth. This part of our value proposition has become even more important with the rise of AI and data analytics, which require quality imaging data. With our biomaterial platform, physicians are able to assess patient outcomes with much greater clarity.

    BP: Why is your device the right solution?
    RR: The HAPPE INTEGRATE®-C interbody spinal fusion cage is a device that acts as a spacer in the disc space to re-establish proper disk height and spinal alignment. These devices are intended to encourage bone to grow between adjacent vertebrae and fuse them together. We chose this market for our initial product launch because the tradeoffs between PEEK and titanium are acute, and poor outcomes in multilevel fusions provide an opportunity to show improved outcomes with our product. 

    BP: Where are you in terms of commercialization?
    RR: We have been very strategic and methodical in our commercialization efforts, focusing on key influential adopters and serving only a few markets. Our number one focus in commercialization is to validate the efficacy of our platform through clinical studies. This is a large part of this funding round.

    In May 2023, we received FDA clearance. Dr. Stephen Smith performed our first clinical case with the INTEGRATE®-C in August 2023, at Beacon Health in South Bend. Thanks to our 28 early adopter surgeons across the country, more than 500 INTEGRATE®-C spinal fusion cages have been implanted in more than 250 patients, with up to a year of patient follow-up.

    BP: What has the reaction been from orthopedic surgeons? 
    RR: Clinical outcomes have been uniformly excellent on post-operative follow-up. Several surgeons have described three- and six-month post-operative images of bone healing as the best they have ever seen. We are seeing robust fusion even among patients that present challenges due to osteoporosis, diabetes, and heavy smoking or drinking. Dr. Smith says our device is the closest equivalent to a fusion with allograft (actual bone tissue) that he’s ever seen from a synthetic product.

    BP: Any feedback from patients?
    RR: As a company we don’t have direct patient interaction, but we do hear stories from our physicians. Our very first patient told her doctor at her three-month follow-up that she didn’t need to see him anymore. Her pain was gone. A farmer with severe spinal cord compression was treated with a challenging four-level fusion (four HAPPE implants) and returned to work in six months. 

    BP: Is this a platform technology? 
    RR: This is very much a platform technology. The material and manufacturing process are proprietary. This combined with the healing environment that HAPPE promotes and visibility in radiographs opens the doors to additional applications in the spine, as well as sports medicine, extremities and trauma. I will mention these and show examples in my pitch.

    BP: What is the market opportunity?
    RR: Our initial market entry has potential to capture $60 million within the total spine interbody fusion market of $2.5 billion. When you consider bone interfacing components across all orthopedic implants, we have a total addressable market of approximately $10 billion.

    BP: Any competitors?
    RR: HAPPE Spine is first to market with this technology and to protect our position, we have built a deep patent portfolio—ten active and six pending. We have three patent families that protect our material, our manufacturing process and our products.

    BP: Right now, you’re serving as interim CEO. Can you comment on that and on your board?
    RR: Prior to our FDA clearance, we hired a part-time CEO with extensive product launch experience to lead us through that process. After nearly a year, he resigned for personal reasons. I am currently CEO. We anticipate filling the position by the end of 2025. In the meantime, our board of directors includes a wealth of executive leadership talent with a CEO, COO, and former CEO/CFO.  They all have experience in medical devices and orthopedics.

    BP: What investment round is this?
    RR: This is a bridge round to take us through the next 12 months of continued clinical validation and into a presumed Series B round.

    BP: What is your planned use of funds?
    RR: We have three priorities. First, ongoing clinical validation that includes achieving a milestone of 1,000 successful cases, demonstrating clinical outcomes in a retrospective study, and starting a prospective study. Second, manufacturing validation. We’re producing a diverse array of prototype orthopedic and spinal implants to demonstrate product capabilities. Third, commercial validation aimed at achieving sustainable sales and distribution of the INTEGRATE®-C. Last, we are exploring strategic partnerships, including a lead investor for the next equity round.

