01 Oct Caitlin Ursini Joins IU Angel Network to Combine Her Passion for Startups and Indiana University
Caitlin Ursini believes she owes everything to Indiana University—her friends, her career, and even the opportunities she’s yet to have—because of the connections she made while on campus. And that’s one reason she decided to become part of the IU Ventures Angel Network.
“The IU Angel Network allows me to combine my passion for startups, the next generation of companies, and IU all in the same place,” Ursini said. “I’ve been a part of startups for the last six years and have worked with some friends as they’ve built and grown their own companies. After working in startups and advising those starting their companies, I realized I wanted to get involved from a financial perspective.”
The IU Angel Network, part of IU Ventures, facilitates connections between startup companies and prospective investors among Indiana University’s global community of alumni, faculty, staff, students and friends, to further Indiana University’s mission of fostering a pervasive entrepreneurial culture that contributes to the prosperity of the State of Indiana, the nation and the world.
Ursini believes the IU Angel Network brings an interesting perspective to investing with its focus on IU affiliations.
“Many of these companies have roots in the Midwest or in Indiana which may be overlooked by a lot of traditional investments, but the more we can expand hubs of investing the more equity there will be across founders and great companies can come to fruition,” she said.
Ursini was a journalism major at IU and graduated in 2012. She spent four years writing for the Indiana Daily Student, acted as tour guide and representative for the admissions office, was an active member of Kappa Alpha Theta, and had season basketball tickets every year. She currently lives in Chicago where she is the Strategic Account Director at Notable, a healthcare technology startup that works to solve the significant administrative burden and workforce challenges in the healthcare space.
“One of the key lessons I learned at IU’s journalism school was the power of networking and making connections,” she explained. “I joined Notable when they had only about 35 employees. I was approached about the opportunity by a coworker that I first met when I was just 22 years old. It was the power of my network that landed me in this job (and many others).”
As part of the IU Angel Network, Ursini listens to pitches from companies within the IU ecosystem, providing go-to-market and sales strategy to some of the groups seeking funding, and providing advice to entrepreneurs.
“If I put my sales hat on, I remind people that you can have the best product in the world, but if you can’t create a compelling story for the problem you solve, it won’t go anywhere,” she said. “You always need to be pushing your vision forward and getting feedback along the way.”
Ursini recently participated in a funding round for Lil Bucks, which makes gluten-free snacks from sprouted buckwheat. The founder, Emily Griffith, was her sorority sister while at IU.
“Getting to invest in Lil Bucks was an awesome moment,” Ursini said. “I met Emily when she was a freshman at IU and we all knew that she was super smart. I’m not surprised at all that she’s built an amazing company and getting to be a small part was a fun, full circle moment. I’m looking forward to helping support more Emilys.”
Ursini is passionate about increasing the percentage of funding that women receive from venture capital and increasing the number of women leading investments.
“I want to show other women that investing is not just a man’s sport,” she explained. “It may be intimidating to get started, but places like the IU Angel Network make it much easier to learn and then jump in. I want to make sure that women-founded companies have the same opportunities to be successful as male-founded companies.”
About IU Ventures
IU Ventures invests in and supports IU-affiliated early-stage companies. Its investment programs include the IU Philanthropic Venture Fund, IU Angel Network, Shoebox Fund and Innovate Indiana Fund. It further supports IU founders through the Executive in Residence Program and IU Founders and Funders Network. Student support is provided through a variety of engagements, including the new IU Venture Fellows Program. Each program takes unique approaches to accelerate and support the positive impacts that entrepreneurs affiliated with IU already achieve across the world. IU Ventures is a recognized leader in increasing opportunities for diverse and historically underserved entrepreneurs and investing in Indiana startups with a shared commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. www.iuventures.com