Thank You to Our 2013 Competition Sponsors
Gold Level
Our mission is to inspire students to chase big ideas and become founders of impactful companies that drive innovation and economic growth. We set out to accomplish our mission sponsoring innovation programs, incubators and business competitions and supporting founders with our $100K program. In collaboration with our partner schools we are helping more students bridge the gap between the academics of entrepreneurship and the real world.
Innovation Works plays a vital role in Southwestern PA's technology economy. We invest capital, business expertise and other resources into high-potential companies with the greatest likelihood for regional economic impact.
IW is the single largest investor in seed-stage companies in this region and one of the most active in the country.
Sarosh Kumana is a real estate entrepreneur and angel investor based in San Francisco, with over 25 years of startup and management experience. He founded and ran a leading California government foreclosure brokerage and a mortgage brokerage company for over 15 years. He is President of Pacific Capital Management, managing member of Junglee LLC, and also manages several other private investment vehicles. He is a member of Health Tech Capital, a limited partner in numerous VC funds, and active with Sand Hill Angels in Silicon Valley as a Board Director.
Sarosh received a B.Com. from Sydenham College, University of Bombay, and an MBA from Carnegie-Mellon University.
Silver Level
Bay City Capital was established in 1997 for the purpose of managing investment funds in the life sciences industry. Since that date, the firm has managed eight venture funds representing over $1.6 billion in capital invested in over 90 companies worldwide. Our investment team has invested in a diverse group of life sciences companies, across all stages of the product lifecycle. Our portfolio includes companies focusing on biopharmaceuticals and drug discovery, as well as medical devices and diagnostics. Identified as opportunities based on our evaluation of market conditions and the overall competitive environment, our investments have ranged from seed investing to early, mid-, and late-stage, as well as select public investing.
Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC is a full-service law firm with approximately 450 lawyers and government relations professionals who serve the legal and business needs of regional, national and international clients.
Buchanan represents national, regional and local capital providers and the entrepreneurial companies in which they invest. Long before it was conventional for larger law firms to work with start-up companies, Buchanan was recognized for its leadership and expertise in helping entrepreneurs cut through the business challenges often associated with legal issues. We work to provide practical advice and develop alternatives so that our clients focus their efforts toward growth. For more information, please visit www.bipc.com.
The lawyers of Cohen & Grigsby's Emerging Business group assist young companies with the range of challenges they face by offering advice on how and when to staff up; links to financing sources and potential board members and senior advisors; recommendations on accounting, communications and other outsource professionals, and general mentoring. The diverse expertise of the attorneys allows us to offer these services and, in effect, partner with our clients in rewarding relationships that typically endure for many years. We represent clients in such sectors as information technology, biotechnology and life sciences, among many others, assisting them in all aspects of the business life cycle — protecting and licensing ideas and intellectual property, technology transfer, financing, general corporate and business counseling, labor and employment matters, exit strategies. The firm provides the full-spectrum of legal services and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and has an office in Naples, Florida. For more information, please visit www.cohenlaw.com.
Highmark Inc. is a national diversified health and wellness company based in Pittsburgh that serves 34.4 million people across the United States through its businesses in health insurance, dental insurance, vision care, information technology and integrated health care delivery. The company, which has more than 20,000 employees, is the ninth-largest overall U.S. health insurer and the fourth-largest Blue Cross and Blue Shield-affiliated company.
Highmark operates health insurance plans in Pennsylvania, Delaware and West Virginia that serve 4.9 million members. The company also offers health and wellness products to clients with employees throughout the country and is a recognized leader in reinsurance. In addition, the company operates more than 600 optical retail stores and four U.S.-based eyewear manufacturing facilities. Highmark is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, an association of independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies.
K&L Gates LLP comprises more than 2,000 lawyers who practice in 46 offices located on five continents. We represent leading global corporations, growth and middle-market companies, capital markets participants and entrepreneurs in every major industry group as well as public sector entities, educational institutions, philanthropic organizations and individuals.
