VisionTech Partners

Tag: Ben Pidgeon

  • Cyber Threat Detection Startup Stamus Networks Commands the Last Spot for October Pitch Week

    Talking with Stamus Networks CEO Ken Gramley is like talking with an old friend. He’s been a successful tech entrepreneur in Indiana for last seven years, during which time he served as CEO of Emerging Threats (acquired by Proofpoint) and as an entrepreneur-in-residence for Elevate Ventures. It’s exciting to have Ken present his new venture to VisionTech Angels’ five chapters across Indiana and Ohio during our last Pitch Week of 2019, October 21-24. Enjoy our discussion.

    Ben Pidgeon, Executive Director, VisionTech

    BP: Tell me a little about how and why Stamus Networks was founded. What unmet need did you identify within the IT security space?
    KG: The company was founded by Eric Leblond and Peter Manev, two experts in network security who saw the lack of innovation in large security vendors’ products and believed that combining network traffic analysis with threat detection would provide security practitioners with a previously unachieved clarity in viewing the security state of their networks. The company is headquartered in Westfield, Ind., with an office in Paris. I joined Stamus as CEO in December 2018, after spending the last 15 years in IT security. This includes my time as CEO of Emerging Threats, during which time I oversaw the company’s 20x increase in sales and revenue and ultimate acquisition by Proofpoint.

    BP: How is your product different from other IT security offerings?
    KG: We’ve combined a Network Traffic Analyzer that analyzes protocol and flow data on a network and married it with an Intrusion Detection System that provides deep packet inspection of network traffic. The combination of these two approaches provides a level of correlated security data never previously achieved in a single solution. We then added a Threat Hunting interface that gives security practitioners the ability to quickly and efficiently search through their data to examine, validate, and resolve the security incidents that they face on a daily basis.

    This graphic helps explain what we do at a high level. Each of the circles is a different Gartner quadrant, making us the only company that crosses intrusion detection, threat hunting and network traffic analysis into a single cost-effective solution.

    BP: Who is the ideal customer for Stamus?
    KG: We are very appealing to mid-size enterprises ($100 million to $1 billion) that have relatively immature security teams and are looking to improve their security posture. A company’s increasing compliance issues often drive demand. As an example, iHerb, an online natural products retailer, contacted us because they are required to be Tier 1 PCI (payment card industry) compliant, and they believe our solution is the fastest path that they have found to achieve network compliance issues required by PCI.

    BP: What market traction do you have to date?
    KG: We have 16 companies using our solution, including customers in technology, banking, defense, retail, and government. Seven of those have come back to expand their usage of our tools with additional purchases, which is tremendous validation.

    BP: What are the barriers to adoption?
    KG: Like any startup, barriers are really opportunities. One early issue was finding the right product-to-market alignment. In the last year, we solved this barrier by restructuring our product to better fit features to specific customer use cases. This has allowed us to sell different feature sets at different price points, helping us overcome pricing issues for customers that only wanted entry level functionality. Our next challenge to conquer has to do with customer knowledge, or lack thereof, about Stamus as a company. We are relatively unknown; however there is a segment of the market that knows us as providing an open source solution, a perception we need to overcome. Creating awareness and brand clarity will include updating all of our messaging and branding to better address the differences between our paid and open source products and the added value that our paid solutions provide.

    BP: How much money are you raising and what will the funds be used for?
    KG: We’re raising $1.5 million, which will primarily be used for sales and marketing. We have not yet done any outbound marketing, and we need to revamp our branding and messaging to take what we’ve learned from our customers and improve our storytelling. We’ve hired our first U.S. sales person and plan to hire a sales person for Europe, where the majority of our current customers are. We also will be hiring our first sales engineer. These additions will free up an enormous amount of the founders’ time so they can focus more on product strategy, features and development, and less on customer demos.

    BP: Why should VisionTech Angels invest in Stamus Networks?
    KG: Network security is a universal problem and the solutions on the market today are stagnant despite the billions being spent on network security by enterprise-sized companies. Stamus represents a unique investment opportunity for VisionTech Angels for several reasons. First, we’re one of the only companies actually innovating in the network traffic analysis and threat detection space. Second, our product, the Scirius Enterprise, could be used by every enterprise-sized company in the world with an average sale in the upper five figures or low six figures. Our traction to date validates this. Finally, the last company I ran in the security space, Emerging Threats, provided a 9x return to investors within three years. Matt Jonkman, the founder of Emerging Threats and an active member of VisionTech Angels, and I believe that this is a MUCH larger opportunity than the market that Emerging Threats addressed. I can tell it’s going to be an awesome ride!

    To learn more about Stamus Networks visit their website. To RSVP for VisionTech Angels’ October Pitch Week, visit our events calendar.

     

  • Giving Parkinson’s Patients a Voice: Meet October Pitch Company SpeechVive

    VisionTech Angels is mixing up our blog a bit, inviting sponsor Gretchen Bowker, CEO of Pearl Pathways, to preview pitch company SpeechVive. Pearl Pathways is a comprehensive life science regulatory, quality compliance, and clinical services consulting company providing strategic guidance and project-based support for emerging to mid-size biopharmaceutical, medical device, and diagnostic companies. Given her background and Pearl Pathways’ experience working with companies like SpeechVive, it is fitting to have Gretchen introduce Steve Mogensen, CEO of SpeechVive and the company’s medical device for those with Parkinson’s disease. Steve will present SpeechVive during VisionTech Angels’ upcoming Pitch Week, October 21-24. Enjoy their discussion!

