Investment Funds

JumpStart

JumpStart is a nonprofit venture development organization committed to accelerating entrepreneurial successes. JumpStart supports innovative ventures that have the potential to scale to make significant contributions to the regional economy by attracting investment capital and generating revenue, taxes and new jobs. JumpStart also directly invests in early stage, high growth companies. These companies tend to be in the healthcare, cleantech, advanced materials, advanced energy and information technology industries. They operate in global markets and possess protectable ideas and the desire to attract outside funding.

Draper Triangle Ventures

Draper Triangle Ventures is an early stage venture capital firm focused on technology investing in the Midwest. With $200 million under management across three funds, the firm has been one of the most active early stage investors in the Midwest over the past decade. The firm is a member of the DFJ Global Network, a unique venture capital model providing global reach through local presence. It encompasses over 140 venture capital professionals, in more than 30 cities throughout the U.S., Asia, Europe, Israel, South America and Russia, with more than 600 portfolio companies funded and over $7 billion of capital under management.

Early Stage Partners

Early Stage Partners invests primarily in companies in the Midwest, in their early stages of development, in our preferred industry segments:

• Information Technology
• Healthcare Technologies
• Advanced Manufacturing and Industrial Technologies
• Advanced Manufacturing
• Advanced Materials
• Cleantech (Energy and Environmental)
• Instruments, Controls and Electronics (ICE)
• Capital Under Management
• $100 million and growing

NCT Ventures

NCT Ventures is a venture capital firm dedicated to providing a platform for entrepreneurs to succeed in turning their ideas into profitable business models through hands-on operational support. Over the last 20 years, NCT has helped build many successful companies across a variety of industries by investing within their Midwest community and focusing disruptive technologies that create market efficiencies.

Reservoir Venture Partners

Reservoir Venture Partners (RVP) targets investments in companies with an emphasis on healthcare, information technology and clean technology. RVP supports portfolio companies with dynamic guidance to our entrepreneurs in all key aspects of operations, governance and strategy. RVP manages two funds with an initial investment generally of $0.5-$1 million, up to $4 million.

Queen City Angels First Funds

The QCA First Funds are a family of small investment funds, which were established in 2003 to help fledgling companies reach important milestones in their development and attract additional investment from conventional sources. They have been created by matching investments from the State of Ohio's Third Frontier Action Fund. Members of the Queen City Angels, with support from the Tri-State Growth Capital Fund and others, provide management and oversight of the Fund, as well as mentoring and guidance to the portfolio companies.

Cascade Capital

The goal of Cascade Capital Corporation is to provide direct financing assistance to small companies poised to grow through investment in new equipment, facilities and human resources. Cascade Capital can finance up to 40 percent of a company’s major fixed-asset purchases through its SBA 504 loan program and an even higher level through its Ohio 166 Regional loan program.

Riverside

The Riverside Company is one of the largest and oldest global private equity firms investing in companies with enterprise values of less than $250 million. With more than $3.5 billion in assets under management, 300 completed acquisitions and more than 25 years in business, Riverside nurtures companies with the goal of building them into more effective enterprises through time-tested management techniques, organic growth and add-on acquisitions.

U.S. Israel Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation (BIRD)

The U.S. and Israeli governments established the BIRD Foundation in 1977 to generate mutually beneficial cooperation between the private sectors of the U.S. and Israeli high tech industries, including start-ups and established organizations. BIRD provides both matchmaking services between U.S. and Israeli companies, as well as funding covering up to 50 percent of project development and product commercialization costs. BIRD takes no equity in the joint projects and all our services are free of charge. BIRD's scope extends to:

• Water
• Agriculture
• Communications
• Life Sciences
• Electronics
• Electro-optics
• Software 
• Homeland Security
• Renewable and Alternative Energy
• Other Hi-tech Industry Sectors

Ohio Third Frontier

The Ohio Third Frontier is an internationally recognized technology-based $2.1 billion initiative that supports existing industries that are transforming themselves with new, globally competitive products and fostering the formation and attraction of new companies in emerging industry sectors. Ohio Third Frontier provides funding to Ohio technology-based companies, universities, nonprofit research institutions and other organizations to create new technology-based products, companies, industries and jobs.