    BP:  Give me three reasons VisionTech investors should invest in HAPPE Spine?
    RR: Sure! First, we’ve put implants in 250-plus patients and are seeing uniformly excellent early clinical outcomes. Second, we are preparing to engage strategic partners who are taking notice thanks to our surgeons and independent distribution partners. Third, we have built a passionate leadership team and board of directors with a wealth of experience in our target market. We will be adding to our team in 2025. We believe we are on the cusp of an inflection point!

    VisionTech’s Virtual Pitch Event on Monday, October 21st begins promptly at 12 noon ET. Plan to join me and HAPPE Ortho Founder and acting CEO Ryan Roeder and fellow VisionTech investors. Please register here.

  • Meet August Pitch Presenter 3Aware’s Joe Adams with an AI Inflection Point for MedTech

    Meet August Pitch Presenter 3Aware’s Joe Adams with an AI Inflection Point for MedTech

    Have you read the book Exponential Organizations by Silicon Valley legend Salim Ismael? It’s billed as the playbook for 10X growth and impact. When I recently met with Joe Adams, Indianapolis-based serial entrepreneur and now senior vice president for strategic alliances at 3Aware, he highly recommended that I read it. Given the senior leadership team of 3Aware is responsible for $6 billion in M&A transactions, have founded and exited multiple Indiana-based companies and is poised to profoundly disrupt yet another industry, I think I’ll tap into this source of 3Aware’s mojo. This deal came to VisionTech through an individual referral, and I’m super excited VisionTech Angels investors have an opportunity to invest. Please read my conversation with Joe and make plans to participate in his and Bill’s virtual pitch on Wednesday, August 14 at 12 noon. 

    VisionTech Executive Director Ben Pidgeon and 3Aware Senior Vice President Joe Adams

    BP: You’ve said you’re fiercely loyal to Indiana and that’s one reason you’re courting Indiana investors.
    JA: I was raised in Indiana, am a graduate of Indiana University, and have been involved in multiple highly successful startups since the mid 1970s. My very first startup was a collaboration with Dr. Don Brown, who is among the most successful serial software entrepreneurs in the Midwest. Later I was involved with Interactive Intelligence and Software Artistry. Over the course of my career, getting investors in Silicon Valley and Boston to look at us was difficult despite the vibrancy of Indiana’s tech scene. With 3Aware, we have a potentially exponential organization with an incredible leadership team that’s rooted in Indiana. We have amazing early investors from across the country and would like fellow Hoosiers to be part of our success. That’s why we’re excited to participate in VisionTech’s virtual pitch event August 14th.

    BP: Explain the problem you are solving.
    JA:  The medical device industry is near and dear to us in Indiana. But this $500 billion industry is in turmoil due to shrinking margins and the increasing costs and time involved with regulatory compliance. As an example, the costs associated with new EU medical device regulations around recertifications of devices are predicted to exceed 5% of sales. Because of this and already thin margins, companies may have to pull as many as 30% of their products. The U.S. FDA is hot on the heels of the EU with their own time and resource intensive regulations.

    Medical device companies are in dire need of a tech-based alternative to traditional clinical trials and manual re-certifications that consume scarce resources and threaten device viability and corporate profitability. 

    BP: Why is 3Aware the right solution?
    JA: Medtech companies need a way to quickly and easily leverage real-world data about their devices that currently exists in electronic health records (EHR) databases maintained by health systems. We have the answer. 3Aware’s aiSurveillance Platform is a cloud-based SAAS solution that:

    • integrates with EHR and other business systems. 
    • triangulates data from a variety of sources. 
    • links individual patients to their longitudinal experience with devices, allowing on-demand access to device-specific cohorts of patients.
    • and facilitates the mining, analysis, and surveillance of patients’ structured and unstructured real-world evidence (RWE) data to understand indications, experience and outcomes. 