    Gretchen Bowker, CEO
    Pearl Pathways

    GB: VisionTech Angels is excited to host SpeechVive, a startup based on Purdue technology, during October Pitch Week. What’s your story?

    SM: SpeechVive was founded in 2011 based on the research of Purdue University professor of audiology and speech sciences, Jessica Huber, PhD. Our focus is enabling people with Parkinson’s disease to speak louder, slower, and more clearly through the use of a device that resembles a Bluetooth device. The SpeechVive device works by playing background noise in the patient’s ear when it detects the patient speaking. The noise serves as a cue that causes the patient to reflexively speak louder through the “Lombard Effect,” a well-known phenomenon where we naturally speak louder when there’s background noise. What’s great about the device is it does not require training to use, there is no risk of harm to the wearer, and it works! SpeechVive completed a three-and-a-half year clinical trial where 75 percent of those using the device received immediate benefit. Another 15 percent experienced a benefit after wearing it for eight weeks. Our product is in the market, generating revenue and we’re now fundraising to drive sales.

    Steve Mogensen, CEO SpeechVive

    GB: Does SpeechVive meet a clinical or quality of life need?

    SM: Both. SpeechVive is medically necessary and a quality of life device. Parkinson’s is a neurodegenerative disease. As it progresses, patients often experience changes in speech or have difficulty speaking. Their voice becomes softer, whispery or hoarse. They also slur words and talk slowly. The inability to communicate is a huge issue for patients and their loved ones. The traditional way to treat this is speech therapy, which is effective in only about 10 percent of cases. SpeechVive allows patients to benefit from treatment without special training or effort. The device also collects data about device usage to support achieving therapeutic goals.

    GB: The number of Americans with Parkinson’s reported varies from 930,000 to as high as 1.5 million. What’s the actual market size?

    SM: Some movement disorder neurologists I’ve spoken with believe the actual number of people with Parkinson’s disease is more than two million and likely closer to three million. We use 1.5 million as most Parkinson’s disease prevalence numbers are under-reported because the disease is often misdiagnosed. Many people with Parkinson’s go undiagnosed for up to ten years. About 60,000 new cases are diagnosed each year.

    GB: Does the SpeechVive device require a prescription?

    SM: Ideally, Medicare and private insurance will cover the SpeechVive device. In which case, a neurologist will prescribe the device and submit a letter of medical necessity to the insurance company. Customers can choose to pay for their device out of pocket.

    GB: What are the barriers to adoption?

    SM: Currently, it’s reimbursement. The average age of our customers is 68. Most are retired and on a fixed income, so a $2,495 device is a significant purchase. Gaining Medicare reimbursement will significantly open up the market opportunity for SpeechVive and remove the financial burden from people who will benefit from our device.

    GB: You’ve designated the SpeechVive device as a Class 1 medical device. Explain your decision.

    SM: Class 1 devices pose little to no risk to patients. Five years ago, we notified the FDA that we were going to market with SpeechVive as a Class I exempt device. This was due to the low risk of harming patients using our device. The exempt status, which is the route we took, is a self-declaration of Class I. The FDA lets you know if they object. Otherwise, you’re safe to market said product.

    GB: What kind of IP protection do you have?

    SM: SpeechVive is protected by two U.S. patents, which cover the device and method claims.

    GB: How much are you trying to raise and how will the funds be used?

    SM: We’re raising a $1 million bridge note, leading to a larger Series A raise of about $4 million. We plan to use the funds to drive the Medicare and insurance process by securing a specific HCPCS code for SpeechVive for reimbursement, hiring additional sales people, and creating infrastructure support to manage the Medicare billing process in-house.

    GB: What makes SpeechVive an investable company for VisionTech Angels?

    SM: There are two parts to this answer. SpeechVive represents a unique opportunity to make a difference in the lives of people with Parkinson’s who have severe difficulty communicating; 90 percent who use SpeechVive benefit. The ability to speak again is a gift to individuals and their loved ones.

    From a practical perspective, we have eliminated most of the risks inherent in a medical device startup. SpeechVive is in the market and generating revenue. We’ve penetrated the VA market; they cover our device 100 percent. We started filing claims using a miscellaneous code in February, have received reimbursement and have received paid claims from both Medicare and commercial insurance companies. Our team has demonstrated the ability to eliminate risks while focusing on the larger market opportunity, which is Medicare reimbursement. We also have a realistic exit on the horizon with one of the large, deep brain stimulation companies like Abbott/St. Jude, Medtronic or Boston Scientific, which will create significant value for all shareholders.

    GB: Thanks for sharing your story, Steve! See you later this month.

    To learn more about SpeechVive, visit their website. To RSVP for VisionTech Angels’ October Pitch Week, visit our events calendar.

  • VisionTech Angels Reap Rewards as Salarius Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Completes Merger with Flex Pharma

    VisionTech Angels Reap Rewards as Salarius Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Completes Merger with Flex Pharma

    INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., (September 17, 2019) – – When Salarius Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: SLRX) President and Chief Executive Officer David Arthur rang the opening bell at Nasdaq in New York City on July 30, recognizing the company’s successful merger with Flex Pharma and listing on the public exchange, another group was celebrating in Indiana: VisionTech Angels. The angel investors are realizing a surprisingly quick liquidity event on their investment in Salarius in the form of common stock with the value based on the current stock-trading price.

    The merger provides VisionTech Angels’ investors with the opportunity to retain their stock and wait for the next chapter to be written or cash in on their investment by liquidating some or all of their holdings. Commenting on the merger, VisionTech Angels Executive Director Ben Pidgeon said, “Given the potential of Salarius to bring new therapeutic options to children and young adults with Ewing Sarcoma and other cancers, I anticipate many of our investors will retain their shares in the company.”

