OCA Ventures

For today’s gratitude post, I’d like to take a moment to highlight an invaluable partner in our ecosystem — OCA Ventures. For 25 years, OCA Ventures has been a key player in driving innovation, backing visionary founders across technology, finance, and healthcare. Their portfolio includes successful companies like Cleversafe, Inc., SpotHero, Ocient and others, but beyond investments, they’ve also been strong supporters of initiatives that help strengthen our community, including Chicago:Blend. OCA’s impact goes beyond financial contributions. The team has consistently dedicated their time and expertise to support our events, programming and initiatives. And earlier this year, they hosted one of our VC Fellows, Jagoda Rokicka, during her time in our program, helping her build essential industry connections and gain valuable experience. A special congratulations goes to OCA's CEO and Managing Partner, Jim Dugan, who last night received the Stanley C. Golder Award by the Illinois Venture Capital Association (IVCA). This award recognizes leaders in Chicago’s private equity and venture capital community, and Jim’s leadership continues to inspire. His call for greater diversity in the industry was a powerful moment during his acceptance speech, and we look forward to hearing more at tomorrow’s Blend:Talks event, where Jim will join us as a guest speaker to help celebrate our graduating class of VC fellows. Thank you to Jim and the entire OCA Ventures team for your continued support and commitment to making a positive impact! Bob Saunders Kelley Quinn Steve Shein, CFA === 💡 Learn more about OCA Ventures 👉 https://lnkd.in/dndWT7wz 🎥 Catch Jim Dugan at Blend:Talks on 12/11 👉 https://lu.ma/3u56spqq

Last night the Illinois Venture Capital Association held its annual award dinner and three of the awards went to Kellogg: Jim Dugan (OCA Ventures), Walter Florence (Frontenac), and myself (Richard J Daley Award). It was a wonderful chance to reflect on what we have built at Kellogg over the last 17 years since we (re)launched the Heizer Center for Private Equity and Venture Capital. Kellogg had the resources to be a presence in PEVC education and a large number of people came together to launch and build the center, from Dean Sunil Chopra who asked for advice under the guise of getting me to take the job to Dean Francesca Cornelli who is a force in private equity teaching in her own right. The faculty (Karin (Dommermuth) O'Connor, CFA, Sean Higgins, David Stowell, Harry Kraemer, Jr., Jose Maria Liberti, Scott R. Baker, and Paola Sapienza), the staff (Deborah (Debbie) Brauer and Carly (Loonan) Rice), and an uncountable number of alumni and other PEVC professionals that taught me what I needed to know, were patient when I was slow, and always supporters. Of course, without those who nominated me and advocated for me (Karin (Dommermuth) O'Connor, CFA, E. F. (Skip) Heizer, David Zyer, Harry Kraemer, Jr., Stephen Vivian, and Jim Dugan), this would not have happened. Maybe not surprisingly, the biggest reaction to my comments was at the end, when I thanked the family, Beverly, Debt, and Equity. 😊 … and yes the tie is from the "Petersen Finance Collection" and a shout-out to the entire group at OCA Ventures. I would say “on to the next chapter”, but that has created too much drama and chaos.  IVCA Awards Dinner: https://lnkd.in/gN8ZTRET Richard J Daley Award: https://lnkd.in/gjVhG-s7

We're excited to share OCA's Portco, Prisidio was featured in the latest episode of the 🗣️ Digital Legacy Podcast , featuring Digital Vaults - a powerful tool to safeguard critical documents 🔒   A must-listen for anyone looking to secure their digital life.  🎧 Listen here: https://lnkd.in/eKG6afGM #DigitalLegacy #DataSecurity #Podcast #DigitalValut

⏰ Don't miss OCA Portco Atalan presenting at the National Academy of Medicine on the role of AI in clinician wellbeing. 🥼 🩺 Join the event on Monday, December 9th and be sure to register here:  https://lnkd.in/evehktxc #HealthWorkforce #ArtificialIntelligence #HealthcareInnovation #WellBeing #NAM 