    Our platform automates post market studies, powers ongoing vigilance, and dramatically reduces the time and  money needed to achieve this. It will literally stand the world of medical device manufacturing and compliance on its head – in a good way. Instead of 12 to 18 months for a post-market study, 3Aware can deliver study results in weeks and at a fraction of the cost.

    Access, Analysis, Alerts

    BP: The benefits seem ridiculously huge.
    JA: We truly believe that 3Aware is at an inflection point for the medical device industry. By automating post-market clinical analysis of data that resides in EHRs and  is largely unusable in its current form, we enable medical device companies to secure compliance in 20% of the time and at less than half of the cost of traditional methods. Our analysis also provides ongoing access to data that can be used for other studies, to extend current devices into new applications or enhanced performance as well as support more accurate patient monitoring.

    BP: What is the market opportunity?
    JA: Our initial focus on medtech compliance and product line optimization supports $6 to $9 billion in annual recurring revenue. From there, we can expand into regulatory and safety surveillance, which has a total addressable market of another $56 billion. Further down the road, we can leverage into clinical outcomes analytics and total cost of care for a specific device. This, of course, appeals to health systems, payers, accountable care organizations. Market value to be determined.

    BP: Where are you in terms of commercialization?
    JA: We launched with our initial version of the aiSurveillance Platform and are currently in conversations with two dozen medical device companies, including six of the largest. Cook Medical was our first customer, Zimmer is onboard and there are others close to finalization. We’ve identified and targeted potential customers enabling $150 million in annual recurring revenue, with  an active sales pipeline of nearly $5 million including top ten manufacturers. We are moving ridiculously quickly to scale to meet demand.

    BP: How is the market responding? 
    JA: I wish you could sit in on our presentation to medical device companies. They get it immediately. They don’t get lost in the weeds; they ask “buy” questions. It’s really exciting.

    BP: What kind of IP protection do you have?
    JA: Our platform is enabled by proprietary technology. The basic platform infrastructure was initially developed by HC1. Less than two years ago, the 3Aware aiSurveillance platform application was developed as a joint venture with Cook Medical, Health Cloud Capital and the Mayo Clinic. Since then, 3Aware has been developing the 3Aware WorkBench, which has a patent application filed that protects systems and methods for managing, storing, organizing, and classifying clinical health data associated with medical devices. Soon to follow will be patent applications that cover a host of human assisted adjudication processes and procedures, which will lead to the holy grail of real-time adverse event notification and active surveillance.

    BP: Any competitors?
    JA: We are first to market. There are other companies out there, but they don’t have the breadth of capabilities or the automation that 3Aware already has or the future vision of 3Aware. 

    3Aware CEO Bill Moss and Senior Vice President Amelica Hufford will be presenting August 14.

    BP: Your leadership team is impressive. Let’s touch on that.
    JA: 3Aware’s leadership team has combined experience of more than $6 billion in merger and acquisition transactions. Plus deep, deep experience in tech, medical devices and life sciences. Our CEO Bill Moss alone has five successful exits. Chris Brown, our CFO, is a founding executive of hc1 Insights, whose technology we use. Prashant Thumma, our CTO, was senior director at TelaDoc where he led enterprise architecture. David Kates, our chief data officer, is a leader in the linkage and analysis of healthcare data. And Amelia Hufford, our senior vice president of scientific affairs, came to us from Cook Medical where she led multiple clinical and regulatory science teams. We’ve stacked the deck!

    BP: What investment round is this?
    JA: This is an $8 million seed funding extension round.

    BP: What is your planned use of funds?
    JA: Pretty simple – we’re scaling to meet market demand. 

    BP:  Give me three reasons VisionTech investors should invest in 3Aware?
    JA:  3Aware is truly an inflection technology with the potential to redefine the medical device industry and how devices are validated, certified, and monitored for safety and performance. There is overwhelming market interest as evidenced by the global corporations we’re engaged with, the strength of our pipeline and current recurring revenue. We also have the leadership team to get it done.