    He added, “This is a significant win for the VisionTech Angels members who invested in Salarius in December 2018. The biotech drug development industry typically requires tremendous patience as it can take as long as a decade to get a new drug from the lab to pharmacy—if it ever does. There’s also a small likelihood of success; only five percent of all prospective new drugs are commercialized. For our investors to realize liquidity on their investment in Salarius in less than ten months is remarkable.”

    Salarius is a clinical-stage oncology company targeting the epigenetic causes of cancers and has active clinical development programs for patients with refractory and relapsed Ewing sarcoma and advanced solid tumors. Ewing Sarcoma is a rare bone and soft tissue cancer that afflicts children and young adults that Salarius believes has no approved targeted therapies. The advanced solid tumor clinical program includes patients with prostate, breast, ovarian, and other solid tumor cancers who have not responded or are no longer responding to standard-of-care treatment.

    Epigenetics refers to the regulatory system that affects gene expression. In some cancers, epigenetic regulators often become dysregulated and incorrectly turn genes on or off leading to cancer progression. Drugs that are able to safely modify the activity of these epigenetic regulators may correct the gene changes that are driving the disease.

    The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Salarius’ lead drug candidate, Seclidemstat, Orphan Drug and Rare Pediatric Disease designations, which confers regulatory benefits and commercial advantages upon FDA approval. The company recently enrolled its first patient in a Phase 1 clinical study of its lead compound, Seclidemstat, in patients with advanced solid tumors. The company’s Ewing Sarcoma program is progressing in a dose escalation/dose expansion Phase 1 clinical trial. Salarius has financial support for its research and development efforts from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas and National Pediatric Cancer Foundation.

    Salarius will continue to follow its clinical plan with the goal of reporting early patient cohort data in 2020.

    VisionTech Angels has 32 companies in its investment portfolio, including four added thus far in 2019. The Indianapolis-based angel network has more than 130 members across Indiana and Ohio. Membership is open to accredited investors. Members choose the companies they want to invest in and the amount invested. Those interested in joining are encouraged to contact VisionTech Angels. The group’s next Pitch Week is October 21-24.

     

  • VisionTech Portfolio Company Toralgen Closes $1.9M Seed Funding Round

    VisionTech Portfolio Company Toralgen Closes $1.9M Seed Funding Round

    INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (September 10, 2019) – – Toralgen, Inc., an Indiana-based biotechnology company, announced the closure of its seed funding round, raising more than $1.9 million. Participants in the round include VisionTech Angels, Elevate Ventures, and Solyco Advisors as well as investors and strategic partners with deep domain expertise. Toralgen is a preclinical stage company focused on improving drug delivery and will use the funds to further development of their innovative platform.

    “Our unique technology has the potential to not only transform how a variety of drugs are administered, but to improve their pharmacology,” said Toralgen CEO Gerald Rea. “Through our team’s discoveries and the support of our investors, we are laying the groundwork for a portfolio of commercially transformative assets. We look forward to fully characterizing our improvements in the delivery of insulin, incretins and immunomodulatory combinations.”

    Toralgen is commercializing a nanopill system formed from polymerizing naturally occurring bile acids.  This founding technology is the result of over 20 years of cutting-edge nanoparticle research by inventor and Toralgen cofounder, Dr. Tarek Fahmy. Dr. Fahmy is a leader in the field of nanoparticle development and associate professor at Yale University.

    “The platform’s first important feature is enabling oral delivery to improve compliance and simplicity for the patient. The second important feature is addressing three major issues with diabetes concurrently—immediate blood glucose control, restoration of pancreatic function and re-normalizing immunity in the pancreatic environment. The potential is enormous for diabetes and other disease states as well. Our goal is to simultaneously address the causes of diabetes in the same easy manner that we treat a headache. I am excited to leverage the platform’s future capabilities into other autoimmune diseases and cancers,” Dr. Fahmy explained.

    “We’re thrilled that investors are recognizing the potential in this novel drug delivery platform, and we look forward to continuing our collaboration with Toralgen” added Dr. John Puziss, director of business development in Yale’s Office of Cooperative Research.

    Toralgen, Inc. was established in 2017 to commercialize a new type of nanopill licensed exclusively from Fahmy Labs at Yale University. The company was founded by Gerald Rea, Tarek Fahmy, Ph.D, associate professor of Biomedical Engineering, Chemistry & Environmental Engineering, OB/GYN/Reproductive Science, Immunobiology at Yale University; and David Horwitz, M.D., chief of the Division of Rheumatology and Immunology (1980-2007) for Keck School of Medicine. Learn more>

     

     

  • Realplay Completes VisionTech Angels’ August Pitch Week and It’s a Homerun!

    VisionTech Angels’ Executive Director Ben Pidgeon recently sat down with Justin Real, CEO of Realplay and former collegiate baseball player, to discuss how the Massachusetts-based startup is transforming how youth baseball and softball are , shared and experienced. It’s a unique play with great market potential. Anyone with a child or grandchild who plays sports will be interested in this pitch. Justin will present Realplay during VisionTech’s upcoming Pitch Week, August 26-29. Read on!

