Your Window Into the Innovation Economy

On September 21, 2021, 116 Street Ventures (for the Columbia community) hosted an evening among Columbia friends interested in entrepreneurship and venture capital. The event began with a keynote from special guest Sallie Krawcheck CBS ’92, CEO and Co-Founder of Ellevest, followed by interactive breakout sessions with founders of 116 Street portfolio companies.

About 1.4 billion tons of food are wasted globally every year, with the United States squandering the most of any other country at nearly 40 million tons annually. Not only does food waste impact countries with insufficient food supplies, but it also has significant environmental repercussions. According to the World Wildlife Federation, the production of wasted food in the United States is equivalent to the greenhouse emissions of more than 32 million cars.

Nearly 5,200 Americans a day are diagnosed with the terrifying and painful disease that is cancer. Not only does cancer diagnosis and treatment cause physical discomfort, but also significant mental and emotional distress such as anxiety and depression. This distress decreases patients’ quality of life, adversely impacts their health outcomes, and increases healthcare utilization and costs.

Promising seed-stage opportunities exist where talented innovators intersect with cutting-edge technology. Our team monitors a diverse spectrum of industries to identify nascent companies as they emerge. Options can range from a Midwest agtech company to an East Coast crypto fintech. We leverage Alumni Ventures’ network of 50+ investing professionals and exclusive community of more than 600,000 members to source these types of high-potential, early-stage investments. Below is a sample of exciting sectors and emerging verticals that we’re following as we source promising opportunities for this year’s Seed Fund.

Future is a digital fitness and training services platform helping people make personal fitness work with their schedules.

AVTV features Future, a digital fitness and training services platform helping people make personal fitness work with their schedules. AVTV videos feature Alumni Ventures’ portfolio companies sharing their stories and asks with our community.

AVTV features Cabana Life, a company offering customized luxury vans for mobile lodging. AVTV videos feature Alumni Ventures’ portfolio companies sharing their stories and asks with our community.

The average U.S. household spends $2,060 on their utilities each year, while the annual commercial bill is around $7,771. Many individuals and businesses have minimal insight into how those numbers are calculated and — more importantly — how to bring them down. Many factors impact energy efficiency, such as location, use of resources, and the size of the building. Consumers don’t always have the knowledge or resources needed to take meaningful steps toward saving on energy costs. Additionally, many individuals don’t own homes that allow the install of clean energy installation such as rooftop solar panels.

The blood thinner Heparin is administered to about 12 million patients in the U.S. each year to prevent the formation of blood clots during surgical procedures. However, about 1% to 3% of those administered the drug develop Heparin‐induced thrombocytopenia (HIT), a potentially devastating adverse reaction caused by the emergence of antibodies that activate platelets. HIT is a life-threatening complication with a 25% to 30% mortality rate.

Over the past one hundred fifty years, surgery has advanced from operating theaters illuminated by oil lanterns to state-of-the-art facilities utilizing robotic arms performing procedures with superhuman dexterity. Despite these advancements, medical error is responsible for more than a quarter of a million deaths a year in the United States, surpassed only by cancer and heart disease.

Radar technology was invented in the 1930s to detect, locate, track, and recognize various objects via electromagnetic waves. Since then, radar has long been at the forefront of many historical milestones, such as detecting and tracking aircraft and ships during WWII and measuring weather conditions such as wind speeds and ice conditions.

We’re pleased to highlight GigLabs, one of the first investments sourced by our Blockchain Fund team and a part of our Total Access Fund portfolio.