Blog

Ben Franklin Will Oversee StartUp PHL’s Second Seed Fund, with $3.5M to Start

March 24, 2018

After 18 months searching for the right partner, the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation has tapped Ben Franklin Technology Partners to manage StartUp PHL’s second seed fund, which will set out to deploy up to $5 million to Philly-based companies. In the summer of 2016, news broke that First Round Capital, which managed the first investment […]

Advanced Absorbent Technologies LLC is Bringing Dignity to Incontinence Products

March 23, 2018

Joe Howard, a Pittsburgh native with an MBA and a sales and marketing background in specialty steels and ketchup, isn’t a flashy guy. But he sure has a flair for magic. From his black shopping bag of tricks, he pulled a beaker filled with 100 milliliters of water, a clear-plastic drinking cup, and a gallon-size […]

5 Ways Impact Investors and Philanthropists Can Innovate to Solve Philly’s Biggest Problems

March 22, 2018

Philadelphia needs more cash. Admidst crippling poverty and a proliferation of struggling nonprofits, the city ranks 43rd of the United States’ 50 biggest cities in charitable giving, with residents donating an average of only 2.5 percent of their income. Could the savior of our charitable woes be … capitalism? We’ve written extensively on the region’s impact investing scene, which employs venture capital to support […]

RoseAnn Rosenthal Presented with American Spirit Award at NVCA Leadership Gala

March 21, 2018

The National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) today presented RoseAnn Rosenthal, President and CEO of Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania, with the 2018 American Spirit Award at the 2018 NVCA Leadership Gala. Held at the Rosewood Sand Hill in Menlo Park, CA, the NVCA Leadership Gala celebrates the venture industry and honors those who […]

SXSW Day 1: Philadelphia Doesn’t Want to Be the Silicon Valley of Anything

March 12, 2018

Philadelphia wants the world to know that it’s not the Silicon Valley of anything, and down in Austin, Philly entrepreneurs are practically screaming this out on every busy downtown block at South by Southwest this year. The “not Silicon Valley” attitude is also how Philadelphians welcomed the rest of the world to its first ever […]