VisionTech Partners

Author: Ben Pidgeon

  • Innovation Education Connection

    Oscar Moralez, Managing Director
    Oscar Moralez, Managing Director

     

    VisionTech is again partnering with IU Kelley School of business to provide top notch educational information and content for angel investors. This year we have coupled our E3 Summit event with The Innovation Showcase on July 10 to expose our investors to even more deal flow and networking.

     

    Todd Saxton, an associate professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at the IU Kelley School of Business, called The Innovation Showcase a signature event for IU. We’d like to go a little further: this is a signature event for the State of Indiana and its efforts to be among the tops in the nation for business innovation, new technology and startups. Todd recently blogged on the July 10 activities; I hope you’ll read his thoughts. We are confident that not only VisionTech Angels, but other early stage investors and entrepreneurs, will benefit from The Innovation Showcase and the partnership between VisionTech and the IU Kelley School of Business.

     

  • VisionTech Partners Set to Co-Host The Innovation Showcase

    INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana, June 6, 2014 – – VisionTech Partners has announced it is co-hosting this year’s Innovation Showcase set for Thursday, July 10 at the Dallara IndyCar Factory in Speedway. Other co-hosts are The Venture Club of Indiana and Verge.

     

    The Innovation Showcase is Indiana’s premier innovation event, attracting more than 800 entrepreneurs, angel investors, venture capitalists, and other business professionals. The goal is to connect startup companies with capital and investors with business opportunities.

     

    Among the highlights of The Innovation Showcase is an educational session led by VisionTech Partners and the IU Kelley School of Business, from 8 a.m. until noon, which is designed to introduce attendees to angel investing. The afternoon session runs from 1-7 p.m. and includes the pitch competition, during which 70 startup companies will vie for more than $123,000 in cash and professional services.

     

    VisionTech Partners will be well represented at the Innovation Showcase, with members of VisionTech Angels chapters from Bloomington, Indianapolis, Lafayette, and Warsaw in attendance.

     

    The Innovation Showcase is open to the public; however, tickets are required for admission and are available at www.TheInnovationShowcase.com.

    Innovation Showcase 2014

    The Innovation Showcase is organized by Venture Club of Indiana: a non-profit organization dedicated to helping investors and entrepreneurs succeed; Verge: a platform for software entrepreneurs, developers, and investors; and VisionTech Partners: a privately held company focused on linking investors to high-potential early-stage companies.

    About VisionTech Partners, LLC

    Founded in 2008, Vision Tech Partners is 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.

  • How to Succeed at Speed Dating

    Oscar Moralez, Managing Director
    Oscar Moralez, Managing Director

    Your palms are sweaty. Your legs are shaking. You can’t get the words out of your mouth fast enough. Finally, everything starts to flow. You’re in the zone. Then suddenly, without notice, the buzzer rings and you have to move on.

    This is not the typical speed-dating scenario. I’m talking about the 70 entrepreneurs who will soon make investor pitches in search of the perfect match at the 2014 Innovation Showcase Thursday, July 10 at the Dallara IndyCar Factory in Speedway, IN.

    Why the anxiety? First, they’re vying for more than $130,000 in cash and professional services that goes to the top presenter. With 69 equally motivated competitors, the competition will be fierce. Second, presentations will be made to an audience of more than 800 people, including potential investors like the VisionTech Angels. Finally, they’ve got 60 seconds in which to make their pitch. That’s not a lot of time.

    Fortunately, VisionTech Angels and the IU Kelley School of Business are hosting the E3 Summit segment in partnership with The Innovation Showcase. Set for Thursday, July 10 at the same location, the E3 Summit is designed to introduce new and seasoned angel investors, entrepreneurs, and startup companies to the world of angel investing. This is not a sales event. Our focus is education and networking. In addition to the VisionTech team, VisionTech Angels from Indy, Bloomington, Lafayette, and Warsaw, as well the Hyde Park Angels and Queen City Angels will be present at The Innovation Showcase and available to speak one-on-one to participants about angel investing and what we consider an “investable company.” We anticipate 200 to 300 people will attend the morning segment. I hope you can join us.

