Illini Angels @ Illinois Ventures

We're excited to team up with our partners at Enterprise Works and University of Illinois Research Park for an unforgettable Founders Week! Get ready for an action-packed agenda featuring the Capitalizing New Ventures Summit, the Founders Technology Showcase, and our inaugural in-person All Illini Angels @ Illinois Ventures investment meeting. It's going to be an amazing couple of days celebrating the vibrant spirit of entrepreneurship at the University of Illinois! #IllinoisVentures #UniversityofIllinois #ResearchPark #EnterpriseWorks #UIRPFoundersWeek

?? Pathlit is blasting off!?? The team behind Pathlit has just announced this week that they are ready to launch their no-code platform to EVERYONE! They are currently accepting waitlist users for rolling access every 24 hours. You can sign up on their website. Amazing to see one of our student ventures reach such an incredible milestone! #IlllinoisVentures #IlliniAngels #StudentSuccess

Had such a great time seeing the current iVenture Accelerator cohort in Chicago last week! ?? #IllinoisVentures #IlliniAngels

Advay Gupta always knew that he wanted to be an entrepreneur, but he didn’t expect to have the opportunity while still at university. A rising junior studying econometrics and quantitative economics, Advay has always had a large interest in technology and the power of AI, interning as a software engineer at PlayTogether to expand his knowledge and hone his skills. He created the project that would eventually become Pathlit to help his mother utilize AI in a less technical, more user-friendly way. It wasn’t until he showed the project to Illinois Business Consulting mentor Jacob Kinsey that Advay realized Pathlit’s potential. A friend introduced him to the Cozad New Venture competition, and although he was hesitant to join a pitch competition, decided to throw his hat in the ring. Despite his apprehension, Pathlit won first place at the 2024 competition. He raised over $1,000,000 in less than three months as Pathlit’s CEO, and is currently a member of the iVenture Accelerator’s 10th cohort. His desire to make technology more accessible for everyone and determination to succeed is a prime example of the amazing work that student founders are capable of and continue to create. #ivFounderFriday #IllinoisVentures #IlliniAngels

Paul Couston, a Forbes 30u30 Chicago, was first introduced to U of I’s entrepreneurial ecosystem due to a class registration mix-up, and he hasn’t looked back since. Couston founded his first startup, Flower Power Energy, while still a full-time student at the Grainger College of Engineering. Around the same time, he met his wife Josie, a fellow engineer who has unwaveringly supported his entrepreneurial endeavors. Flower Power eventually merged with another student start-up and through the co-founded company, called Optivolt Labs, Paul became an alumna of TechStars Chicago. Four years and a defense contract later, he left Optivolt. Paul decided to mentor with the University of Illinois I-Venture Accelerator, where an encounter with a certain Viking (Alex Gorsuch) led to co-founding Ascent Integrated Tech. Currently co-leading Ascent from downtown Chicago, he continues to support U of I’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, making appearances at University of Illinois’ Research Park and the Cozad New Venture competition. #ivFounderFriday #IllinoisVentures #IlliniAngels

?? Join Us in Welcoming Illinois Ventures’ Summer Fellows! ??? A warm welcome to our summer membership fellow Makayla Carson and our summer marketing fellow Winnie Blanchfield. Get to know our newest team members by hearing about why they chose Illinois Ventures! Makayla: I wanted to work with Illinois Ventures to expand my knowledge on venture capital and be a part of the impactful entrepreneurial community on campus. Winnie: Illinois Ventures allows me to spread the good in the world while gaining experience working in a professional environment. I have already met so many amazing people and can’t wait to connect with even more incredible individuals from the U of I entrepreneurial system!

?? Join Us in Welcoming Illinois Ventures’ Summer Investment Fellows! ?? A warm welcome to our summer investment fellows Arshia Ajmera, Pranav Rao, and Rishit Parikh. Get to know our newest team members by hearing about why they chose Illinois Ventures! Arshia: Working with startups has always been interesting to me, and getting to experience that with Illinois Ventures is exciting! Rishit: I am enthusiastic about joining Illinois Ventures, driven by my passion for supporting transformative startups and leveraging my venture capital experience. I am excited to make a meaningful impact by fostering innovation and contributing to the growth and success of pioneering companies rooted in the University of Illinois' ecosystem. Pranav: I chose to work at Illinois Ventures this summer to learn more about venture capital and the ecosystem at Illinois. Over the past few weeks, I have enjoyed speaking with and learning from founders and their amazing companies; and am looking forward to plenty of learnings in the future.

It's such an honor and a privilege to be able to work and grow with so many amazing people in the University of Illinois ecosystem??? ?? ??

Want to know more about trends in healthcare Investment? Join Nancy Sullivan at MedCity’s 2024 INVEST Conference! Nancy is excited to share her perspective and insight from her long tenure investing in early stage and growth companies spanning digital health, medical devices, therapeutics, and biotech, as well as from her roles as a board member at iBIO, the leading biotechnology industry organization in Illinois; MATTER, an award-winning Chicago-based health technology accelerator; Cures Within Reach, a research nonprofit that brings stakeholders together to undertake repurposing research opportunities; and mHub, An Innovation Center for All Things HardTech. Amazing to see Nancy out front at such an incredible event!? You can register for the conference here: https://lnkd.in/g7TWkVCj #INVEST2024 #IllinoisVentures #IlliniSupportingIllini

Abe Lincoln was a young entrepreneur who tried his hand at several businesses at New Salem, and applied for a patent for his flatboat invention for moving goods on the muddy tributaries of the Mississippi. Imagine what he could have done with an Illini angel investor. https://lnkd.in/gi3DQWaU