Bronze Level
Thorley Industries’ 4moms® brand is a line of baby gear products designed to meet parents' real needs dramatically better than competitive products through the use of technology and innovative design.
The company was born in 2005 when founders Rob Daley and Henry Thorne met for lunch and decided to form a company. Rob’s business acumen, Henry’s engineering expertise, and a shared conviction that increasingly inexpensive electronics could add value in static product categories gave them confidence. Not long after, a focus group of 4moms gave them insights, ideas, and a name for their brand.
The first product was a bathtub spout cover with a digital thermometer that makes it easy for mom to set the perfect temperature for bath time. The product line has evolved to include: The mamaRoo® infant seat, designed to soothe and entertain babies by moving the way parents do; The origami® stroller, the world's first power-folding stroller; and The breeze™ playard that opens or closes in one easy step.
The BlueTree Allied Angels is a regional group of accredited investors who invest in early stage companies. This 'members-only' organization is designed to operate as a network of private equity investors who meet on a monthly basis to evaluate and invest in pre-institutional, early-stage investments.
The organization provides the structure for a means to aggregate monies and to aggregate the knowledge and experience of the membership. BlueTree is a member of the national Angel Capital Association, a trade support organization for best practices, standards, professional conduct, and public policy issues that impact investors and entrepreneurs.
To date (November 2012), BlueTree Allied Angels has invested in 35 regional companies approximately $22 million dollars.
Idea Foundry bridges the significant gap between idea generation and viable businesses by providing funding, relationships, expertise, and hands-on assistance to new ventures. Our model of investing both hands-on assistance and funding has proven to be the critical factor in effectively commercializing innovations regardless of the industry or technology focus. Idea Foundry has invested in over 100 technology businesses and created over 600 jobs since its inception in 2002, helping to drive the regional economy in southwestern PA.
Lip-Bu founded Walden International in 1989 and has been active in the venture capital industry for more than two decades. He introduced and pioneered the U.S. venture capital concept in Asia and contributed to the promotion of early-stage technology investing in the Asia-Pacific region. Prior to WI, he was Vice President at Chappell & Co. and held management positions at EDS Nuclear and ECHO Energy.
Lip-Bu holds a B.S. in Physics from Nanyang University in Singapore, a M.S. in Nuclear Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a M.B.A. from the University of San Francisco.
NEA is a leading venture capital firm focused on helping entrepreneurs build transformational businesses across multiple stages, sectors and geographies. With about $13 billion in committed capital, the firm invests in information technology, healthcare and energy technology companies at all stages in a company’s lifecycle, from seed stage through IPO. NEA’s long track record of successful investing includes more than 175 portfolio company IPOs and more than 290 acquisitions. For additional information, visit www.nea.com.
Started in 2007, Phone.com focused on building upon the internet marketing and VoIP industry experience of our founders to deliver new technologies in a user-friendly way to homes and small businesses. We work continually to become the industry-leading communications platform, bringing people and technology together, helping the world embrace the ever-changing communications landscape. Our Mission is to provide total communications flexibility and freedom - one conversation at a time - by empowering people to communicate how they want, where they want and when they want.
Pittsburgh Equity Partners is a venture capital firm specializing in early-stage information technology and life sciences investments and is focused primarily in southwestern Pennsylvania.
The Pittsburgh Venture Capital Association was founded in 1982 to catalyze venture investment and entrepreneurialism in Western Pennsylvania. Since then it has become the leading voice of private equity investors in the region.
Through a wide range of programs, the PVCA facilitates quality deal flow, encourages investor collaboration, and fosters important relationships with key service providers. Every major regional venture capital firm is represented in our membership, as well as numerous first-tier service providers.
Regional promotional activities include a venture fair, regular networking events, a membership directory, and award ceremonies for successful regional entrepreneurs. All these activities aim to create a positive climate for venture capital in Western Pennsylvania.