    Before I leave you, I promised to tell you how to succeed at investor speed dating. In 10-second snippets, tell the audience:

    • Who you are
    • Problem you’re solving
    • Your solution (technology/service)
    • Size of market
    • Push to your website for more information
    • Ask them to stop by your booth at The Innovation Showcase

    Say it all in the most genuine, passionate, compelling manner possible. I know you can do it, but if you’re one of the entrepreneurs who will be pitching at The Innovation Showcase or future investor event, it helps to have a wingman. Join us at The Innovation Showcase, Thursday, June 10. Details are available at www.VisionTech-Partners.com or by visiting www.TheInnovationShowcase.com.

     

     

  • Early Bird Innovation Showcase 2014 Tickets on Sale May 22

    INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana, May 21, 2014 – – Indy may be in America’s heartland, but organizers of The Innovation Showcase 2014 have dubbed the rush of investment—and now ticket sales for this year’s event—the “Wild, Wild, Midwest.” Last week, the 150 Super Early Bird tickets sold out in hours. Showcase planners expect a similar response this Thursday when specially priced Early Bird tickets go on sale at 9:30 a.m. online at www.theinnovationshowcase.com.

    Full-day Early Bird tickets to The Innovation Showcase are $100 and afternoon tickets are $45. Ticket prices will rise in June.

    Why the interest in corralling a position at a conference focused on connecting startup companies with capital and attendees with the entrepreneurial energy of Indiana? For one thing, The Innovation Showcase will award a $123,000 grand prize to the entrepreneur making the best pitch. A record-breaking 125 start-up companies have applied for the privilege to compete. For another, savvy investors like VisionTech Partners, Elevate Ventures, and Techpoint are looking for attractive deals in which to invest.

    Innovation Showcase 2014 will be held July 10 at the Dallara IndyCar Factory in Speedway.

    Innovation Showcase 2014

    The Innovation Showcase is organized by Venture Club of Indiana: a non-profit organization dedicated to helping investors and entrepreneurs succeed; Verge: a platform for software entrepreneurs, developers, and investors; and VisionTech Partners: a privately held company focused on linking investors to high-potential early-stage companies.

    About VisionTech Partners, LLC

    Founded in 2008, Vision Tech Partners is 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.

  • First Deal of 2014: FAST BioMedical

    VisionTech Angels has made good on our promise to invest in Indiana startup companies. Our first deal of 2014 is an investment in Indianapolis-based FAST BioMedical, a company that is gaining significant traction in the medical technology sector. All four chapters of VisionTech Angels—Bloomington, Indianapolis, Lafayette and Warsaw—participated in the follow-on investment deal in FAST Biomedical. We originally invested in FAST BioMedical in 2011.

    FAST BioMedical was co-founded by Dr. Bruce Molitoris, a professor of Medicine at the Indiana School of Medicine, and Jim Strickland, an Indiana University graduate. The company has developed a patented technology that provides an accurate and sensitive measurement of plasma volume and kidney function and will help clinicians improve outcomes for millions of Intensive Care Unit patients, including those undergoing major surgery and patients with acute kidney injury, chronic kidney disease and sepsis.

    FAST BioMedical’s momentum was the driver behind our investment. Their technology has the potential to satisfy an unmet $1.5 billion need in the initial European and U.S. intensive care markets alone. The company recently received a $1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to fund an ongoing U.S. Phase II clinical study using FAST BioMedical’s technology. We believe this puts them a giant step closer to commercialization. It’s important to not that the commercialization path for medical innovations is lengthy, requiring patience and capital from investors.

    This was VisionTech Angels’ first deal of 2014, but it won’t be the last. We recently signed an agreement with The Purdue Foundry to support Purdue entrepreneurial activities and keep our eye on promising startups.

  • VisionTech Partners’ Moralez a Featured Panelist at IBJ’s Life Sciences Power Breakfast

    INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana, April 9, 2014 – – Oscar Moralez, managing director of VisionTech Partners and VisionTech Angels, is a featured panelist at the Indiana Business Journal’s Life Sciences Power Breakfast set for Thursday, April 24, starting at 8 a.m. at The Marriott Downtown.

     

    Moralez will be joined on the panel by other leaders in the state’s life sciences industry, including Joe Muldoon, CEO of FAST BioMedical, a VisionTech Angels portfolio company; Kristin Jones, president and CEO, Indiana Health Industry Forum; Elizabeth Hagerman, PhD, vice president, Rose-Hulman Ventures; Wayne C. Burris, senior vice president and CFO, Roche Diagnostics Corporation. Roche is also a sponsor of the IBJ Life Sciences Power Breakfast.