    VisionTech’s Wednesday, August 14 Pitch Event will have one virtual session only at 12 noon ET. Plan to join me, Bill Moss, Joe Adams and fellow VisionTech investors. Please register here.

  • July 12 Pitch Presenter Solomon Ssenyange, CEO of RedNOx, Is Tackling Greenhouse Gases – and Winning

    July 12 Pitch Presenter Solomon Ssenyange, CEO of RedNOx, Is Tackling Greenhouse Gases – and Winning

    In late June, Rev1 Ventures came to me with an interesting investment opportunity and like Croft, a fast-moving deal. Rev1 is leading a $1.7 million seed round in RedNOx, a startup based on technology from Ohio State University that has developed highly sensitive sensors for NOx, N20 and CO2. RedNOx has raised and will close on half of that amount in early July. Thinking the deal is a good fit for VisionTech, Rev1 offered to syndicate the deal with us to help close the round. RedNOx Solomon Ssenyange is a PhD and a serial entrepreneur with one exit to his credit. His new venture has impressive traction, which is why I invited him to pitch Friday, July 12 at 12 noon. Here’s a quick preview.

    Solomon Ssenyange, RedNOx, and Ben Pidgeon, VisionTech

    BP: You are an academic by training, but also a serial entrepreneur. How did you pivot from research lab to boardroom?
    SS: I earned a PhD in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Alberta in Canada, with emphasis on solid-state electrochemistry—the science behind advanced sensors. I also did a post-doc at Ohio State University in Analytical Chemistry. My real passion is business. In 2021, I licensed technology from Ohio State that became the foundation of Spirometrix. We commercialized an FDA-cleared, hand-held breath monitoring device for people with  asthma. We exited the company in 2020. I’m now involved in other startups, including RedNOx.

    BP: Tell me about RedNOx.
    SS: RedNOx is a startup with an innovative sensor platform for greenhouse gases such as NOx, N2O, and CO2. It’s the same proven sensor technology behind Spirometrix, but we’re applying it to new industries. The main objective of our sensor platform is to detect the presence of greenhouse gases and reduce emissions for various industries as rapidly as possible. 

    Our initial focus is mobility and agriculture. In mobility, makers of gas and diesel engines used in light and heavy equipment, trucks, and cars have NOx emissions limits they are mandated to meet by 2027 in both the U.S. and E.U. Existing NOx sensor technologies do not meet ultra-low NOx measurement requirements except for RedNOx. Our sensors detect with incredible sensitivity (less than 1ppm), emissions levels to ensure manufacturers are compliant with future emission limits that will bring future internal combustion engine closer to near zero-emissions. RedNOx sensors are also being used to help farmers optimize fertilizer usage while minimizing greenhouse gas emissions.

    All vehicles must meet stringent new emissions standards in the US and EU by 2027.

    BP: Why are your sensors so compelling to engine and automotive industries?
    SS: The fines for noncompliance are staggering. Last December, Cummins paid $1.675 billion in fines for installing devices engines to allow them to emit excess pollution. Navistar was fined $52 million in another emissions case. Toyota had to halt shipments of 10 models over mishandling its engine tests. These manufacturers can’t afford to be noncompliant. Our ultra-low NOx Sensor is the answer in part because our sensors exceed the global regulatory range for NO and NO2 with no cross sensitivity to other emissions. Our sensors also perform in high-temperature, high stress environments. 

    BP: What kind of traction do you have?
    SS: Cummins and Caterpillar recognize the potential of deploying our sensors in their engines and both have signed purchase orders with us. 

    BP: Impressive! What about the agriculture industry?
    SS: Nitrogen is essential for crop growth; however, its production and use is linked to greenhouse gas emissions. The agriculture industry is under pressure to reduce the use of nitrogen to bring down emissions. We are developing the AgroNOx sensor specifically for the agriculture industry to accurately measure  and monitor both NOx and N2O emissions. Our sensors are capable of measuring both with high accuracy and surpassing other sensors that measure only NOx.

