• Skip to Content
  • Skip to Sidebar
IU

Indiana University Indiana University IU

Innovate IndianaNews and information on how IU is driving innovation, entrepreneurship and economic development

One year in: The impact of the Philanthropic Venture Fund

Posted on April 17, 2019 by IU Communications

By Teri Willey, executive director, IU Ventures and fund manager, Indiana Philanthropic Venture Fund LLC

It’s been a year since the Indiana Philanthropic Venture Fund was launched. We have had a busy and gratifying year as we support companies that are based on IU intellectual property or have IU graduates as founders or members of the C-suite.

Teri Willey

During our first year, 10 companies have received a total of $3.1 million in investments from the fund. These portfolio companies are Care Revolution, Confluence Pharmaceuticals, Diagnotes, Doxly, Encamp, NERX BioSciences, Open Martech, Scioto Biosciences, Sharpen and Vascugen. These companies have IU DNA at their core, are located within the state, and are garnering attention; Encamp was named New Tech Startup of the Year at the 2019 Mira Awards.

While my colleagues and I are pleased with our growing portfolio of investments, we are equally pleased that our strategy of syndication has garnered even greater results for these companies. Having co-investors who leverage our investment has led to an additional $22.75 million in funding for the companies. This ratio of more than 7:1 shows that the fund’s impact will extend beyond just the immediacy of its investment.

The response to the fund has been heartening. Our team has reviewed 147 investment opportunities, many identified by my colleague Jason Whitney through his Quarry program. We proposed 23 of those for investment, and 14 have received investment committee approval. The quantity has been impressive, but the quality is even better, excellent examples of the university’s impact on the state through the commercialization of its IP and the leadership of its graduates.

Our outlook for the balance of 2019 will be supporting our companies and, because of the increasing number of excellent investment opportunities, raising money for our fund so we can continue our work.

For more information about our portfolio companies, to inquire about funding or to donate to the fund, please visit our website. You can also connect with us on LinkedIn or by sending a message to me, tfwilley@iu.edu, or to our awesome fund associate Samantha Ginther, sginther@iu.edu.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Filed under: Economic Development, Entrepreneurship, IU Ventures

One Comment

  1. Daniel Smedema April 20th, 2019

    Myself and Luke Jacobs are two of the three founders of Encamp, and we’re the IU connection – both of us are ‘15 grads.

    I have to say, Luke has spoken in nothing but glowing terms about the process of working with you folks. I’m guessing it’s partially due to the mission-driven nature of the fund – it’s focusing on the success of local and IU-rooted businesses, but with a broader definition of success than a Silicon Valley VC’s “hyper-growth or die” mindset. It’s probably also partially due to the Fund’s board just being full of pleasant and excellent people.

    Whatever the cause, we’re extremely happy with our experience working with the IU Philanthropic Venture Fund and would recommend it to anyone.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Additional Content

Innovate Indiana Button

Search Innovate Indiana

About Innovate Indiana

Join us as we highlight how IU innovation is accelerating economic growth in Indiana and beyond and creating a culture of entrepreneurship across the Hoosier state.

Innovate Indiana is maintained by the Indiana University Office of the Vice President of Government Relations and Economic Engagement.

Subscribe to the Innovate Indiana Blog

Sign up to receive regular updates from Innovate Indiana Blog

Please, insert a valid email.

Thank you, your email will be added to the mailing list once you click on the link in the confirmation email.

Spam protection has stopped this request. Please contact site owner for help.

This form is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

About the Authors

Ryan Piurek
Tony Armstrong
Joe Carley
David Gard
Bill Stephan
Kirk White
Teri Willey

Archives by Year

2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010

Categories

  • Alumni
  • Defense Partnerships
  • Economic Development
  • Engagement
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Faculty
  • International Engagement
  • IU Innovation and Commercialization Office
  • IU Regional Campuses
  • IU Research & Technology Corporation
  • IU Ventures
  • Research
  • Staff
  • Statewide Engagement
  • Students
  • Technology Commercialization
  • Uncategorized
  • Workforce Development

Bookmarks

  • Innovate Indiana website
  • IU Center on Representative Government
  • IU Grand Challenges
  • IU Impact
  • IU Innovation and Commercialization Office
  • IU Office of the Vice President for Government Relations and Economic Engagement
  • IU Ventures

Indiana University

Copyright © 2022 The Trustees of Indiana University | Privacy Notice | Accessibility Help

Subscribe

Subscribe By Email

Get every new post delivered right to your inbox.

This form is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.