Ben News

LIA Diagnostics, Perpay and LeagueSide are up for PACT Enterprise Awards

February 14, 2018

The list of nominees is out for the Philadelphia Alliance for Capital and Technologies’ 25th annual Enterprise Awards. We spy startups like LIA Diagnostics — which shone earlier this year on the global stage with its flushable pregnancy test — and LeagueSide — a realLIST ’18 honoree — on the list. The awards ceremony takes place May 9 at the Kimmel Center. Also on the nominee list: Clutch boss Ned […]

Can These Philly Startups Help Bridge the VC Diversity Gap?

February 5, 2018

In a hypothetical room filled with 100 venture-backed entrepreneurs, only four are women. That’s not only the real-life experience of women entrepreneurs: that’s what the statistics say of 2017, a year in which 98 percent of venture capital dollars went to companies founded by men. Attempting to level the vast gender gap and racial inequality […]

Mapping Investment in Female-Founded Companies Across 10 key US Metros

January 30, 2018

“When women want change, we get it.” That’s what Shelly Bell, founder and CEO of Washington, DC-based Black Girl Ventures, told PitchBook when we asked her if she thinks the tech industry is poised for a massive cultural shift. Over the course of several months, PitchBook set out to better contextualize our dataset on VC […]

A Year in Review: 2017

January 5, 2018

This has been a monumental year for us at Ben Franklin Technology Partners. We’ve had our largest quarterly investment to date , we’ve launched new programs, added new people to the team, and hosted a little thing we like to call the PHL Innovation Picnic. Here are just a few things that have made 2017 a […]

Ben Franklin’s Venture Capital Network Just Got Bigger

December 21, 2017

Ben Franklin Technology Partners entered into yet another new partnership this week, as the combo economic development organization and early-stage funding firm continues expanding its venture network. Ben Franklin announced Thursday it’s joining California-based Draper Venture Network’s DVN Beta program, which links seed-stage funds with DVN’s larger network of 17 independent venture funds and more […]

Philly Tech Investor to Double Down on Black, Latinx and Women Entrepreneurs in 2018

December 8, 2017

Philly’s tech community has ways to go before it’s truly inclusive of all kinds of Philadelphians. Efforts like the Institute of Hip Hop Entrepreneurship and the newly minted CS4Philly campaign are moving the city forward on inclusivity and Ben Franklin Technology Partners wants to add a new program to the mix. The early stage capital provider recently announced that it […]

Ben’s Founder Friday: Michele McKeone

December 1, 2017

The facts around workplace readiness for those with disabilities, like autism or down syndrome, are alarming. Seventy percent of people with cognitive disabilities are unemployed, but progress is being made. Michele McKeone, founder and CEO of Digitability is focused on changing the current status quo of pigeonholing people with cognitive disabilities into unemployment or underemployment, […]

Ben Franklin Just Pumped $4.4M Into Philly Startups

November 30, 2017

Ben Franklin Technology Partners has started off the fiscal year by setting the bar high. The organization recently announced that it made investments in 25 early-stage Philly-area companies in the first quarter, for a grand total of $4.4 million. And the number is the organization’s largest quarterly investment to date. In 2016, Ben Franklin decided to […]

Ben’s Founder Friday: Mike Maher

November 7, 2017

Mike Maher is a serial entrepreneur with a knack for problem solving and collaboration. Mike first emerged as a powerhouse on the scene when he co-founded Benjamin’s Desk, a Philadelphia-based coworking network. Since its first space opened in 2012 at 1701 Walnut Street, it has expanded across the city and recently merged with 1776, a […]

The Complete 2017 Philadelphia Business Journal POWER 100

November 7, 2017

The Philadelphia Business Journal editorial team, who has about 200 years of combined experience covering business, spent many hours debating and crafting this list. It’s the job of our reporters and editors to know who the true leaders are in our community. We narrowed in on those wielding the most influence, either through their position, […]