Investment Criteria

Geography

Originate Ventures invests in companies located in Pennsylvania and the surrounding regions.

Targeted Industries

Broad range of industries, with a concentration on medical devices, healthcare, consumer, information technology, web-based, and commercial products, and where the expertise of Originate’s partners can meaningfully contribute to the success of the company.

Type of Investment

We focus on early stage and emerging growth product opportunities, but we will also consider building a management team around a great product idea, investing into certain distressed and turnaround situations and management buyouts if these product opportunities present superior return opportunities.

Investment Size

We aim to invest between $500,000 and $4 million per company, usually over more than one round. We prefer to lead the investment, but will participate in larger deals when given the opportunity, as a result of our regional concentration and skill sets, to represent a larger group of investors. If the funding requirement is greater than our capital limits, then we may seek additional capital from angel investors, commercial banks, and other venture capital firms.

Management

Investing in good people is at the core of most successful business ventures. We believe in partnering with people who have strong values, respectable reputations, and a proven record of success. We seek management teams that demonstrate many of the leadership qualities that we, ourselves, have demonstrated over the years. They include, but are not limited to the following:

• Strong work ethic
• Passion for their products
• Entrepreneurial and agile management style
• Recognition of the importance of cash flow and financial planning
• Willingness to admit mistakes and fix them quickly
• Great instincts on how to manage growth
• Willingness to embrace our hands-on management style

Product Characteristics

Although there are many unique variables based on the investment type and industry, there are many common product characteristics that we expect to see in any deal that we consider:

• Products that meet an unmet or changing consumer need
• Opportunity to build strong brands (must be plural)
• Highly differentiated products
• High gross margins (typically greater than 50%)
• Sustainable competitive advantages
• Proprietary intellectual properties