News

Rocket Ventures Invests $250k in Branam Oral Health Technologies

Rocket Ventures, the venture capital arm of the Regional Growth Partnership (RGP), recently announced a $250,000 investment in local medical device company Branam Oral Health Technologies (Branam).

The Rocket Ventures investment was made as a part of a $1,000,000 Series A Preferred Equity round, during which Rocket Ventures is the lead investor. In addition to the Rocket Ventures investment, Branam secured an additional $100,000 in follow-on investment.

Branam has a robust line of products that provide an innovative approach to the prevention of early childhood tooth decay and the development of proper jaw and tooth formation in children. The company will be using its initial funding to secure distribution contracts, as well as to complete stability testing on its initial product suite, which Branam anticipates reaching the market in the first quarter of 2010.

Branam’s founder, Dr. Stephen Branam has been a practicing pediatric dentist for more than 30 years and is a recognized leader in pediatric dentistry. Dr. Branam’s office is located in Oregon, Ohio and the majority of the Branam line of products will be manufactured locally.

“The CDC reports that tooth decay is the number one disease in children under the age of six. The RGP believes in Branam’s line of products as a way of curbing this epidemic and we are thrilled to have been the lead investor during this round of investment, “said Greg Knudson, director of Rocket Ventures.

Branam CEO, Mick Janness stated, “The RGP has provided invaluable strategic guidance during our start-up phase and we are enormously pleased to receive an investment from the Rocket Ventures Fund, which will enable us to manufacture our products in the U.S. and bring jobs to Ohio.”

In addition to this investment, Branam received a $50k Rocket Ventures Ignite! Development grant to perfect chemical formulation and product design.

Articles

Northwest Ohio is a hotbed for technology and innovation. Take some time to read through articles which shine a bright light on our region.

New report bodes well for Toledo area’s technology
Toledo Blade
A new government report predicting energy use in the United States for the next quarter century has good news for northwest Ohio, showing large increases in the use of technologies such as solar energy and biofuels that were pioneered locally.
Read More…

Solar energy industry brings a ray of hope to the Rust Belt
LA Times
Areas hard-hit by the U.S. automakers’ slump are pitching themselves to green technology firms. Workers and machines that used to crank out cars are now making parts for solar and wind power plants.
Read More…

Ohio looks to renew program to boost tech jobs
Associated Press
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Shannon Swift was another statistic in the downfall of Ohio’s once great industrial engine, a victim of layoffs first at Delphi and then General Motors.
Read More…

Greening the rustbelt
Economist.com
XUNLIGHT CORPORATION, a small manufacturer of solar panels, sits on a quiet street in Toledo. It has a professor as its president, about 100 employees on its payroll—and a lot of bigwig visitors. In October 2008 Sarah Palin, then the Republican vice-presidential candidate, used Xunlight as the setting for a speech on energy policy. Other guests have included Ohio’s governor, two senators and a congresswoman. And no wonder: the firm provided evidence to support a seductive hope, that the green economy can help to revive the suffering rustbelt.
Read more…

Its Economy in Shambles, The Midwest Goes Green
Worldchanging.com
It took awhile, but the U.S. Midwest finally has recognized that the industries that once powered its economy will never return. Now leaders in the region are looking to renewable energy manufacturing and technologies as key to the heartland’s renaissance.
Read More…

So You Want to Start a Tech Business, Part 2
E-Commerce News
It’s safe to say that anyone who’s serious about starting a business must have a certain amount of built-in intestinal fortitude. So, when the first 100 or so potential sources of funding don’t pan out, it’s time to get unconventional. That could mean dipping into retirement savings or life insurance policies — or joining forces with a complementary startup that’s already wrangled some cash.
Read More…

High-Tech Start-Ups Put Down Roots in New Soil
The Wall Street Journal
High-tech start-ups are increasingly setting up shop in places previously not known for attracting high-tech firms.
A number of cities, such as Kalamazoo, Mich., and Toledo, Ohio, are offering grant money and tax breaks to high-tech start-ups, just as the usual venture-capital hot spots, such as Silicon Valley and Boston, continue to see a pullback in venture lending. Many of the nontraditional cities require that start-ups receiving grants invest in their area, leaving companies little choice but to locate — or relocate — their businesses.
Read more…

Media Coverage

Rocket Ventures is frequently in the news!

Here you can read local and national articles that involve Rocket Ventures, the start-up companies with which we work, and other Northwest Ohio business news.

Dynalifter Floats Like a Butterfly, Lands Like a Plane
December 11, 2009

Xunlight Corp. to get $4.1M stimulus loan
December 9, 2009

Legacy Kit offers organization for life planning
December 3, 2009

VentureTech matches money with business
November 12, 2009

Plastic Technologies, Inc.
November 5, 2009

Applied Technologies
October 27, 2009

Wood County Business Goes Global
October 10, 2009

Dynalifter airship goes where trucks can’t
September 25, 2009

Toledo dentist launches new pacifier
September 14, 2009

Rocket Ventures client company Xunlight in negotiations with 2 more customers
August 26, 2009

Rocket Ventures client company Xunlight makes first delivery
August 25, 2009

Honorees recognized for entrepreneurial excellence (Featuring Rocket Ventures client company Radco Industries)
August 14, 2009