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The National Venture Capital Association accepts IU Ventures as a new member

Posted on by IU Communications

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

IU Ventures is delighted to be recognized as a newly appointed member of the National Venture Capital Association. Membership furthers our ability to meet potential co-investors and introduce attractive Indiana University-related companies to the larger venture community outside our region.

Teri Willey

The NVCA also fosters best practices in venture investing through model agreements, seminars, peer groups and more. These best practices help us address gaps in venture in our state, including helping to develop new venture associates through the VC University program offered by the NVCA. We look forward to bringing this in-person program to Indiana in cooperation with the Venture Club of Indiana, Elevate Ventures and other universities in the state.

Scott Dorsey, co-founder and managing partner of High Alpha, and Ting Gootee, chief investment officer of Elevate Ventures, served as our sponsors to NVCA membership. Their support is appreciated not just for the recognition but for the opportunity to co-invest with their funds. Syndication, or co-investment, with experienced investors is critical to the success of our fund, as it is with most venture funds.

We have two funds under our management — the Innovate Indiana Fund launched in 2010 and the IU Philanthropic Venture Fund launched in 2018. Resources like these support talented Indiana University faculty, students, staff and alumni to bring innovative ideas and research to the public through products and services provided by new companies.

You can join us in bringing the impacts of venture to Indiana for the benefit of Indiana University. We seeking founding donors to the IU Philanthropic Venture Fund in 2020. Imagine being part this evergreen initiative that ensures there is always support for IU entrepreneurs starting new companies, regardless of the other critical priorities at the university.

For more information contact me or take a look at our website.

The impact of IU’s defense sector partners in 2019

Posted on by IU Communications

By Joe Carley, director of economic development at Indiana University and director of strategic partnerships at the IU Center for Rural Engagement

I’m pleased to report that 2019 was a year of significant milestones for Indiana University’s defense sector partnerships.

Joe Carley

In September, Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane, located in nearby Crane, Indiana, was named one of six NavalX Tech Bridges in the country. This designation will bring new resources to support the Bloomington-Crane defense ecosystem.

Also in September, the Defense Entrepreneurs Forum announced that Indiana was selected to host the 2020 National DEF conference. The Bloomington/Crane DEF chapter, which includes members of the Innovate Indiana team, secured this honor after a year of successful events at The Mill in Bloomington.

And in December, the National Security Innovation Network announced a new partnership with IU. NSIN will bring its programs to IU to accelerate the development of solutions to national security challenges.

These and other achievements will no doubt play a critical role in IU’s ability to support national security and economic development.

But the milestone with the potential to have the deepest and longest-lasting impact occurred just before Christmas, when the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering awarded its first Ph.D. in intelligent systems engineering to Adam Duncan. Duncan is an electrical engineer at NSWC Crane.

This development is a major step forward in the relationship between NSWC Crane and IU. The creation of the Intelligent Systems Engineering program, which was initially recommended in the “Strategic Plan for Economic and Community Prosperity in Southwest Central Indiana,” was accomplished in part through the support of champions at NSWC Crane. And the facts that the program has already attracted multiple Crane Ph.D. students and that several of its faculty are engaged in collaborative research projects with Crane are a testament to its potential to advance regional economic development.

You can read more about Adam and the relationship between Crane and the Intelligent Systems Engineering program online.

 

President of Purdue University to speak at the Economic Club of Indiana’s Feb. 4 luncheon

Posted on by Steve Martin

Mitch Daniels, president of Purdue University, will speak at the Economic Club of Indiana’s luncheon Tuesday, Feb. 4. The luncheon will begin at noon at the Indiana Convention Center, 100 S. Capitol Ave.

Mitch Daniels

Tickets for members of the Economic Club of Indiana are $30; tickets for nonmembers are $35. They can be purchased online.

Indiana University and IUPUI are platinum sponsors of the Economic Club of Indiana’s luncheon season.

Kelley’s Indiana Business Research Center supports U.S. Opportunity Zones initiative

Posted on by IU Communications

A new online tool developed at the Indiana University Kelley School of Business to help economic and community developers in areas identified as opportunity zones is being praised by a top official at the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The USA Opportunity Zones tool was created at the Indiana Business Research Center at Kelley for the Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration, which announced the tool’s launch Jan. 14.

A post about the tool can be found on the Kelley School’s Go from Moment to Momentum blog.

Indiana University Philanthropic Venture Fund rises to the challenge

Posted on by IU Communications

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

The Indiana University Philanthropic Venture Fund launched in March 2018 as part of IU’s Bicentennial Plan. Specifically, we focus on the university’s priority to build a prosperous and innovative Indiana. As part of IU Ventures, we support IU-related entrepreneurs to bring their products and services to the public through new companies.

Teri Willey

Our team and a dedicated investment committee received funding inquiries from more than 250 ventures led by IU faculty, students and alumni in 2019. We funded seven, leading to $3 million invested from the fund and more than $20 million invested by other organizations. It’s proven to be a successful model, as we saw the first company exit our portfolio this year: Doxly was acquired by Chicago-based Litera Microsystems in August.

When companies like Doxly exit our portfolio, they pay back the fund’s investment and more. This means we are an evergreen fund, which assures there will always be financial support for IU entrepreneurs who start new companies, regardless of the university’s other critical priorities. When company founders are successful, we succeed too.

