Oct 14, 2022

(photo courtesy: Indiana University/James Brosher) IU Ventures, Indiana University’s early-stage venture and angel investment arm, says several high-potential business ventures have made successful partial exits. IU says the startups received help through its major investment programs, including the IU Philanthropic Venture Fund and the Innovate Indiana Fund. IU Ventures invests in early-stage ventures at different stages of their development, nurtures their growth, and provides financial capital in the form of early and seed-round funding. “We’re extremely proud of the IU-affiliated founders we have invested in and nurtured and the successes they have had; in nearly all cases, their development, while not at all surprising, has happened earlier than we expected,” said IU Ventures Managing Director Teri Willey. “Their successes reflect the vision, experience and sound investment decisions of the IU Ventures team and the funders who trust us with their donations. And they truly are the gifts that keep on giving, allowing us to maintain and ensure evergreen investment funds that provide IU founders with the vital, early-stage support they need to accelerate new ideas and innovations to the market.” The startups include: Allinaire Therapeutics – a Cleveland-based therapeutics developer for cardiopulmonary diseases based on research from the IU School of Medicine. IU Ventures invested $125,000 through the Innovate Indiana Fund. Costello – a sales co-pilot software company founded in Indianapolis by Frank Dale, who graduated from the IU Kelley School of Business. IU Ventures invested $200,000 in 2018. Costello has since been acquired by Atlanta-based sales engagement platform SalesLoft. Encamp – Indianapolis-based startup that developed a first-of-its-kind software product to organizations seeking to improve their environmental compliance operations and mitigate the risks of non-compliance. The company was co-founded in 2017 by Luke Jacobs and Daniel Smedema, graduates of IU Bloomington’s College of Arts and Sciences. IU Ventures has invested more than $775,000 through the IU Philanthropic Venture Fund, and the company recently closed on a $30 million Series C round of funding. Mentor Collective – a Boston-based technology company co-founded in 2014 by CEO Jackson Boyar, a graduate of IU’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies. IU Ventures has invested $1 million to support the business. MomentPath – an Indianapolis-based child care software and day care app, which allows parents, teachers and directors to track the activities of children. The business was founded by CEO Caitlin Coffman, a 2003 graduate of IUPUI. Since 2018, IU Ventures has invested nearly $200,000 in MomentPath through the Innovate Indiana Fund. Periodic – a software developer headquartered in Bloomington that specializes in helping businesses with their calendaring and scheduling needs. The business was founded by Bloomington entrepreneur and former IU student Brad Wisler. Periodic was recently merged into the Exclaimer Group. IU Ventures has made three financial investments in Periodic through the Innovate Indiana Fund. Most Popular Stories