Ben Franklin Technology Partners Invests $1.7 Million in PA Startups
If you are developing a new, innovative product, process, or software application and plan to start your own tech-business, you need to know Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Central & Northern PA. We have been investing in tech-startups and small manufacturers for more than 30 years. Check out our new website.
Need #startupfundinginPA? The new companies listed below all took the first important step in turning their business ideas into a reality by applying to Ben Franklin for funding. If you are located in the 32-county footprint served by our Center, see what these folks are doing. You could be our next investment! Contact us at 814-898-6650.
AgeCheq Inc. (York, PA) – AgeCheq’s founding focus was on facilitating compliance with the recently updated US Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (known as COPPA). But, in March 2015, the company expanded its market scope and rebranded as PrivacyCheq, a cloud service designed to assist mobile app developers with privacy and legal compliance. For more information, see www.privacycheq.com
Airnest (Centre County) – This startup’s goal is to simplify the user experience surrounding drone use. Through a combination of software and hardware solutions, Airnest enables customers to safely and precisely control the drone with little or no training. Their innovative solution automates the process of flying and capturing aerial images. For more information, click on www.airnest.com
Better Bowls, LLC (Hershey, PA) – Under its own name, Better Bowls, as well as under the nationally recognized brand name, Fiber One, this company develops and sells best-in-class nutritional, shelf-stable food and beverage products, throughout the country. Under the Fiber One licensing agreement alone, Better Bowls products are available in more than 3,500 retail grocery locations. For more information, click on www.betterbowls.com
Data Inventions (Erie County) – DI is developing a cloud-based, easy-to-use software platform that improves enterprise productivity for mid-level manufacturing operations. With integrated hardware and Apps, the platform will provide a common operating system and App Store for industry. By connecting existing systems and data in real-time, manufacturers can streamline workflow and trigger actions that improve employee efficiency, reduce downtime and improve yield. For more information, contact Duane Clement at dc@datainventions.com
EcoIslands (Altoona) – Eco-Islands offers a patent-pending bio-reactor that has unique capabilities for treating Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) in a miniature, synthetic wetland called a Metal Removal Unit (MRU). These MRU’s are small, inexpensive to maintain and operate, and provide a much higher surface area per unit volume, reducing the land area needed to tread the AMD. For more information, go to http://ecoislandsllc.com.
FyreRok Reservoir Consulting (Bellefonte, PA) – An engineering consulting firm, FyreRok is focused on the oil and gas industry and offers a variety of services including design, quality control, and optimization. Recently, the company developed two innovations – a meter that will help optimize overall gas production by identifying the output of individual wells and a technology that produces an inexpensive, potent, and non-toxic biocide. For more information, go to http://fyrerok.com.
HalenHardy, LLC (Bellwood, PA) – The company has developed a variety of health, safety, and environmental tools to improve conditions for employees in the oil and gas, utility, construction, and mining industries. HalenHardy’s focus is on preventing slips and falls, controlling access to job sites, removing dangerous dust particles, and recycling grease overflow from pumps. Click on www.HalenHardy.com
KCF Technologies (Centre County) – Founded in 2000, KCF Technologies develops and sells wireless condition monitoring sensor systems. Its SmartDiagnostics® products help eliminate production downtime and inefficiency associated with unexpected machine problems or failure while also reducing excessive maintenance and repair costs. For more information, click on http://kcftech.com
Return Logic Inc. (Carlisle, PA) – Return Logic provides a cloud-based returns management platform that enables retailers to manage and optimize their product returns strategy. Their innovative approach to solving one of the most challenging retail problems, returns prevention, is a game-changer. For more information, click on www.returnlogic.com
Rivendell Tech (Blair County) – The first and only tool of its kind, Wayfinding Pro™ provides a turn-key solution for building indoor way-finding systems. Unlike outdoor maps which exist in the public domain, Rivendell developed this software as an interactive tool that enables users to design, build, and deploy their own maps. For more information, click on www.wayfindingpro.com
Tech Hiring (Blair County) – Using Candidate Cloud, recruiters and HR professionals can easily identify and then place high-performing IT professionals including developers, programmers, software engineers, and systems people. This subscription service allows users to track passive candidates on social media and internet sites. Once identified, the software adds them to a database and continues to add publically available information that builds candidates a virtual resume. See www.techhiring.com
VideoMining Corporation (Centre County) – A market leader for in-store shopper behavior analytics for consumer packaged goods (CPG). Its patented technology is used by a majority of the top 50 CPG’s and retailers for optimizing their merchandising strategies. The technology allows for unobtrusive capture of actual shopper responses and automatic conversion of video data to meaningful analytics. Click on www.videomining.com
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