Impact

Philly is Movin’ on Up in the Top 30 List for Global Startup Ecosystems

June 15, 2022

For the third year in a row, Philly is trending upward on the Startup Genome’s Global Startup Ecosystem Report (GSER) report. After ranking No. 28 on the org’s global list for best ecosystems for startups in 2021, Philadelphia lands at No. 27 in 2022. In 2020, Philly was ranked as the top “emerging” startup ecosystem […]

A Gusher of $584M in Federal Aid Will Soon Open for Pa., N.J., and Del. Business Owners. Are You getting Yours?

May 25, 2022

The U.S. Senate rejected legislation last week that could have provided small businesses with up to $48 billion of additional aid to help them recover from the pandemic. So is this the end? With the expiration of both the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loans from the Small Business Administration, does this […]

How Do You Raise Your First VC Round or Set Your Startup Valuation? These Philly Investors Have Some Advice

May 17, 2022

If you’re a first-time founder looking to raise an institutional round of venture capital for the first time, how do you know where to start? How does one know how much to raise or where their valuation lies? It’s a position many startup founders will find themselves in within their first few years. It’s also […]

Why Houwzer Launched This Nonprofit Fund for Low-Income, First-Time Homebuyers

April 28, 2022

Tech-enabled real estate brokerage Houwzer this week launched the RiseUp Fund, a nonprofit to bring grants and resources to low- to moderate-income first-time homebuyers. The Center City company’s new program comes amid a still-hot housing market and the recent re-up of the Philadelphia Housing Development Corp.’s own $10,000 grant program for first-time homebuyers, Philly First […]

How Oncora Medical’s CEO Realized its Product Could Help with Healthcare Burnout

April 15, 2022

It’s not solving a new problem, but Oncora Medical’s CEO is finding that the company’s product has an unfortunate timeliness amid the pandemic. The seven-year-old digital health company, which makes a software that provides documentation, workflow and data-capturing for cancer doctors, added two big names to its client list this week. Cancer centers Scripps Health […]

PolyCore Therapeutics Secures Seed Financing to Address Motor Symptoms and Dyskinesia Associated with Parkinson’s Disease

April 12, 2022

PolyCore Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing treatments for patients suffering from dyskinesia and cognitive impairment associated with neurodegenerative disorders, today announced a seed investment from Xontogeny, LLC and Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania to advance their lead compound, PCT-3012, a novel G protein-biased D3 receptor agonist to reduce motor impairment in Parkinson’s […]

Strados Labs Awarded $990K to Develop Wearable Lung Sensor

April 4, 2022

Strados Labs has been awarded a $990,118 grant to advance the development of its RESP Smart Sensor Platform, a noninvasive wearable lung device to help in the early detection of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other respiratory infectious conditions. The funds are part of a second phase of a two-year Small Business Innovation Research […]

Phrase Health got $1.7M From NIH for its Better Patient Outcomes Dashboard

March 14, 2022

Phrase Health, maker of electronic health record data tools, announced Tuesday it had been awarded $1.7 million in a Phase 2 Small Business Technology Transfer Program (STTR) grant from the National Institute of Health. The funding comes to company after it received a $225,000 Phase 1 STTR grant last year. Phrase Health, based out of […]

How Can Investors Get More Capital to Women Founders? ‘Pay Attention to the Barriers at Play’

March 9, 2022

Gaining access to venture capital isn’t a new challenge for underrepresented founders, or those seeking to work in VC. But approaches to solving it are changing. Women are consistently left out of conversations with investors, are granted less funding, and only represented a tiny percentage of all venture capital raised over the last 30 years. […]

Gov. Wolf’s Proposed Budget Would Give Ben Franklin Technology Partners $8M to Fund More Startups

February 10, 2022

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf’s ambitious $43.7 billion budget proposal includes an $8 million boost for Ben Franklin Technology Partners, a move that the organization’s leadership says could get more Philadelphia-area startups funded. Wolf’s budget proposal sets aside $2 million for each of the four Ben Franklin Technology Partners offices — located in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, State […]