    Ben Pidgeon, Executive Director, VisionTech

    BP: This is the first time VisionTech Angels has hosted a sports-focused startup for Pitch Week. How did you get into the game?
    JR: I originally got into baseball in Little League, worked my way through the high school recruiting process and ended my career playing catcher for four year at Union College. After college, I worked as consultant in the tech industry for four years and continued to work as a private hitting coach. While getting my MBA at Babson College, I found an opportunity to get back into the sport I love from a business perspective. It’s a lucrative market—as the most popular U.S. sport, amateur baseball and softball combined represents a $4 billion market. People play for fun, recreation, or dream of playing at the collegiate and professional levels. There are a lot of memories made on ball fields.

    I saw how the sport and the world at large were using video and saw an opportunity to change how video is captured, edited, shared, and used. In 2016, I founded Realplay and pulled together an all-star team that includes Andreas Randow (CTO), who has worked in the startup ecosystem for 15 years and is an expert in computer vision and systems infrastructure; Michael Salerno (VP of Product), who was with Oracle; and Brian Porter (Director of Operations), who spent 15 years working in Major League Baseball. His final project was consolidating and upgrading the video systems of all minor league teams. We’re now in the market and working hard!

    BP: What problem are you solving?
    JR: People love video, particularly in the sports world. Parents want video of their kids to capture the moment and share with friends and family. Coaches want video to analyze their players and improve skills. Scouts use video to check out prospects and reduce travel. And the players, they love seeing themselves on video. So what are the options? Use a smart phone and do it yourself? Hire a videographer for thousands of dollars or travel across the country showcasing your kid’s talent at expensive camps and showcases? Neither is ideal. And this doesn’t even include the time and labor involved with editing and sharing player videos with everyone who wants them.

    Realplay eliminates the need for parents, coaches, scouts, and whomever to be videographers, editors, producers, organizers, or publishers. We deliver video of every swing, pitch, and catch that any player on makes on a baseball or softball field. And we do it by automating the capture, editing, analysis, and distribution of player video. This allows everyone to focus on the game and have fun—which is what baseball and softball are about.

    BP: Sounds cool. How does it work?
    JR: There are three key components: the camera system, machine learning software and a multi-channel platform. Here’s how they work together to make Realplay cover all the bases. Each ball field is equipped with three cameras that operate through an app. The app also serves as an e-scorebook, capturing stats throughout the game. At the end of the game, the video is uploaded to the cloud where it’s processed by our machine learning software into single player clips and stats. This information is uploaded to player profiles. The final piece is the multi-channel platform with pages for players, parents and teams. There’s also a social media integration component to make sharing easy. We’ve taken a process that used to require nine man hours of work per game, and reduced it to seven minutes.

    BP: What’s Realplay’s revenue model?
    JR: First, there’s no charge to the field owner or sports complex; Realplay is a free service with a revenue share. Our revenue comes from player and team subscriptions. To get people started, we offer a freemium subscription that includes three free videos that can be viewed on a player’s page we create for them. The basic subscription includes all of a player’s videos uploaded to their page with stats, on-video annotation and a few other features. The premium subscription includes an end-of-season highlight reel, virtual coaching portal, college recruitment prep, and premium social sharing features.

    We partner with the existing organizers of the game to ensure high volume wherever we go. Subscriptions can be offered through teams as part of their annual fees or made available through specific tournaments or events by facilities and tournament organizers. Even if it’s just an online purchase, It’s a nice addition for players, families and coaches!

     BP: Who is the ideal customer for Realplay?
    JR: Any family with a kid playing baseball or softball. Our immediate focus and ideal target is multi-field sports complexes that can have anywhere from two to 50-plus fields for youth and adult leagues. For example, in Westfield, Indiana, there’s a privately owned complex with 57 fields. In 2018, it had 1.9 million visitors. Currently, there are 550 similar facilities with a total of 3,500 fields. Each facility can see upwards of 125,000 players a year.

     BP: What’s your pipeline look like now and what are you doing to fill it up?
    JR: In 2019, we’ve secured two contracts and one letter of intent for just under $1 million in annual recurring revenue. We have two other facility prospects in the pipeline. We’re aggressively targeting sports facilities, tournament organizers, and multi-team programs like Little League, AAU, Cal Ripkin Baseball, and others.

     BP: There are others doing this. What is Realplay’s competitive advantage?
    JR: Yes, there are several competitors with Hudl being the most entrenched. They’ve been on the market since 2006 and their technology is out of date. Realplay has four things going for us. First, we are free to the sports facility with the revenue sharing component; all of our competitors charge for their service.

    Second, our technology is superior; our automation moves the responsibility of creating videos from people to the machines. Third, we’re entirely focused on baseball/softball and aim to be the standard at premium facilities; everyone else is focusing on team-field sports like soccer and football. Finally, as the first mover in this space, our position gets more entrenched with each new facility we sign.

    BP: Why should VisionTech Angels invest in Realplay?
    JR: The market potential is huge. Baseball and softball have 36.5 million participants, many who’d love to have video. We’ve already raised the majority of our seed round and are looking to use the funding to secure more contracts for 2020, and start the process of raising our next round at a higher valuation. Realplay is a low technology risk, fast to production and results, with low cap intensity. We’re gaining traction and we love baseball.

    To learn more about Realplay, visit their website. To RSVP for VisionTech Angels’ August Pitch Week, visit our events calendar.

     

  • 20 Startups Are Ready to Pitch for Prizes and Investment Capital at the 11th Annual Innovation Showcase

    Ben Pidgeon, VisionTech

    Among my responsibilities as executive director of VisionTech Angels is screening startup companies. Each year, my committee members and I review more than 400 companies seeking investor dollars, selecting about 12 to pitch to our angel investors. It is, by design, a grueling process. I mention this because the Venture Club of Indiana took the same rigorous path for selecting the pitch companies for this year’s Innovation Showcase. Venture Club President Aaron Gillum and Pitch Competition Chair Travis Stegemoller took the “Road to the Showcase,” personally traveling to nine cities across Indiana to find the best of the best to pitch at the Showcase on August 22. My hat’s off to you both plus all of the folks who put on the local pitch competitions. Now, read on for details on the Innovation Showcase Pitch Competition!

