Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania Approves $2.3 Million for Nine Early-Stage Companies
Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania (BFTP/SEP) recently approved investments totaling $2,335,000 for nine early-stage Pennsylvania companies with promising technology innovations.
“This latest round of company investments highlights energy efficiency, medical and information technology innovations,” said RoseAnn B. Rosenthal, President & CEO of Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania. “Today, more than ever, our state and national agendas need to focus on the entrepreneur as the agent of change and key to economic growth,” she added.
Essential Medical
Wayne
BFTP Investment: $250,000
Essential Medical is developing a vascular closure device that will seal the opening created from cardiac catheterizations in leg arteries. The company is led by Greg A. Walters, President and CEO.
Green Badge Holdings
King of Prussia
BFTP Investment: $500,000
Green Badge Holdings manufactures a wireless soil sensor system that measures root-zone soil conditions in real time, thus allowing for optimal irrigation and fertilization, eliminating the unnecessary usage of water, fertilizer and energy. This cost-saving and environmentally beneficial technology can be used for everything from golf courses to residential landscaping. The estimated annual world-wide market for this technology is $15 billion. The company is led by Robert Burch, Chairman & CEO; Walter Norley, Founder and President; Paul Pressler, Vice-Chairman; Joseph Cahill, CFO; and Don Apruzzese, President of ProHome.
Green Power Technologies
King of Prussia
BFTP Investment: $250,000
Green Power Technologies is currently developing a smart plug, smart strip and power cord that will automatically or remotely turn off selected electronic devices. This technology is valuable for many products, including those that continue to use power even when turned off. The products will use Wi-Fi for remote operation. The company is led by Gregory Puschnigg, Founding Chairman and CEO; and Robert Fiori, Co-Founder and President.
Leversense
Newtown Square
BFTP Investment: $300,000
Previous BFTP Investment: $200,000
Leversense is developing the next generation diagnostic biosensor technology that is extremely sensitive directly in blood, urine, or milk. The company is led by Pete Nagy, Co-Founder and CEO; and Dr. Paul Horan, Ph.D., Vice-President of Business Development.
Neat Company
Philadelphia
BFTP Investment: $60,000
Previous BFTP Investment: $687,500
Neat Company, founded in 2002, is a leader in organization technology for paper and electronic information, including receipts and invoices. Neat’s scanner solution is #1 in retail due to its unique and innovative hardware and software developments, from state-of-the-art imaging techniques to sensible and clear organizational methods. Neat Company is led by Jim Foster, CEO; Tonya Zweier, CFO; Kevin Garton, Chief Marketing Officer; Mike Crincoli, Vice President of Sales; and Harris Romanoff, Executive Vice President for Engineering.
QLIDA Diagnostics
Philadelphia
BFTP Investment: $250,000
QLIDA Diagnostics develops inexpensive and effective in vitro diagnostic tests to detect life-threatening diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases. QLIDA’s technology was developed at Drexel University. The company has used its innovative diagnostic platform, Quantum-dot Linked Immuno-Detection Assay (QLIDA), to develop diagnostic tools that have proven experimentally successful in human and animal samples. QLIDA Diagnostics is led by Michael Boyce-Jacino, Ph.D., CEO; and Elizabeth S. Papazoglou., PhD.
Viridity Energy
Conshohocken
BFTP Investment: $350,000
Viridity Energy provides innovative energy optimization solutions that help customers buy, use and sell energy in an economically optimal manner. The company’s success is driven by a platform that combines energy prices, weather, and other factors to manage a customer’s energy needs. Amongst other projects, Viridity received a $900,000 grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to implement technology that captures waste energy produced by the braking systems of the trains in SEPTA’s fleet. The company is led by Audrey Zibelman, President and CEO; Alain P. Steven, Executive Vice-President and CTO; Bruce A. Sher, Senior Vice-President, Business Development; Ken Laughlin, Senior Vice-President, Operations; Allen Freifeld, Senior Vice-President, External Affairs; and Larry Waddell, Director of Finance.
VITA Products
Philadelphia
BFTP Investment: $125,000
VITA Products is developing and commercializing the VITAband, a bracelet that provides both medical ID information and a prepaid payment solution. The technology is also being integrated into numerous other product types. Each of the products provide medical professionals with your identification, relevant medical history and emergency contacts to help ensure you get the care you need in the event of an emergency. Simultaneously, the Contactless Payment functionality allows users to simply wave a VITA product at the point of sale to make purchases at thousands of retailers. VITA Products is led by co-founders Jason Brown and David Waxman.
WizeHive
Bryn Mawr
BFTP Investment: $250,000
Previous BFTP Investment: $150,000
WizeHive, managed by PivotPoint Software, LLC, provides online private workspaces to share files, manage projects, track activity and collaborate with others. It allows organizations to communicate to and from a variety of sources, and facilitates specialized communications needs, such as contests that use public input to determine a winner, and grant applications that require review. WizeHive is led by Michael Levinson, Founder and CEO; Alan Carson, Founder and CTO; and Jeff Thomas, Vice-President of Sales and Marketing.
Tags: 