Fourteen Startups Receive More than $1.5M in Funding Through TechStart Program in FY 2010

TechColumbus has released a recap of all funding awarded through its TechStart program for the fiscal year 2010. In total 14 Central Ohio startups received $1,540,000.00 to help accelerate their growth and achieve the next level of business development. The TechStart program is funded in part by the Ohio Third Frontier and helps to create, finance and launch new tech companies in Central Ohio.

Central Ohio healthcare and IT software companies dominated TechStart investments during the past year. Healthcare and IT software companies received a majority of total investments in fiscal 2010, a sign of the strength of those sectors in the Central Ohio economy. Other sectors in which investments were made included advanced materials, retail and consumer businesses.

In addition, 2010 saw a substantial increase in technologies available for commercialization through large, regional medical and educational institutions. Nearly half of the companies receiving investments in the past year - including Arlington Products, BioAerogel, EndoRetics, IR Diagnostyx, Nanofiber Solutions – involved technologies developed by The Ohio State University, Nationwide Children’s Hospital and OhioHealth.

“The high number of companies created from innovations in Central Ohio’s leading institutions is a testament to the collaboration and momentum taking place in the region,” said Ted Ford, president and CEO of TechColumbus. “These institutions are involved in advanced research so it’s no surprise that they are the source of such promising innovations. We look forward to continued work with them and with all of our partners in the future.”

In fiscal year 2010, 11 seed stage companies received grants from TechGenesis, which provides investments of up to $50,000 for business idea and commercialization research, as well as product prototyping. In addition, three companies received investments from the TechColumbus Pre-Seed Fund, which provides substantial funding for companies that have the potential to reach $30 million in revenue in three to seven years and address a market of at least $100 million. These companies also have the ability to attract follow-on capital.

“During the past year, many promising Central Ohio start-ups have made advances in their markets," added Ford. “Working with these companies on a daily basis, we are encouraged by their progress, which is attracting investment and creating high-wage jobs in the region.”

The Ohio Third Frontier Program and 17 local governments, institutions and companies help fund TechStart. In May 2010, the Ohio Third Frontier program was extended through 2015 via voter referendum with a 62 percent statewide approval rating.

Since its inception, TechColumbus has invested $14.8 million in 84 companies. These companies have generated $261.7 million in revenues and have created 1,013 jobs with an average salary of $65,749.

Fiscal Year 2010 - TechGenesis Grant Recipients received a combined total of $550,000 in commitments:

AltaSim Technologies (Columbus, OH) - AltaSim Technologies has developed advanced computational analysis software capable of predicting the performance of large, complex electrical circuits that cannot be solved by standard commercial codes. The solution harnesses engineering technology and advanced computational and multi-physics analysis capabilities to model the performance of complex electrical circuitry for design/build and troubleshooting applications.

Arlington Products (Columbus, OH) – Arlington Products has developed a bioplastic from agricultural feedstocks that can be utilized in the packaging and automotive industries. Known as “LiFoam,” this material consists of biodegradable polyurethane plastic foam, using waste (crude) glycerin from biodiesel production and inedible plant wastes like corn stover. LiFoam is inexpensive and light enough to replace polystyrene (PS), best known by the brand name “Styrofoam.”

BioAerogel (Delaware, OH) – BioAerogel has developed a platform technology capable of delivering cancer treatment drugs selectively to cancer cells. The aerogel consists of biochemical particles that can be coated with proteins that attach like puzzle pieces to receptors found primarily on the surface of cancer cells. When the particles are filled with the cancer fighting chemotherapy drug of choice, physicians hope to treat patients more effectively and with less toxicity than current treatments. This product is expected to be given intravenously to cancer patients. Specific binding to cancer cells may drastically reduce the dose required for cancer cell destruction, while also reducing chemotherapy side effects and costs.

CeramPhysics, Inc. (Columbus, OH) – CeramPhysics has developed a patented solid oxide fuel cell, unique in the field of fuel cells because of its solid body honeycomb construction, internal reforming capability and high energy conversion efficiency. CeramPhysic’s fuel cell is based on a material with 50 times the ionic conductivity of other solid oxide fuel cells so the fuel-to-electricity conversion efficiency is even higher than the competition. It operates at a temperature 20 percent lower than typical fuel cells which allows the use of inexpensive stainless steel and glass instead of more expensive materials. Additionally, the lower operating temperature makes possible the complex honeycomb design that has lower construction cost and increased reliability. The product is covered by U.S. and international patents.

EndoRetics (Columbus, OH) – EndoRetics has developed and will commercialize an endolumenal incisionless device (EID) capable of constricting an opening in the stomach and implanting a binding mechanism to hold the constriction in place. The disposable device creates a stoma (an opening of predetermined size) which makes a small gastric pouch that restricts food intake, thus enabling weight loss. The low-cost, non-invasive, reversible procedure can be done on an outpatient basis and requires no general anesthesia or incisions, eliminating the need for a surgery suite or recuperative hospital stay.