    Aaron Gillum, President, Venture Club of Indiana

    The Venture Club of Indiana likes to say we have Indiana’s largest pitch competition, but this year it’s also among the most carefully curated. With the help of local sponsors in nine Indiana cities, we met many enthusiastic entrepreneurs who pitched a wide range of high tech and socially conscious solutions. Choosing the 20 we believed to be the most investor ready to participate in The Innovation Showcase was tough! Here are the 2019 pitch companies:

     

     

     

     

    Evansville
    Heliponix
    Safekeeping

    Fort Wayne
    Bukal Beverage Co.
    Cool Corp, Inc.

    Greater Lafayette
    Adranos
    Amplified Sciences
    Rogo AG, LLC

    Indianapolis
    AfterSchool HQ
    Atlas Energy
    Away Zones
    Pinpoint Pharma
    Plan Forward

    Muncie
    Tudr
    What’s Up 24/7

    New Albany
    Moxie Girl
    Total Mindcare

    Northwest Indiana
    FlykeArt

    South Bend
    Frost Control Systems
    SIMBA Chain

    Terre Haute
    Zoro, Inc.

    Here’s What You Need to Know About the Pitch Competition

    Showcase pitch companies are competing for $20,000 in cash plus in-kind prizes. Equally important, they’re competing for the attention of the VCs, angel investors and individual investors in the audience. We’re looking for a big crowd. Have you purchased your tickets yet? Get them here.

    We kickoff the Innovation Showcase with registration at 11 a.m. followed by lunch. After welcoming remarks by Venture Club President Aaron Gillum, we get down to business with great speakers, the Expo Hall, and the pitches. See the complete Showcase schedule here.

    There are two pitch sessions, one at 2 p.m. and the second at 3:30. With Emcee Dr. Don Kuratko of the IU Kelley School of Business cheering them on, each startup will have three minutes to make their case to the judges. The scores will then be tallied and the judges will huddle before announcing the winners at 5:30.

    The day ends on a high note with the VIP Reception and Expo Hall from 5:45 – 7:30p.m. Showcase attendees and entrepreneurs have plenty of time to connect for one-on-one discussions and networking.

    The Venture Club of Indiana extends special thanks for our 2019 Innovation Showcase sponsors, without whom this event would not be possible.

    Elevate Ventures
    Allos
    Barnes & Thornburg
    Deftly Creative
    50 South Capital
    Innovation Connector
    Katz Sapper & Miller
    Lux-Writes
    Novel Coworking
    Ontario Systems
    Purdue Foundry
    Purdue Ventures
    Signature Bank
    VisionTech Angels 
    When You Leave the Room

    Find more information on The Innovation Showcase here. Purchase tickets here.

     

  • Onboard Dynamics’ Green Natural Gas Fuel Solution Headlines VisionTech Angels’ August Pitch Week

    VisionTech Angels’ Executive Director Ben Pidgeon recently sat down with Rita Hansen, CEO of Onboard Dynamics, to learn more about how the company’s GoFlo® compressors are enabling municipal and commercial fleets—waste haulers, school buses, delivery companies—to replace diesel fuel with clean, zero-carbon emitting natural gas. Interest in the mobile natural gas compressors is high, particularly in states that have mandated all waste haulers move to green-powered vehicles by 2020. Rita, who recently represented the United States as a delegate to the 2019 Global Entrepreneurship Summit in The Hague, Netherlands, will present Onboard Dynamics during VisionTech’s upcoming Pitch Week, August 26-29. Read on!

    Ben Pidgeon, VisionTech

    BP: VisionTech Angels is excited to host Onboard Dynamics during our August Pitch Week. What’s your story?
    RH: Jeff Witwer and I co-founded Onboard Dynamics in 2013 with Dr. Chris Hagen after licensing technology developed in Chris’ clean energy systems lab at Oregon State University (OSU) and initially funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. Jeff is a serial entrepreneur with experience in the energy and software industries. My interests are clean technologies, alternative energy, and renewables that present opportunities domestically and internationally. We saw the tremendous potential of natural gas compression technology to lead the clean fuel revolution in a way that disrupts the status quo without being disruptive to fleet managers and organizations.

    The company got immediate validation. After we licensed the technology, ARPA-E, a government agency that advances energy technologies with the potential to radically improve the U.S. economy, national security and environmental wellbeing, awarded us a $6.6 million cooperative agreement. This allowed us to develop and now commercialize a product from the technology, the GoFlo compressor. We just recently hit $1 million in sales!

    Rita Hansen, CEO
    Onboard Dynamics

    BP: Nice! We like revenue! What problem are you solving in the marketplace?
    RH: The macro problem is a global lack of infrastructure for refueling natural gas vehicles. Currently there are fewer than 1,000 public compressed natural gas stations. These refueling stations are also expensive; they cost more than $1 million to build. If you have a fleet of more than 50 vehicles, the cost can be justified. But for small fleet operators, you need an option that’s more affordable and in many cases, more flexible than a fixed fuel station.

