Colorado Angel Investing Group Finds Opportunity in Pandemic Innovation Ventures
DENVER, Oct. 22, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Rockies Venture Club made three investments in promising Colorado startups in September, two of which are PandemicTech companies representing a trend towards startups innovating in response to the pandemic.
Peter Adams, the club's Executive Director says, "PandemicTech includes companies that detect, mitigate, or create resilience in the face of pandemics. The companies typically have a strong business model in-between pandemics, but they provide positive impact in response to pandemics such as Covid-19."
PandemicTech includes healthcare startups of course, but it goes much further to include other areas of business and society that have been disrupted by the pandemic. Examples of vertical markets that may include PandemicTech include education tech, companies focusing on the future of work, cybersecurity to address a distributed workforce, supply chain technologies to ensure reliable delivery of needed food and materials, telehealth, vaccine development and delivery, and much more.
Education has been hit particularly hard by the pandemic. K-12 schools and universities are facing fewer enrollments, higher costs, and a need to rapidly implement new curriculum and technologies for remote education. This is an extraordinary time of disruption in education and EdTech has the solutions.
Rockies Venture Club invested in EdCuration, a platform that connects schools and curriculum providers. The mission is to simplify the antiquated instructional procurement process, save time & money, and improve student learning. Teachers can read reviews of how other teachers have utilized new technologies and get critical information, especially for new areas like STEM education programs.
In the future of work space, Rockies Venture Club invested in Career Allies, Inc. dba TiLT. The company has developed a Human Resource Software Platform known as Talent in Leave Technology or TiLT, which helps employees and managers effectively navigate the employee leave process. Initially created to increase retention during maternal leaves, the platform has grown to include managing staff who have been furloughed due to the pandemic. Managing the employee leave process through TiLT begins with a proprietary intake process which includes an aptitude assessment designed to amplify the retention probability, reduce fear, work disruption, liability, gender bias, leadership pipeline erosion and creates a respectful, supportive and organized approach to having children and a career.
Finally, RVC's third investment last month was in the life sciences area, but was not based on PandemicTech. Nymbl Science has developed a smartphone application to assist in identifying and correcting balance deficiencies in, typically, older adults. Nymbl was created on a foundation of over 30 years of balance research that combines both physical and cognitive challenges to address fall related symptoms with a focus on older adults age 65+.
About the Rockies Venture Club: Rockies Venture Club is the longest running and one of the largest Angel Groups in the U.S.A., founded in 1985, whose mission is to advance economic development by actively connecting investments with the most promising entrepreneurial companies with Angel investors, venture capitalists, and other community members. Every year Rockies Venture Club offers over 140 educational programs, mastermind groups, Angel forums, and two major conferences for both investors and entrepreneurs leading to 25 investments per year.
SOURCE Rockies Venture Club