Spotlights
Spotlight: Steve Welch
Your name: Steve Welch
Your brief bio:
In July 2007 (at the age of 29), Steven sold the Mitos group of companies that he had started building 6 years earlier to Parker Hannifin (NYSE: PH)-an S&P 500 company. Steven founded Mitos Technologies, Inc. in 2001. At Mitos he engineered and patented the Mitos FREE FLOW® valve-the premier valve for biopharmaceutical manufacturing. Under Steven's guidance Mitos developed six marketable patents all directed at improving biotech companies efficiency in manufacturing. The company developed a worldwide sales channel to promote and sell these products. Steven graduated with a Mechanical Engineering degree from Penn State University. Steven has been an active Angel investor with Robin Hood Ventures. In 2008, Steve was selected as a member of the Philadelphia Business Journal's 40 Under 40 and Entrepreneur of the Year. Steven was awarded the prestigious Eisenhower Fellowship to build bridges internationally in early stage startup communities.
Firm/company: DreamIt Ventures
Occupation: Co-Founder
Current Location: Philadelphia, PA
Hometown: West Chester, PA
Favorite Philadelphia neighborhood: I am more of a suburbs guy. I am a huge fan of Phoenixville, which is on the rise.
Best advice you've ever been given: Take risks when you are young.
Your favorite thing about living in the Philadelphia Region: In the last two years I have been in over a dozen countries and I can honestly say that the Philadelphia region has a unique mix of all the ingredients entrepreneurs need to succeed. It has a great pool of talent and excellent innovation systems driven by one of the best University systems in the world. Good infrastructure. Proximity to key markets and relatively low cost of living compared to other regions, which have similar resources.
Your favorite thing about working in the Philadelphia Region: The region is big enough to have the economies of scale and large enough markets to go after, but still small enough to have a personal feel.
How would you market the Philadelphia Region to professionals outside the region? The Delaware Valley is the best valley in the world. Nowhere else can you be surrounded by an excellent ecosystem with good infrastructure at a reasonable cost of doing business.
What are the best tools and resources creative professionals can use to better prepare themselves for career change? The most successful individuals I know are lifetime learners who have a constant quest for new challenges. Wherever you are in life keep your eyes open for that new challenge which will allow you to grow personally and professionally.
Description of your business/company:
Our goal at DreamIt is simple: Help great people with great ideas build great companies.
The DreamIt Founders designed DreamIt to be the startup accelerator program they wish existed when they started and sold their first companies. New startups today need only a little funding, but they need more help and support than ever before. They need a community of fellow entrepreneurs to share ideas and inspiration, technologists to join their team, mentors and coaches who have struggled on their way to a big success, legal and accounting services that don't cost precious cash, and opportunities to meet and pitch to angel investors and venture capitalists.
So how does DreamIt work? It all starts with bright, energetic people with great ideas. People like you. Then DreamIt adds all the help and support you need to build the next great company. Specifically, we give you:
- Seed Funding
- A collaborative work space
- Mentors and advisors who have "been there and done that"
- Donated legal, accounting and administrative help to form your company properly
- Introductions to funding sources including angel investors, venture capitalists, private investors and public sources of funding
The proof is in our companies. DreamIt '08 company SCVNGR just raised $4 million from Google Ventures and is already cash-flow positive, with over $1 million in revenue. DreamIt '09 company NoteHall was featured on ABC's Shark Tank, where they earned an investment in front of millions of primetime TV viewers. Another DreamIt '09 company SeatGeek closed an angel round and was a finalist in the TechCrunch 50.
In just two short years DreamIt has helped launch 20 companies and helped almost 100 entrepreneurs live their dream.