Won’t you join us in this effort? The Indiana University Philanthropic Venture Fund has a goal of raising $35 million from alumni and other university partners to add to our current resources. We are seeking founding donors. You can learn more about this opportunity and how to be a founding donor by contacting me or visiting our website.

 

IU Ventures portfolio company Costello acquired by SalesLoft

Posted on by IU Communications

In May 2018, the Innovate Indiana Fund invested $200,000 in Costello, a sales co-pilot software company. Only a year and a half later, Costello was acquired by Atlanta-based sales engagement platform SalesLoft. Led by Indiana University alumnus Frank Dale, the Indianapolis company has already begun integrating its software with SalesLoft’s.

The combination of the company’s standout tech and leadership team struck a chord with the staff of IU Ventures, which manages the Innovate Indiana Fund. Dale is a graduate of the Indiana University Kelley School of Business who had successfully founded, scaled and led previous companies to acquisition.

After receiving its investment, Costello proved itself a worthy addition to the world of sales tools. The software stood apart from other similar platforms thanks to its ability to integrate all relevant sales information into one view: All planners, calendars, alarms, pipelines, playbooks, metrics and timelines are available in one place, giving managers the ability to push in-progress deals across the finish line.

Jason Whitney, associate vice president of IU Ventures, said Costello fit naturally within the diverse IU Ventures portfolio.

“The IU Ventures portfolio includes a wide variety of companies, but there is a thread developing with business intelligence and automation tools that are all very complementary,” Whitney said. “This enhanced relationship with SalesLoft will add to our relationships in this sector, providing even more opportunities for partnerships and impact.”

Co-founder and CEO of ClusterTruck to speak at the Economic Club of Indiana’s Jan. 23 luncheon

Posted on by Steve Martin

Chris Baggott, co-founder and CEO of ClusterTruck, will speak at the Economic Club of Indiana’s luncheon Thursday, Jan. 23. The luncheon will begin at noon at the Indiana Convention Center, 100 S. Capitol Ave.

Chris Baggott

Tickets for members of the Economic Club of Indiana are $30; tickets for nonmembers are $35. They can be purchased online.

Indiana University and IUPUI are platinum sponsors of the Economic Club of Indiana’s luncheon season.

Record calendar year for the RED Fund

Posted on by Steve Martin

For the second consecutive calendar year, the Regional Economic Development Fund granted a record number of awards to Indiana University campuses and academic centers.

Thirteen grants totaling more than $30,000 were approved by the Council for Regional Engagement and Economic Development in 2019. The RED Fund awards cost-share grants of up to $2,500 to projects at all IU campuses and regional academic centers.

David Gard

“Not only was 2019 a record year for the RED Fund, but it also marked the fourth consecutive year when awarded amounts exceeded the previous year’s total,” said David Gard, associate vice president of economic engagement. “CREED representatives are committed to building on this trend to produce another banner year in 2020 as we mark the university’s bicentennial.”

Projects that received RED Fund grants in 2019 were:

  • “LEAD Conference” at IU Kokomo.
  • “Wearables and the Internet of Things Symposium” at IU Bloomington.
  • “Bringing For-profit Marketing Techniques to Nonprofits” at IU Northwest.
  • “Opioid: Data to Action: Combating Addiction through Innovation” at IUPUI.
  • “Carver Community Center Partnership” at IU Kokomo.
  • “How the Art of Marketing Can Help in the Marketing of Arts” at IU Northwest.
  • “Center for Entrepreneurship BOSS Youth Program” at IU East.
  • “PopUp Business School” at IUPUI.
  • “Lead by Design: Inclusion Revealed” at IUPUC.
  • “Startup Weekend” at IU Bloomington.
  • “Prevention is Better than Cure: Identifying the Critical Success Factors for an Opioid Addiction Awareness Program” at IU Northwest.
  • “Integrated Technology Programmatic support for Kokomo Domestic Violence Shelter” at IU Kokomo.
  • “Lead by Design: Unveiling the Bias” at IUPUC.

(more…)

Patent issued to IU innovation that could innovate therapeutics for cancer, Type 2 diabetes, other diseases

Posted on by Steve Martin

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a patent on an innovation to improve upon therapeutics that pertain to controlling protein function.

More than two dozen inhibitors of disease-associated enzymes have been developed and approved for clinical use. They are considered invaluable in illuminating the mechanism of these diseases and providing novel therapeutics. But there are challenges to further develop them into potent, selective and drug-like inhibitors.

The IU innovation includes a variety of inhibitors that provide a method that could treat tuberculosis, cancer, Lafora disease and Type 2 diabetes.

The innovation was disclosed to the IU Innovation and Commercialization Office. The mission of the office is to drive innovation to the market for the benefit of the public, the university and innovators for state, national and global commerce. IU personnel can disclose an invention online.

IU Bloomington student-led nonprofit receives $60,000 grant

Posted on by Steve Martin

Congratulations to Health Advocacy Summit! The nonprofit organization led by IU Bloomington student Sneha Dave has received a $60,000 grant from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust. The mission of Health Advocacy Summit is to connect and empower young adults with chronic and rare diseases through advocacy events and programs.

A news release about the award is online.

Sneha Dave

Dave, a senior from Greenwood, majors in journalism in The Media School in the College of Arts and Sciences as well as in chronic illness advocacy, an individualized major. She is also a member of the Shoemaker Scholars program, which encourages IU Bloomington students to explore their own entrepreneurial and innovative interests.