    The benefit to farmers is they can avoid over application of nitrogen, which can save 10-30% in costs. It also supports precision ag and sustainability goals.

    RedNOx was just awarded a $650,000 SBIR Phase II Award to further development of its ag sensors.

    BP: What kind of traction do you have in agriculture?
    SS: We have good traction there, too, with two specialty fertilizer companies. The first is ICL Group of Tel Aviv in Israel, and PivotBio. They are using our technology to help determine the amount of greenhouse gases their fertilizers release when used by farmers. We are very early in agriculture, and it represents a maximum greenfield for us.

    BP: You recently got some great news for this part of your business.
    SS: Yes, we were just awarded a $650,000 SBIR Phase II Award from the USDA to accelerate development of our agriculture sensors. It’s great to have this non-dilutive funding to put into the company and our technology.

    BP: Do you have any patent protection?
    SS: Yes, we have a robust patent portfolio addressing our gas sensors and systems and methods. We also have two patents pending specific to agriculture applications. We conduct quarterly intellectual property reviews against competitors to protect our IP from competitors.

    BP: Do you have any competitors?
    SS: We have three competitors that we’re aware of, Nittera, NGK Insulator and Indrio Technologies. Indrio comes the closest in performance, but they product is priced significantly higher than RedNOx sensor. The other companies are low in price and performance.

    BP: What investment round is this?
    SS: This is our seed round, and our goal is to raise $1.7 million. We are halfway there with Rev1 Ventures leading the way. We hope to close the round by the end of September 2024.

    BP: What is your planned use of funds?
    SS: Two-fold. First, to fulfill the purchase orders for Cummins and Caterpillar. Second, to complete the development of our AGRI-NOX sensor so we can move forward quickly with current and future partnerships.

    BP: Give me 3 reasons VisionTech investors should invest in REDNOX?
    SS: Our sensor technology is truly innovative and our ability to detect the presence of specific emissions exceeds global standards. The market demand for emissions monitoring technology is growing as evidenced by the purchase orders we have from global companies very familiar in Indiana like Cummins and Caterpillar. Finally, we have validation of our technology and strong pipelines from both the mobility and agriculture sectors.

    VisionTech’s Friday, July 12 Pitch Event will have one virtual session only at 12 noon ET. 
    Please plan to join me, Solomon and fellow VisionTech investors. Please register here.

  • Meet July 1 Pitch Presenter Scott Prince, CEO & Co-Founder of Croft, a Fast-Growing Ag Ops Platform

    Meet July 1 Pitch Presenter Scott Prince, CEO & Co-Founder of Croft, a Fast-Growing Ag Ops Platform

    VisionTech’s first foray into agtech, Smart Apply, Inc., ended extremely well with an exit to John Deere roughly 18 months after our first investment round. So when I bumped into Scott Prince, a serial entrepreneur and now CEO and co-founder of Croft at a recent Techpoint Venture Connect event, I was interested to learn more about what Scott was doing with his tech platform that automates and streamlines HR and more specifically, H-2A, administration. It was a great discussion which ultimately led to an invitation to Scott to present to VisionTech Angels investors on Monday, July 1 at 12 noon. Here’s a quick preview.

    (L to R) Scott Prince, Croft; Ben Pidgeon, VisionTech

    BP: What is the problem you’ve identified in the agriculture industry?
    SP: U.S. agribusinesses  have a huge issue with back office operational efficiency, cost, and compliance, especially those that are labor-intensive. Labor costs as well as shortages are critical issues. There is a mass shortage of domestic workers, forcing many agribusinesses to use the complicated and expensive H-2A Visa seasonal, nonimmigrant ag worker program. H-2A is a non-capped seasonal Visa for almost 100 eligible countries, with the majority of the 400,000 annual farmworkers coming from Mexico, Central America and South Africa. H-2A has more than 200 rules and the bureaucracy behind the program is complex and as hard to navigate. Since labor is usually one of the highest input costs for a farm, securing a competent workforce in a compliant and lowest-cost way is essential to farm profitability and viability.

