JumpStart Ventures Closes Year With Four New Investments, Bringing Total to Organizational High of 15 in 2010

CLEVELAND, Jan. 4, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- JumpStart Ventures, the non-profit that invests in and partners with innovative, early-stage companies in Northeast Ohio, closed four investments – putting $800,000 in four early-stage companies – in the past two months. The recent investments bring JumpStart Ventures' investing totals for 2010 to $3.1 million via 15 investments.

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JumpStart Ventures' most recent investments were made in new portfolio companies MedCity Media and Caralon Global. Cleveland, OH-based MedCity Media has developed an online news service and content generation model specific to the healthcare industry. It plans to use the funding to add Raleigh/Durham, NC and Philadelphia, PA to its list of demonstration markets, which already includes Cleveland and Minneapolis/Saint Paul, MN. Caralon Global is a Cleveland company developing and commercializing an ultra-thin, highly efficient insulation product. The seed funding will help the startup complete life-span testing on its patent-pending vacuum insulated panel that reduces heat transfer better than traditional fiberglass or polyurethane products.

JumpStart Ventures also made second investments in two of its existing portfolio companies. Tursiop Technologies, a company developing revolutionary MRI coil devices, received a second investment of $150,000 from JumpStart Ventures as part of a larger funding round led by RMS Management. OnShift, a leading provider of employee scheduling and communications technology, recently announced a $2.3 million venture capital investment round that included a $150,000 second investment from JumpStart Ventures. The companies have now received $500,000 each from JumpStart Ventures.

"It's important to JumpStart Ventures that we remain a high-velocity investor dedicated to putting funds directly into the hands of entrepreneurs," said Lynn-Ann Gries, President of JumpStart Ventures. "We're not only actively investing in new companies, but we're also investing additional capital in our existing portfolio of companies to make sure we're contributing to their continued growth."

Since inception in 2004, JumpStart Ventures has made 73 investments totaling over $20 million in 52 companies.

JumpStart Ventures is the investment arm of JumpStart Inc., a nationally-recognized nonprofit transforming the economic impact of entrepreneurial ventures and the ecosystems supporting their growth. For more information, visit www.jumpstartinc.org and follow @JumpStartInc on Twitter.

About JumpStart Ventures

JumpStart Ventures invests in innovative, Northeast Ohio-based, early stage companies that are positioned to excel in high opportunity markets. It guides entrepreneurs with high-potential businesses down the path toward wealth creation by providing seed capital, experienced advisors, and a network of vital resources. JumpStart Ventures is the investment arm of JumpStart Inc., a non-profit organization transforming the economic impact of entrepreneurial ventures and the ecosystems supporting their growth.

SOURCE JumpStart, Inc.