    Another big problem we solve is the push—and in some cases, a mandated push—to convert fleets of vehicles to clean and/or renewable energy sources to reduce emissions of regulated pollutants like NOX and reduce one’s carbon footprint. NOX is a very poisonous emission of diesel fuels. Some people are turning to electric vehicles; I’m sure a few of you drive Teslas and love them. But electric vehicles for fleet use—school buses for example—are very expensive. And in many cases, the electricity to fuel these buses comes from coal-generated electricity. So where’s the win in that?

    BP: How easy are these compressors to use?
    RH: The GoFlo compressor makes the transition from diesel to natural gas-powered vehicles easy and affordable. It can be used in a fleet yard or off-site. It doesn’t require electricity to run, which is great for remote locations and disaster situations. And it accepts any low-pressure natural gas or renewable natural gas source for compression into a cost-effective, clean fuel for vehicles.

    BP: What types of fleets are you targeting?
    RH: We’re targeting government and commercial fleets, including light duty CNG trucks, school and transit buses, delivery vehicles, and a big one for us, waste haulers. California has mandated that the waste hauling industry move to alternate fuels by 2020, creating a significant market for us. What makes the GoFlo compressor attractive to this group—beyond regulatory compliance—is the refueling system pays for itself in less than two years due to lower fuel and labor costs

    One of our customers, an independent waste hauler in Southern California, is going live with a full system in mid-August. They’ve agreed to be a showcase for the more than 100 other similar independent waste haulers. The total market size of independent waste haulers in Southern California alone is 150-200 companies. We’ve also piloted GoFlo with a number of school districts and getting traction there.

    BP: Are there other markets for GoFlo, here or internationally?
    RH: Glad you asked that, Ben. Natural gas utilities are perfect channel partners for us as they can sell the GoFlo compressors to their customer or offer as “Compressed Natural Gas as a Service” with monthly billing. We are also working with Canada’s Department of Natural Resources to certify GoFlo for the Canadian market. We’ve received payment toward the first unit and expect to start installation in Ontario in late fall with full deployment in the first quarter of 2020. Other markets such as Mexico, Latin America, and India represent opportunities to expand due to a lack of natural gas infrastructure and also a real need reduce air pollution.

    BP: What kind of IP protection do you have?
    RH: The original technology has two international patents, and we’ve applied for six PCTs (patent cooperation treaty) on the compressor for national and international protection.

    BP: Why should VisionTech Angels invest in Onboard Dynamics?
    RH: As a nation, leaders in business, and members of the global community, we have a responsibility to adopt green energy technologies to protect the world for future generations. With the GoFlo compressor, Onboard Dynamics has a practical solution that meets government, business and social goals. It reduces emissions, its carbon neutral, it leverages existing natural gas pipeline distribution systems, and saves money. Our team is really good, too. Even with our lean sales team, our pipeline is full. We expect to sell 15 units in 2019 and 55 in 2020. We’re a company that’s in the right place at the right time.

    To learn more about Onboard Dynamics, visit their website. You can also watch their video. To RSVP for VisionTech Angels’ August Pitch Week, visit our events calendar.

  • What Do The Innovation Showcase Speakers Have in Common? A Passion for Startups

    Excitement is growing as the Venture Club of Indiana counts down to its premier, carefully curated startup pitch event, The Innovation Showcase on August 22 in Indianapolis. This year, a companion event joins the Showcase: The Next Level Fund Indiana Venture Summit. The Summit is designed to introduce venture capitalists and others to the exciting opportunities available through the Next Level Indiana Fund. I’ve invited Venture Club of Indiana Board Member and Program Committee Leader Sandy Wilcox to tell us about The Innovation Showcase, how the day will roll out, and the all-star line-up of speakers whose experiences as entrepreneurs, educators, and investors are legendary. VisionTech Angels is pleased to share Sandy’s inside perspective. Read on!

    Sandy Wilcox, The Innovation Showcase Program Chair

    In planning to hold the Next Level Fund Indiana Summit the same day as the Innovation Showcase, our objective was to encourage venture capitalist from all over the country to participate in The Innovation Showcase along with our statewide investment community. We all know that Indiana has long been considered a flyover state. The Venture Club Board and our president, Aaron Gillum, who is also senior vice president with 50 South Capital, are seeking to transform this perception and reflect the excitement and extraordinary progress of Indiana’s tech-driven innovation. By inviting investors to both events on the same day and putting our startups on stage in front of those investors, we know that we are fulfilling our objective, “Where Capital Meets Innovation!”

    When I volunteered to be program chair for The Innovation Showcase, I knew my committee and I had an amazing job ahead of us. Our goal was to make the Showcase a dynamic event for everyone regardless of your perspective, startup or VC, student or supporter.

    When the Next Level Fund Summit ends at around 11:30 a.m. and the attendees leave their seats, they will walk out of the hall and into The Innovation Showcase’s Entrepreneur’s Expo filled with booths hosted by some of Indiana’s finest startups for a “walking lunch.”

    At precisely 1 p.m., The Innovation Showcase will kick off with welcoming remarks from Venture Club President Aaron Gillum and Kip Frey, Executive Vice President, New Ventures, The Heritage Group.

    Don Brown, The Accidental Entrepreneur

    Seeking one of the most significant pioneers in Indiana’s technology space, we asked Don Brown, CEO of LifeOmic, to be our keynote speaker. As a leader at Software Artistry, and then as founder and CEO of Interactive Intelligence, Don negotiated the successful creation and sale of Interactive Intelligence to Genesys Telecommunications for a record $1.6 billion. His new adventure is LifeOmic, an Indianapolis-based software company that leverages the cloud, machine learning, and mobile devices to offer disruptive, precision medicine solutions to healthcare providers. A serial entrepreneur, Don still calls himself, an “accidental entrepreneur.” Sharing his entrepreneurial journey as well as lessons learned, Don will also outline his bold vision for the future of healthcare with Innovation Showcase guests.

