What We Look For

At the Ohio Innovation Fund, we are transforming the Midwest by investing in groundbreaking startups that create new markets or disrupt existing ones. Our companies create the industries of the future and form the foundation of the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Bold Founders

We partner with bold, disruptive, visionary founders who think big and break through the boundaries of what is currently thought possible.

Our founders strive to change the world with their globally impactful companies, bringing together talented teams who are passionate to their core about their company’s mission. These teams are unbeatable, giving 100% effort to realize the company’s full potential.

Product market fit is critically important to our founders, and they actively seek feedback from their customers, investors, and industry partners to best understand how to continue improving and maintain dominance.

Partnerships

OIF unleashes untapped world-class resources that lie within our region at top universities and research institutions. After our initial involvement, OIF companies frequently partner with internationally recognized industry leaders, either in strategic partnerships or through strategic investments.

Innovation

The Midwest and Ohio are becoming a center for innovation with globally recognized leadership in cell and gene therapy, bio pharma, med tech as well as a blossoming tech market in data science and cyber security.

We believe innovation, at its core, is the reimagination of the future, and we invest in startups with transformative technology who do just that. Our companies are globally competitive and impactful, making waves throughout their respective industries.

Case Studies

Dexcom

Early in 2003, perhaps the most industry changing investment chance was taken in trusting the executive team of Dexcom to build a continuous glucose monitor to help 30+ million people living with diabetes attain a better quality of life. The counter-signed term sheet was faxed back over to Bill with a champagne bottle drawn on, bursting in celebration, a harbinger of the success to come! Dexcom went on to partner with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) to impact millions of lives by preventing diabetic comas and ensuring glucose levels were managed in proper range to avoid long-term complications like blindness. Though they had an uphill FDA battle as a de novo device, the Dexcom Continuous Glucose Monitor was granted clearance in 2006.

Dexcom was founded in 1999 and went public in 2005. It is currently traded on NASDAQ under DXCM and has a market cap of $30B.

Mojo Vision

Drew Perkins, Mojo Vision Founder and CEO, had several early successes – Fore Systems, a spinout of Carnegie Mellon University which was acquired for $4.5 billion and Lightera whose CoreDirector product sold in the billions. Bill met Drew at Infinera, the first all optical data network enabler which grew to over $500 million in revenues in three years, ultimately going public at a multi-billion valuation. Fast forward seven years to Drew’s home in Saratoga, when the early idea for Mojo Vision was first discussed. Bring all the elements of an VR/AR optical system into a contact lens? Sounds like a monumental task, but the Mojo Vision team is turning science fiction into science fact with their smart lens, allowing people to focus on the people they’re with, not screens and displays. Fellow investors include Google AI, Khosla Ventures, and NEA.

Mojo Vision was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Saratoga, CA.

ScriptDrop

Our first introduction to ScriptDrop was hearing CEO Nick Potts talk about his mission to “Serve 1 billion patients, one prescription at a time.” His passion for building ScriptDrop was evident, and our belief in the ScriptDrop mission only grew as we got to know the team. ScriptDrop’s President and CEO were both previously at CoverMyMeds — acquired by McKesson for over $1 billion. ScriptDrop provides an integrated prescription delivery system for pharmacies, allowing independent and chain pharmacies to better serve their patients. They’re partnered with Safeway, Kroger, Albertsons, Vons, RiteAid, Giant Eagle, Publix, and Cardinal Health in making 25,000+ deliveries a day, and are on an upward trajectory to continue incredible growth.

ScriptDrop was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio.

Aware

Aware’s first office space was on the same floor as OIF’s offices, and serendipity struck when OIF met Aware CEO Jeff Schumann. Jeff is the quintessential high energy, charismatic founder, and we quickly realized he and the Aware team had built something incredible. Aware works with online collaboration platforms through collecting and normalizing interaction data across 5.6 billion data points to provide centralized governance, search, monitoring, and analytics tools and insights. The Aware team is partnered with Workplace by Facebook, Yammer, Microsoft Teams, and Slack — and has the industry’s most accurate behavior AI. Their customers include AstraZeneca, BT, GlaxoSmithKine, Keurig Dr. Pepper, OxFam, and WiPro.

Aware was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio.

We believe Ohio and the Midwest provide an untapped, evergreen potential for economic growth – unique to that of other markets across the United States. In our everyday work, we are actively looking for these founders with a passion for reimagining the future - loyal and mission driven.

Interested in working with us?

Ohio Innovation Fund

629 N. High Street, 4th Floor

Columbus, OH 43215

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