Great Migrations LLC (Columbus, OH) – Great Migrations will market next generation software analysis and reengineering tools that support the migration of Microsoft VB6 and ASP applications to .NET. Great Migration’s proprietary migration toolset, gmStudio, and their unique tool-assisted rewrite methodology enables customers to successfully modernize their software and avoid the risk of running business critical systems on outdated technologies.

IR Diagnostyx (Columbus, OH) – IR Diagnostyx is developing a minimally invasive, accurate, serum-based diagnostic test that significantly reduces the time and costs involved with confirmatory diagnosis of medically challenging, functional diseases including Interstitial Cystitis/Painful Bladder Syndrome (IC/PBS), Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS),Fibromyalgia, and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). The company will initially launch its test kit and diagnostic services for IC/PBS and subsequently offer its services for the other diseases.

MillCell (Columbus, OH) – MillCell has developed a new technology that provides cost-savings, efficiency and environmental benefits to the residential, commercial and highway construction industries. MillCell, made from post-use industrial and consumer glass, provides a safe, lightweight, porous, rock-like material that is used for thermal insulation of foundations, “green” roofs, road beds, water drainage management and lightweight fill. This new technology is more cost-effective than current methods, less labor-intensive and safer to install. In addition to providing better insulation, using MillCell can provide an initial savings of more than 20 percent over traditional methods.

Nanofiber Solutions (Columbus, OH) – Nanofiber Solutions uses advanced technologies that allow researchers to test cell migration and potential drug therapies in ways not previously available. The company’s first product is an aligned nanofiber layer integrated into a standard, multi-well cell culture dish. Historically, cell culture growth and testing has been performed on flat, tissue culture polystyrene because it is inexpensive, optically clear and suited for growing cells. However, this often leads to higher failure rates because the way cells respond to their environment is different than on a flat and smooth culture dish. Nanofiber’s new technology better mimics the actual human and animal environments. This provides researchers with more biologically realistic, sophisticated tools, leading to faster and more reliable results.

Quanta BioDesign (Powell, OH) – Quanta BioDesign (QBD) has developed a patented, highly controlled, synthetic manufacturing technology that allows the production of discrete, single molecular weight polyethylene glycols (dPEG®s) whose physical and chemical properties can be fine tuned for specific applications such as testing kits for aggregation and non-specific interactions, poor water solubility, delivery issues/options, short serum half life, toxicity and antigenicity. QBD is the only company in the world that can manufacture single molecular weight polyethylene glycols over a broad range of molecular weights on a commercial scale. The company offers a large range of functionality to make them directly applicable to meet customers’ needs.

The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital (Columbus, OH) – The Research Institute has developed technology that will make the pre-surgical patient debriefing and consent process a much more personal and engaging experience. The current methods for surgical patient education, treatment consent and risk reduction relies almost exclusively on human performance and paper records. The result is poor compliance, increased medical errors, reduced surgeon operating time and increased hospital liability. This new solution, which will be spun off into a new company with the Research Institute’s partner Vectorform, LLC, will help facilitate the surgeon/patient consultation process by standardizing the treatment plan information, electronic consent forms, and engagement process through which it is delivered, thus fostering greater understanding and communication between patient and healthcare provider.

Fiscal Year 2010 - Pre-Seed Fund Companies received a combined total of nearly $1,000,000 in investments:

KidsLinked.com (Columbus, OH) – KidsLinked.com provides a unique hyper local website for parents/moms to find local family activities and to help organize and manage their schedules. Its innovative tools are built to aggregate all local family needs onto one website. The website platform is also being designed for easy licensing for media outlets, including newspapers, TV stations and radio stations, which improve retention of a key demographic – Power moms 25-44 years old - while providing ad and non-ad revenue. The website has attracted the attention of media companies across the United States and has successfully implemented numerous licensing relationships.

Rank By Search (Columbus, OH) – Rank By Search is a Search Engine Marketing (SEM) company that creates innovative ways for companies to reach target customers on the internet to increase revenue and reduce Pay Per Click and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) costs. The company has created a revolutionary SEO application that gives organic search rankings based on actual user searches. The company’s user generated SEO, the AutoSE Engine, is the first of its kind in the marketplace.

VacationView (Powell, OH) – VacationView is creating a world-class platform for timeshare and vacation rental property owners to find, exchange and rent their vacation properties using state-of-the-art internet tools and proprietary methodologies. VacationView’s initial offering, Resort Rentals By Owner (RRBO.com), is an online marketplace that allows timeshare property owners at exclusive resorts to list their available units online for rental. RRBO.com negotiates the contract, collects and guarantees payment for a commission on the sale.