🎉 Congratulations to Amplified Sciences, Inc. on successfully securing $2.6 million in Seed funding. 🎉 Amplified Sciences, Inc. Seed round was co-led by OCA Ventures and Elevate Ventures and will be used to secure regulatory clearance for the Company's lead pancreatic cancer assay, PanCystPro, and to continue development of its proprietary testing platform.   Amplified Sciences, Inc. is a precision diagnostics company developing innovative cancer diagnostics that enable earlier detection, precise risk assessment, and ongoing monitoring of diseases.   To learn more about the life-saving work that Amplified Sciences is doing as well as the company's novel pancreatic cancer risk stratification diagnostic, PanCystPro, please reach out to us or to CEO Diana Caldwell. Read more about the fundraise here: https://lnkd.in/gjKhP2_r #FundingSuccess #SeedFunding #Innovation #Growth #AmplifiedSciences 

OCA Ventures is thrilled to announce that the 2024 Illinois Venture Capital Association (IVCA) Awardees have been revealed, and our very own team members have earned well-deserved recognition! 🏆 ✨ A huge congratulations to Jim Dugan and Mitchell Petersen whose work ethic, dedication, and innovation have been recognized by the prestigious Illinois Venture Capital Association (IVCA) for the Stan C. Golder and Richard J. Daley Awards, respectively. Their achievements are a testament to the excellence and passion that inspires our team forward.

🚀 Exciting News in Healthcare Innovation! 🚀    Biotia has just received the first-ever NY state regulatory approval for a groundbreaking urine infectious disease test powered by genomics and AI! 🧬 💡 With the achievement of this important regulatory milestone, patients will now be able to access Biotia's novel UTI diagnostic. By combining advanced genomics and AI technology, Biotia's diagnostic enables highly personalized treatment and better health outcomes for patients struggling with complex, difficult-to-diagnose urinary tract infections. If you are interested in learning more about Biotia, please reach out to us at OCA Ventures or to CEO/co-founder Niamh B. O'Hara #InnovationInHealthcare #Genomics #ArtificialIntelligence #UrinaryTractInfections #AI #HealthcareTechnology #PrecisionMedicine #Biotia #MedicalBreakthrough https://lnkd.in/gEegkKma https://lnkd.in/gfiSEsjr

 🌟 Exciting News! 🌟 We’re thrilled to announce that PursueCare was presented the prestigious "Rising Star" award in Mental and Behavioral Health at the Digital Health Hub Awards during the HLTH 2024 Conference in Las Vegas! Congratulations to this mission-oriented team. We are proud to support the exceptional work they are doing to improve accessibility to mental health services and stigma-free addiction recovery services. If you are interested in learning more about PursueCare, please reach out to us at OCA Ventures or Nicholas Mercadante, CEO/founder of PursueCare! #PursueCare #MentalHealth #BehavioralHealth #DigitalHealth #Innovation #HLTH2024 

🌟 Congratulations to our portfolio company, PursueCare! 🌟 PursueCare is a finalist in the Digital Health Hub Foundation Awards in the "Mental Health Rising Star" category! We are thrilled to highlight their incredible work advancing health equity and access. They are truly dedicated to transforming the landscape of healthcare and making a meaningful impact in behavioral health and addiction recovery. The winning company will be announced at HLTH - come meet the PursueCare team at the Awards Pavilion on 10/21 at HLTH! #HealthEquity #MentalHealth #BehavoiralHealth #PursueCare #HealthcareInnovation #CommunitySupport

🚗 ✨ Exciting News for Miami! Parking in Miami just got a whole lot easier! Thanks to a new partnership between SpotHero and the Miami Parking Authority, finding a spot in Miami will now be a breeze. 🌴   Kudos to both teams for their commitment and making Miami a more accessible place for everyone!  #MiamiParking #SpotHero #MPA #ParkingSolutions #MiamiLife #TechInnovation #SustainableCity