    BP: How are you solving it with Croft?
    SP: Croft has built and continues to enhance a collaborative ag operations platform that automates and streamlines farmers’ back-office operations administration by centralizing and managing data, forms, and workflows for the agribusiness, domestic and H-2A workers, H-2A agent, and service providers. We’re helping  15,000 farms that rely on H-2A  workers and the rest of the 250,000 labor-intensive farms be more organized, efficient, productive, compliant, and profitable. Croft Case Manager streamlines H-2A agents’ internal operations, and those agents resell Croft Connect to each of their farm clients. Case Manager and Connect work in tandem to bring all participants together collaboratively in the same platform for the first time to save all time & money while increasing overall compliance.

    BP: Croft was founded in late 2022, but already you have great traction.
    SP: Yes, we do I both funding and customer revenue. Our first major investor was Purdue University DIAL Ventures in partnership with High Alpha Innovations. Purdue invested $950,000 in pre-seed money to fuel the development of our platform. Croft has attracted other agtech venture funds, including Ag Startup Engine and Ag Ventures Alliance. We have paying customers throughout the United States and have onboarded notable operations like Tom Farms and Beck’s Hybrids here in Indiana. These early adopters provided critical feedback, allowing us to refine our platform and demonstrate substantial value in the market.

    BP: What are farmers and farm agents liking about Croft?
    SP: We have the ability to cut their administrative time in half, be prepared for government audits and inevitable investigations, increase the performance of their workers who don’t have to worry about compliance, and finally, increase farm profitability. Our platform is also very easy to learn and use. It’s tough to make a buck in farming while you’re trying to feed the world and your family. We want to make farming financially viable through more efficient, effective back-office operations.

    BP: What’s your revenue model?
    SP: Typical B2B SaaS with annual per farm platform and per farmworker user fees and  add-on modules to follow. The typical SaaS direct go-to-market activities of advertising, engaging via demos, converting trials, selling, upselling, and renewing are more difficult and much longer for agriculture given its late tech adoption curve and rural/remote geographies. Croft has a direct sales program, but most of the emphasis is on our indirect Partner Reseller program, launching with H-2A agents that 80% of H-2A growers use. This indirect model decreases our customer acquisition cost and by sales cycle by over 85%.

    BP: Any competitors?
    SP: No one is doing exactly what we’re doing. The industry is still largely paper-based.

    BP: What round is this?
    SP: This is our seed round. Grit Road Partners, a Nebraska-based, agtech venture firm, is leading the round. We look to raise $1.5 million with a likely oversubscription up to $2 million.

    BP: How will these funds be used?
    SP: Much of it will go to sales, customer support and marketing. We’re taking a “white glove” approach to sales and service to develop strong, personal relationships with value-added resellers and ag customers, spark referrals, build our brand and position Croft as a thought leader. We’ll be attending targeted industry conferences, participating in podcasts, and networking with ag bureaus for national awareness, with very specialized and local co-marketing activities with Resellers. 

    BP: Give three reasons why VisionTech members should invest in Croft.
    SP: First, we’re solving a very critical set of problems for the U.S. agriculture industry, one that has been overlooked by leading tech vendors. Second, our current solutions have extra strong product-market fit, with a strategic roadmap supporting business intelligence-based services that farms will depend on to increase profitability. Third, we have a seasoned team with deep technology, agriculture, SaaS, finance, operations, sales, and marketing experience that knows how to launch, grow, and exit SaaS companies successfully.

    One more thing investors will like  – we’re certified as a Qualified Indiana Business and investors are eligible for the Indiana Venture Capital Investment Tax Credit.