     

    The panel will address a number of issues important to the life sciences ecosystem in Indiana such as barriers to launching a life sciences company in Indiana, how life sciences companies are helped or threatened by Obamacare and how increased activity of angel investing has changed the landscape for growing life sciences companies in the state.

     

    Tickets for the IBJ Life Sciences Power Breakfast are available online at www.ibj.com under the Events tab.

     

    About VisionTech Partners

    Founded in 2008, Vision Tech Partners is 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.

  • First Deal in 2014: VisionTech Partners Invests in Indy-Based FAST BioMedical

    INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., April 7, 2014 – – Making good on its commitment to advance Indiana’s innovation ecosystem, VisionTech Partners has announced that its angel investing network has invested in Indianapolis-based FAST BioMedical, a company that is gaining significant traction in the medical technology sector.

     

    All four chapters of VisionTech Angels—Bloomington, Indianapolis, Lafayette and Warsaw—participated in the follow-on investment deal in FAST Biomedical. VisionTech Angels originally invested in FAST BioMedical in 2011 when the private investment company was operating as Stepstone Angels.

     

    Co-founded by Dr. Bruce Molitoris, a professor of Medicine at the Indiana School of Medicine, and Jim Strickland, an Indiana University graduate, FAST BioMedical has developed a patented technology that provides an accurate and sensitive measurement of plasma volume and kidney function. The technology will help clinicians improve outcomes for millions of Intensive Care Unit patients, including those undergoing major surgery and patients with acute kidney injury, chronic kidney disease and sepsis.

     

    Commenting on the deal, VisionTech Partners Managing Director Oscar Moralez cited FAST BioMedical’s momentum as the driver for VisionTech Angels’ investment. “FAST BioMedical’s technology has the potential to satisfy an unmet $1.5 billion need in the initial European and U.S. intensive care markets alone. The company recently received a $1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to fund an ongoing U.S. Phase II clinical study using FAST BioMedical’s technology. We believe this puts them one step closer to commercialization,” Moralez said.

     

    “The commercialization path for medical innovations is lengthy, requiring patience and capital from investors like VisionTech Angels,” said FAST BioMedical CEO Joe Muldoon. “Their investment, along with the support of other experienced life science investors like IEDC, BioCrossroads, NIH, and Elevate Ventures has been a large difference maker.”

     

    The FAST BioMedical deal is the first of 2014 for VisionTech Partners, but it won’t be its last. The investment firm recently signed an agreement with The Purdue Foundry to support Purdue entrepreneurial activities and startups. “We are always evaluating promising new technology and startup companies,” said VisionTech Partners Managing Partner Don Scifres. “We want to be the ‘go to’ firm for smart capital and entrepreneurial support in Indiana.”

     

    About VisionTech Partners, LLC

    Founded in 2008, Vision Tech Partners is 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.

     

  • Creating Synergy for Startups: The University Connection

    By Don Scifres

    VisionTech Partners is where inventors, entrepreneurs, investors, universities, and strategic partners converge to share, develop, fund, and launch innovative technologies.

    It’s easy to relate universities with basketball teams, particularly during March Madness. (Think any Big Twelve team.) Or with football. (Think Texas.) Or baseball. (Think Texas.)

    But how often do we associate universities with some of the most successful brands on the planet? How about the world’s top sports beverage, Gatorade, developed at the University of Florida. Or the world’s social networking powerhouse, Facebook, which was hatched in a Harvard dorm room.

    The fact is, universities are often the source of the next big idea, the next life-saving medical treatment, and the next Wall Street success. And it’s why earlier this month, VisionTech Partners formed a strategic relationship with The Purdue Foundry, part of the Purdue Research Foundation. The purpose of our partnership is to expedite the transfer of Purdue innovations to the public through commercialization deals and development of startups.

    The arrangement is pure synergy. The Purdue Foundry’s mission is to provide entrepreneurial resources to Purdue students, faculty, and staff aimed at launching new technologies and startup companies. VisionTech Partners and the VisionTech Angels are focused on building Indiana’s innovation ecosystem, which includes funding and mentoring promising companies. So aligning with Purdue’s brilliant minds is exactly where we need to be.