    Don Kuratko, IU Kelley School of Business

    Following our keynote, the pitches begin! Two rounds of 10 of Indiana’s finest startup companies will present to Investors in the audience and to win a cash prize. Who better to serve as the emcee of this competition than Dr. Don Kuratko, the Gill Distinguished Chair and Professor of Entrepreneurship at the Indiana University Kelley School of Business. Recognized among the Top 10 entrepreneurship scholars in the world, “Dr K” created one of the country’s first entrepreneurship centers at Ball State University in 1983. His love, drive, and determination to build the foundation in education to prepare and support the growth of entrepreneurship make him a stunning choice to emcee our pitch competition!

    Jeff Ready, CEO, Scale Computing

    In between the two pitch segments, Jeff Ready, CEO of Scale Computing, will lead us on the “The Road… After the Showcase.” Jeff will share the impact winning The Innovation Showcase’s Venture Idol pitch competition in 2008 presented to him as CEO of an Indiana startup. Today, with 2,000 customers in 30 countries and a total capital raise of $96 million, Scale is poised for explosive growth through partnerships with much larger companies skillfully negotiated by Jeff and his team. He will also interview two other past winners to demonstrate the real impact of presenting and winning at the Venture Club’s Innovation Showcase. We ask from time to time, “Does the Showcase make a difference?” Jeff and the other winners prove that “YES,’ it absolutely does!

    Jane Martin

    After the final round of pitches, Jane Martin, a retired venture capitalist, will present “Seven Decades of Venture Capital, A Brief History.” A maverick as a women investor in the venture capital world, Jane was instrumental in numerous deals, investing in the likes of FedEx, MCI, Control Data, Sun Microsystems, Gymboree, and Calloway Golf to name a few. She will further discuss what it will take to bring venture capital investors to Indiana.

    The Showcase will wrap up with a dynamic panel of female VCs discussing venture investing from a woman’s perspective.  At 5:30 p.m., the winners of the pitch competition will be announced and we’ll celebrate with a VIP reception.  A full day to be sure, but a day that you won’t want to miss!

    The Venture Club of Indiana hopes you are as excited about the outstanding program and speakers we’ve assembled for The Innovation Showcase, Thursday, August 22, 11:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m. at The Center in Indianapolis. For more information about The Innovation Showcase, visit our website. If you don’t have you ticket yet, grab it now! Space is limited and you don’t want to miss out on Indiana’s largest pitch event.

     

     

     

  • Want to Connect with Capital? Don’t Miss the Inaugural Next Level Fund Summit

    The Venture Club of Indiana’s annual Innovation Showcase includes the state’s largest pitch event, with some 20 companies vying for prize money. This year the pot is sweeter thanks to a companion event, the 2019 Indiana Next Level Fund Summit, held the morning of The Innovation Showcase. The host of the Summit is 50 South Capital Advisors, the fund administrator of the Next Level Fund. Aaron Gillum, senior vice president at 50 South, is also the president of the Venture Club of Indiana and works with the state’s venture community. I recently sat down with Aaron to learn more about the Summit and how VisionTech Angels, startups, and others can get involved. Here goes!

    Ben Pidgeon, VisionTech

    BP: What’s the history of the Next Level Fund? It’s fairly new, right?
    AG: It is! The Indiana General Assembly announced the Next Level Fund in 2017 as a replacement of the Next Generation Trust Fund originally created by the Indiana Toll Road. We officially kicked off in March 2018. The Next Level Fund aims to invest $250 million over five years to encourage venture capital and philanthropic organizations to invest in Indiana’s innovation community. 50 South Capital manages the fund with oversight by the Governor’s Office and an Investment Board. While most of the money invested by venture capital firms (VCs) in our portfolio, the Next Level Fund can also make direct investments in companies alongside VCs in our program.

    BP: How many VCs are participating in the Next Level Fund so far? Is there a limit to how many that can get involved?
    AG: So far we have five groups that we have announced in our VC portfolio: Allos, High Alpha, the Foundry Group, Hyde Park Venture Partners, and Techstars SportsTech. There really isn’t a limit per se, but participants either have to be located in Indiana or have a track record of investing in Indiana companies. The objective is to get more venture funds in the state and deployed to Indiana startups and entrepreneurs.

    Aaron Gillum, Indiana Next Level Fund

    BP: That’s awesome! Tell me about the Next Level Fund Summit? This is a first-time event, right?
    AG: It is the first year for the Summit. I do want to stress while we share the same date and venue, the Next Level Fund Summit is a standalone event. At the same time, 50 South is heavily involved in the efforts of the Venture Club and thus The Innovation Showcase. The purpose of the Summit is to highlight our work to date, introduce our fund managers and what they’re working on, introduce portfolio companies, and ultimately, by exposing more people to the Next Level Fund, expand our list of VCs. We have invited venture firms from across the country to attend. To date we have more than 120 guests that have RSVP’d  for the event. Our goal is to double that number.

    BP: Is the Summit limited to VCs? Are angel investors welcome to attend?
    AG: We’ve extended a special invitation to all investors – anyone who writes checks! Indiana is blessed to have a thriving angel investing community and groups like VisionTech Angels, Elevate Ventures, and several other up and coming angel groups throughout the state that play a critical role in funding early stage companies. We want you guys at the Summit connecting with the VCs, the investment board and me. We want to grow our investment community; we’re all in this together! The general public is also invited to the Summit.

