At last, here’s your chance to live vicariously through the roller coaster experiences of other local entrepreneurs.
The Western Pennsylvania Adventure Capital Fund has launched a second round of fund-raising to raise another $4 million from current and new shareholders. The money then is invested in early-stage start-ups with high growth potential.
All you need to participate, according to the fund’s managers, is a minimum of 10,000 shares at $1.45 a share. Deadline for participation is mid-November.
The original fund, launched in July 1997 with $2 million, is made up of an estimated 80 institutions and private shareholders. But the fund already is almost fully invested in 11 local start-ups, including Applied Electro Optics Corp., CoManage Corp., MediaSite Inc., Medtrex Inc. and Allegheny Childcare Academy, among others.
Among the fund’s most admirable attributes, the managers say, is the fact that each of the investments to date has been able to leverage the capital to attract private co-investments from the fund’s shareholders. New investors likewise will be able to tap into that existing pool of investments, in addition to new ones.
Typically, the fund invests between $100,000 and $200,000 in each start-up, with additional capital coming from the fund’s investors privately.
“We are tremendously excited about the start-ups that are coming out of Pitt and CMU, as well as the spin-offs of other local technology companies,” says G. Richard Patton, president of the Adventure Capital Fund. “The fund is probably a little ahead of its original schedule with this second round of fund-raising because of the quality of the deal flow we have seen among Western Pennsylvania start-ups.”
How to reach: Western Pennsylvania Adventure Capital Fund, (412)279-1760.
Daniel Bates