    As a Purdue alumnus, I am thrilled that VisionTech Partners will be working closer with the Boilermaker family to launch new technologies and startup companies. Every success puts a “W” in the win column for Indiana and our future. We look forward to forging similar partnerships with the state’s other research universities.

     

     

     

  • VisionTech Partners’ Scifres honored by Purdue College of Technology

    INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., March 12, 2014 – – VisionTech Partners’ Don Scifres was recently honored with the 2014 Distinguished Technology Alumni Award from Purdue University’s College of Technology. The awards are presented to alumni who have harnessed the power of their Purdue degrees to positively impact their chosen professions.

     

    Scifres is a managing partner with VisionTech Partners and also serves as president of VisionTech Angels’ Indianapolis and Lafayette chapters. In addition, he is managing partner at Dirra Ventures. A seasoned entrepreneur and respected business leader, Scifres has served in executive and advisory roles with early stage, mid-size, and Fortune 200 firms, including Indigo BioSystems, Courseload, Inc., ANGEL Learning, Irwin Mortgage Corporation, and Cummins Inc. His broad background includes proven successes in start-ups, fundraising, strategic planning, operations, team building, software engineering, technology infrastructure, business development, and corporate governance.

     

    Scifres and fellow Distinguished Technology Award winner James Paulsen, Highland Park, Ill., received their awards at a dinner at the Ross-Ade Pavilion. Commenting on the recipients, Dean of the Purdue College of Technology Gary Bertoline said, “These alumni have changed how today’s technology will improve the world tomorrow.”

     

    Scifres graduated from Purdue in 1980. He completed executive education programs at the University of Virginia Darden Graduate School of Business and Cornell University Johnson Graduate School of Management. He is a founding member of the Indiana University School of Informatics Dean’s Council and serves on the Purdue University College of Technology Dean’s Executive Council.

     

    About VisionTech Partners

     

    Founded in 2008, Vision Tech Partners is 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.

     

  • Purdue Foundry, VisionTech Partners to collaborate on technology commercialization, startup development

    WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., March 11, 2014 – The Purdue Foundry and VisionTech Partners, LLC have entered into an agreement to expedite the transfer of Purdue innovations to the public through commercialization deals and development of startups.

     

    “The individuals involved in the collaboration are experienced entrepreneurs and investors, which is needed to move technologies to the public and create successful startups,” said Greg Deason, vice president and executive director of the Purdue Foundry. “Our plan is to identify startups where we can mutually apply our skills and resources and advance an innovation.”

     

    The Foundry is an entrepreneurship and commercialization hub at Purdue University and VisionTech Partners is an Indianapolis-based company focused on connecting investors to high-potential early-stage companies. VisionTech Partners has angel investing groups in Indianapolis, Lafayette, Bloomington and Warsaw, as well as a virtual angel group. The collaboration, comprised of representatives from both groups, will meet on a regular basis to discuss potential commercialization investments.

     

    “Purdue has a strong research ecosystem to generate new innovations and technologies and this partnership will enrich both of our goals of identifying promising technologies created at Purdue and providing support and funding to advance the commercialization process,” said Oscar Moralez, managing director of VisionTech Partners. “We have already met with a number of Purdue entrepreneurs who are looking for capital or other assistance essential to startup companies.”

     

    The agreement includes providing potential pathways and resources to support startup activity including mentoring for entrepreneurs, identifying talent and expertise resources and support for participating in business competitions, seminars and other programs.

     

    “We’re reviewing several startups representing various sectors including engineering, IT, manufacturing, life sciences and agriculture,” Deason said. “Because of the high caliber of the entrepreneurs and their innovations, one of our biggest challenges is deciding which startups to support. That is a good challenge to manage.”

     

    For more information, contact Deason at gwdeason@prf.org or Oscar Moralez at oscar.moralez@visiontech-partners.com

     

    About Purdue Foundry

     Purdue Foundry is an entrepreneurship and commercialization hub in Discovery Park’s Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship. The foundry collaborates with longstanding activities already taking place in the center with a goal to increase the growing demand from Purdue innovators who have an interest in forming a startup or licensing their discoveries. The foundry is supported and managed by the Purdue Research Foundation and its team of intellectual property, business development and venture capital experts.

     

    About VisionTech Partners, LLC

    Founded in 2008, Vision Tech Partners is 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.