    BP: VisionTech Angels as well as other angel groups in Indiana have a number of Indiana-based portfolio companies in the middle of Series A Rounds. Can they attend?
    AG: Absolutely. We want them at the Summit. I would encourage them to go to our website, look at the venture firms that are currently participating, do some homework, and come prepared to network.

    BP: Any special guests you’d like to mention?
    AG: Every guest is special, but we are particularly pleased to welcome Governor Eric Holcomb as well as members of the Fund’s investment board. Our fund managers and many of their portfolio companies are looking forward to showcasing all the work they have been doing throughout the state.

    BP: Will we see Summit guests at The Innovation Showcase?
    AG: I am personally encouraging everyone who attends the Next Level Fund Summit to stay and attend the Venture Club of Indiana’s Innovation Showcase. It’s such a natural segue from what Indiana is doing as a state to increase the number of VCs firms and ramp up later stage investment, to the excitement of the pitch competition with 20 of Indiana’s most investable companies. Anyone with a stake in Indiana’s innovation and entrepreneurship community should attend both events.

    BP: I’ll be there.
    AG: I’m counting on you, Ben.

    For more information on the Indiana Next Level Fund, click here. RSVP for the 2019 Next Level Fund Summit on Thursday, August 22, 8-11 am at The Center here. There is no cost to attend. RSVP for The Innovation Showcase here.  We look forward to seeing you at both events!

     

  • The Road to the Showcase: Searching for Indiana’s Most Investable Companies

    The Innovation Showcase is Indiana’s largest curated event for entrepreneurs, investors, and supporters of the state’s vibrant ecosystem and includes a pitch competition with up to 20 startups representing a spectrum of industries. As a board member of the Venture Club of Indiana, I’ve personally been involved with the Showcase for seven years. While this year’s event isn’t until August 22, my fellow Venture Club board member, attorney and chair of the Showcase pitch competition, Travis Stegemoller, has spent the last six months crisscrossing the state in a search for Indiana’s most investable companies. I recently had coffee with Travis to learn more about “The Road to the Showcase.”

    Ben Pidgeon, VisionTech

    BP: I hear you and Aaron Gillum (Venture Club President) have been putting lots of miles on your cars on something called “Road to the Showcase.” What’s that all about?
    TS: You heard right; I’ve put at least 1,000 miles on mine on the Venture Club’s pitch company selection process. Two years ago, we took a look at how pitch companies are selected for The Innovation Showcase. At that time, most were from the Indianapolis area. As the Venture Club of Indiana, we realized we had to do a better job getting startups across the state represented in the Showcase and connecting them with venture capitalists. So we created the Road to the Showcase, where we hold pitch competitions in nine cities across the state. The winners of each go on to compete at The Innovation Showcase in Indianapolis in August.

    Travis Stegemoller,
    Barnes & Thornburg

    BP: Where all have you been?
    TS: We kicked off in South Bend at Notre Dame’s IDEA Center in April and from there went to Hammond, Evansville, New Albany, Lafayette, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, and Terre Haute. We’re wrapping up in Muncie at an event called the Innovation Connector on July 23 at 6:30 p.m. I’ve been to nearly every Road to the Showcase event. I think Aaron’s been to all of them.

    BP: How did you pull this nine-city tour?
    TS: Sounds like a logistical nightmare, right? Actually, it’s been great thanks to some wonderful partners. Elevate Ventures has been deeply involved from the start and offered the services of their entrepreneurs in residence to connect us with local stakeholders around the state. In some cases, we joined existing pitch events like “The Big Sell” in Hammond sponsored by Purdue University Northwest. One of our Venture Club board members, Nick Arnett, was instrumental starting The Blaze pitch event in Fort Wayne, which was co-hosted by the Venture Club, Start Fort Wayne and Founders Spark. All of the events are volunteer-driven and we had no shortage of help. I encourage you to visit our website for details on the Road to the Showcase events and hosting venues.

    BP: What kind of turnout did you have at the Road to the Showcase events?
    TS: First, I want to thank our local partners. Each city rallied around their event and really invested in the success of their local startups. There was great involvement in recruiting and coaching startups, finding qualified judges and inviting people to just come and experience it all. It’s been amazing. The overall turnout was great everywhere, but I have to give a shout out to Fort Wayne with over 100 attendees and to Evansville, which had tremendous enthusiasm.

    In terms of the startups, the overall quality has been impressive. We had the opportunity to see pitch companies across many industries, including software, hardware, consumer, medical devices, and life sciences. Most were considered true startups, but were in the process of scaling their business.”

    BP: What were the criteria for selecting the winners to go on to The Innovation Showcase Pitch?
    TS: The Venture Club has developed a judging rubric that rates each company on their product, scalability, traction, and management team. Our goal is to identify the most investable companies. Our hope was to find two per city. We anticipate having up to 20 pitch companies at The Innovation Showcase pitch competition on August 22. We’re still finalizing the list, but it will be a highly competitive event.

    BP: Any surprises on the Road to the Showcase?
    TS: Two things: how much fun I had meeting people across the state who are truly passionate about encouraging and supporting entrepreneurs and secondly, just how barren I-69 is between Evansville and Indy. Nothing for 1.5 hours, not even a McDonalds!

    BP: That’s harsh.
    TS: Right?

    The Venture Club of Indiana invites you to attend The Innovation Showcase, Thursday, August 22, 11:30 am-7:30 pm at The Center in Indianapolis. Register here. If you would like to become an Innovation Showcase sponsor, find information here. See you in August!