For Ilana Diamond, investing in startups based in or with strong ties to Pittsburgh is crucial, and it’s a task she happily takes on as the managing partner of 412 Venture Fund. Since launching the $20 million fund in 2019, the local VC firm has gone on to make more than a dozen investments across 13 companies, including BlastPoint, Gridwise and Vigilant Technologies. This type of funding is essential for local startups to scale and build out their ideas, and Diamond’s efforts to fund these young companies comes at a time when many are seeking the support of additional investment.
What do you think makes for a successful Pittsburgh startup?
There’s no one-size-fits-all strategy. … That said, the chance of a startup’s success increases when they have a unique and market-validated vision for serving customers, combined with a team that’s more passionate about solving customer problems than about implementing a specific technology solution.
What is a challenge for Pittsburgh’s startup community, and how could it be addressed?
Pittsburgh has done a great job supporting early stage companies with mentorship and investment. We’re still working on attracting more late-stage investment capital, Series B, C and beyond, to help companies scale and reach large exits. It would be great to see larger Pittsburgh-based VC firms participating in these later-stage rounds [and increase] the chances of helping local companies scale here in the region.
What has you most optimistic about the region’s startups in the years to come?
Pittsburgh has become known as a place where the entrepreneurship community comes together to support and invest in world-changing ideas.
