Whether it’s funding, connections, resources, or guidance, we build the pathways to an entrepreneurial culture that invests in IU-connected companies, bringing them to life.
As an alumna of the IU Jacobs School of Music and opera singer, Jennie Moser understood the challenging process of applying for auditions. She saw an opportunity to transform how artists promote themselves and secure jobs. Jennie founded Stagetime, a customizable online platform for performers to showcase their talents, build their networks, and advance their careers. To take her idea to reality she connected with the team at IU Ventures, who recognized a budding star and high-potential business.
IU Ventures invested in Stagetime with:
- Assistance with identifying the opportunity and creation of the business plan
- Advice on the materials and presentations to potential investors
- Investments from the IU Angel Network
“IU Ventures has given us a remarkable set of resources to grow our business.”
Jennie Moser, Stagetime founder
As a globally renowned life sciences researcher, IU’s Richard DiMarchi has spent a lifetime seeking innovative therapeutics and treatments to improve the lives of people with diabetes and other metabolic diseases. His most recent discoveries included several promising drug candidates with potential life-saving properties for rare endocrine disorders where current treatments are inadequate. After connecting with IU Ventures, DiMarchi is now leading another startup company sparked by his latest discovery, MBX Biosciences, that is on the verge of bringing its breakthrough medicines to the marketplace, dramatically improving people’s lives, and boosting Indiana’s life sciences economy.
IU Ventures invested in MBX Biosciences with:
- Investment from the IU Philanthropic Venture Fund
- Sharing the history of Dr. Di Marchi’s leadership in the life sciences
“The investment from IU Ventures will support our initial discovery research of life-saving drugs.”
Richard DiMarchi, MBX Biosciences founder
To IU alum Jackson Boyer mentoring relationships can make all the difference in the success a student has in maximizing their college experience, graduating within six years, and having less college debt. He believed creating a company that specialized in mentoring relationships would not only make college work for more people but could also address the equity gap for students from low-income backgrounds. He founded Mentor Collective with a unique mentorship strategy and quickly found that a student meeting with their mentor three times or more in his program increased the chances of that student pursuing the next level in their education by 99.9%. Connecting with IU Ventures gave Jackson the opportunity to scale his mentorship strategy across college campuses nationwide and begin to close the equity gap that was keeping many students from succeeding.
IU Ventures invested in Mentor Collective with:
- Introductions to additional ed tech funders located in Indiana
- Meetings with colleagues in higher education to share their story
- Investments from IU Philanthropic Venture Fund
“We’ve had multiple introductions in the state of Indiana and in the Midwest come from IU Ventures and for us, a higher education technology company, we couldn’t ask for better introductions and a more relevant investor.”
Jackson Boyer, Mentor Collective founder
IU alumna Kathleen Unroe recognized that nursing homes take care of some of the most vulnerable people in our communities and that care requires multiple trips to hospital emergency rooms, many of which could be preventable. She believed transforming nursing home care through training and software could be the answer to reducing hospital transfers of nursing home patients. For the next seven years, she and her team developed the tools and protocols for a unique best-practices project called OPTIMISTIC Clinical Care. Since its inception, nursing homes implementing the OPTIMISTIC project saw a reduction of all-cause hospitalizations by 20%, and 30% for those hospitalizations considered to be potentially avoidable. The connection with IU Ventures gave Kathleen the expertise she needed to start her company Probari. Today, Probari is working with clients throughout the Midwest and helping the most vulnerable feel much safer.
IU Ventures invested in Probari with:
- Guidance in the creation of the company
- Advised on the structure and timing of additional fundraising
- Investment from the IU Philanthropic Venture Fund
