Erie Innovation Fund rolls dice on first two investments

Erie’s past–as well as much of its present–is centered on a manufacturing might that produces durable goods like machines and ships. And while the city’s preeminent manufacturers have no near plans to stop making these kinds of goods, new companies are increasingly banking on creating sophisticated technology platforms and software that will streamline tasks and save money for millions of people worldwide.
 
To help boost the kinds of burgeoning initiatives already served by the Erie Technology Incubator, the Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority (ECGRA) and the Ben Franklin Technology PArtners of Central and Northern PA (BFTP/CNP) recently joined forces to support Erie's growing technology-based entrepreneur community–a group deemed by both organizations as being critical to the success and vitality of Erie County and its transition into the New Economy.
 
Their vehicle for doing it: the Erie Innovation Fund, a first-of-its-kind initiative that awards highly promising Erie County tech-based entrepreneurs and small manufacturing companies investment money and invaluable business mentoring and other support from the Ben Franklin Transformation Business Services Network. The investment dollars, which have a payback obligation, are most often used in the support of new product or process developments and the addition of new staff.
 
The initiative, which the ECGRA initiated, was an immediate hit. “As soon as the press release went out, the phones rang off the hook,” said Liz Wilson, marketing director of BFTP/CNP. “It was a nice mix–we were happy to see how many businesses were thinking about a new product or making an improvement to an existing product.”
 
A 13-person team of local professionals, business owners and potential investors pored over roughly a dozen applications through early August before naming CE Convergence and @Home FMS, LLC, an offshoot of Comfort Care and Resources, Inc., as the recipients of the initial investments. Though the markets for their products differ, both companies are startups wrapping up work on prototypes that they say will make nothing less than a splash when they officially debut.
 
CE Convergence, LLC
Since Keystone Edge last covered the company, CE Convergence, a company that offers licensed professionals a fully automated solution to simplify tasks associated with tracking and maintaining continuing education credits, has experienced the thrill of receiving a $150,000 investment from the Erie Innovation Fund–and much more.
 
In spite of the fact that co-founder Steve Fialko departed in the past year, the company–which President and CEO Gene Cherner says is the only one of its kind with a universal, comprehensive and fully automated solution–hired its first two employees and received positive feedback from a variety of beta testers. Responses were so good, in fact, that Cherner feels confident about imminently launching his software that aims to eliminate the possibility of continuing education credits being lost or containing errors–occurrences that can lead to unfortunate situations like a license lapsing or a malpractice suit being filed.
 
Despite the need for and efficacy of his product, Cherner says he never thought his company's winning was a sure bet. “We were pleased to hear that the Erie Innovation Fund approved an investment for our project,” he says.
 
There are, however, things of which he is certain. “The money will mostly go toward marketing and sales positions,” he says.
 
Another thing that inspires confidence in Cherner, who moved to Erie from Chicago to launch his company, is his plans once he graduates from the Erie Technology Incubator in 2014: “The company's headquarters will absolutely stay here, and we'll keep building our team here in Erie.”
 
@Home FMS, LLC
James Fetzner was already something of an innovator as the CEO of Comfort Care & Resources, Inc., a company that provides a compassionate alternative to nursing homes with its Brookside Homes that let the elderly enjoy the company of caregiver while still inhabiting a regular home in a regular neighborhood. Even still, Fetzner couldn't stop pondering a vexing problem that came up again and again.
 
“Billing of Medicaid-approved homecare services is extremely inefficient,” he says. “There's a lot of paperwork and a lot of possibility of error.”
 
Fetzner became increasingly focused on developing a high-quality, secure technology platform that, like Cherner's technology, it would be the first of its kind on the market and would bring a whole new level of accountability to a scattershot process.
 
So Fetzner recruited and named Lou Rieger as chief technology officer, a job tasked with executing the fuzzy vision in his head. “I brought him on before I even knew what I wanted to do,” he admits. “We've evolved it together and have had some real breakthroughs in the last year.”
 
Now in the middle of pushing for a patent, Fetzner can't volunteer any specifics about his project. “We have a very aggressive time frame, with plans to roll out our beta version in the next three months,” he says. Expediting the process is the $50,000 investment his company will receive from the Erie Innovation Fund–it's strictly earmarked for developers to fine tune the software. 
 
But beyond the actual dollar amount, Fetzner finds other meaning in his company being named an Erie Innovation Fund winner. “It's such a vote of confidence,” he says. “This is real–we're not just sitting around twiddling our thumbs.”
 
AMANDA PRISCHAK is an Erie-based freelance writer. You can read more of her work here, or send feedback here.

All photographs by RENEE ROSENSTEEL