    BP: If people want to learn more, where should they go?
    SP: Our website of course. But I highly recommend watching this video for more. 

    VisionTech’s July 1 Pitch Event will have one virtual session only at 12 noon ET. This is a fast-moving opportunity so please plan to join me, Scott and fellow VisionTech investors. Please register here.

  • VisionTech Portfolio Company OnStation Closes $8.5 Million Series A Round

    VisionTech Portfolio Company OnStation Closes $8.5 Million Series A Round

    INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana (June 11, 2024) – – Three years ago, VisionTech Angels investors took a chance and invested in an early-stage startup from Cleveland, Ohio, called OnStation that had developed an application to make highway construction projects more efficient, more accurate, and safer for workers. This week OnStation, now the leading provider of digital stationing solutions for the heavy highway industry and poised for massive growth, announced it had successfully raised $8.5 million in a Series A Round. 

    VisionTech participated in the Series A round, with 37 investors writing checks totaling $467,000. In total, VisionTech has invested $1.27 million over three rounds in OnStation since 2021. The Series A round was led by JumpStart Ventures with participation from Frontier Angels, Up2 Opportunity Fund, JobsOhio Growth Capital Fund, Next Chapter Ventures, North Coast Ventures, New Dominion Angels, and other individual investors.

    Patrick Russo, OnStation Ben Pidgeon, VisionTech

    VisionTech Executive Director Ben Pidgeon says OnStation’s successful raise in a tough economy is a testimony to the progress the company, led by CEO Patrick Russo, has made in just three years. “When Patrick first pitched our group in 2021, the company had a handful of early adopters using its application. Today, OnStation’s platform has evolved into a robust, location-based project record that provides users with instant access to stationing, design layers, and plans from project initiation through completion via a mobile app.

    “With the increase in functionality, OnStation now serves multiple state Department of Transportation (DOT) clients and more than 200 contractors, integrating seamlessly with major industry software to streamline communication and data management. Patrick’s vision, ability to recruit great people, execute to plan, and meet milestones have led to OnStation’s impressive success to date and VisionTech investors’ loyalty,” Pidgeon says.

    In addition to financial backing, VisionTech investor Scott Noble serves on the OnStation board of directors. VisionTech also provides business advisory services as needed.

    “We are grateful to have VisionTech Angels and other investors such as JumpStart that believed in us from the very beginning and have remained in our corner as investors, advisors and advocates,” says Russo. “Startups are never easy, but the right investors provide rocket fuel and a hundred other things that keep you on track.”

    According to Russo, the highway construction industry and specifically, how it manages large projects is ripe for disruption. Ninety-six percent of construction data is unstructured and unused, while workers spend eighteen percent of their time struggling to find project-critical data. Users quickly find that OnStation’s application greatly improves project management and are clamoring for more functionality. 

    “OnStation’s integrated platform has the potential to be used in every road project in the United States, and this investment is allowing us scale our market presence and functionality more quickly to meet the incredible demand,” Russo says.

    About VisionTech 

    Founded in 2009, VisionTech is a privately held company that links investors to high-potential, early-growth companies. Based in Indianapolis, VisionTech’s angel investing network includes more than 140 active members across Indiana and Ohio. As of December 2023, 175 VisionTech member investors have deployed more than $24.8 million in capital, investing in 65 portfolio companies from across the United States. Membership is open to accredited investors. Those interested in joining are encouraged to contact VisionTech.

    About OnStation

    OnStation is a collaborative digital stationing platform that offers location-based project records from bid to close. Specifically designed for the heavy highway industry, OnStation’s mobile app centralizes communication, boosts productivity, enhances worker safety, and improves project quality. Users benefit from instant jobsite stationing, milepost and LRS capabilities. They can overlay design layers on the project map and communicate via a custom chat platform that organizes and records project events at their locations. OnStation is available on both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store and is supported on all desktop systems. Learn more.