Rich Lunak, the long-serving president and CEO of Innovation Works, formally announced his plans to retire from leading the region's largest seed-stage investment group for startup companies.
His decision to do so comes after nearly two decades at the helm of IW, an organization that claims to have produced 20,000 local jobs throughout the region and one that has invested tens of millions of dollars into Pittsburgh-based startups under Lunak's leadership.
"The time is right for me to step aside, and I feel good about my decision," Lunak said. "I will say, just in general, I've probably been in the role longer than I originally anticipated, partly because I've enjoyed it so much. We work hand-in-hand with some of the most exciting and innovative companies in our region, and that has just been so fun. And then to build and have such a great, dynamic team here has been really gratifying. But, at the same time, I'm really ready to retire. I've been a founder and or CEO for the last 30 years, and you end up making a lot of sacrifices, and I suppose during the pandemic, it's let me, like a lot of people, reassess what I really want to do, and right now, I really want to focus on family and friends."
Lunak, who prior to his work at IW was a successful entrepreneur and inventor who helped lead Automated Healthcare from a three-person startup to an entity acquired by McKesson Corp., said he's not going anywhere just yet; he'll continue to do work for the various boards he serves on and will remain engaged in various capacities with some of the region's startups. He's also in talks with a local university about possibly teaching a course relating to entrepreneurship in the next year or so.
Finding his replacement will also be a part of Lunak's duties in the near term, which he said IW will aim to have a candidate pool to pick from by summer. To do so, IW will hire a search firm to conduct a regional and national inquiry into finding its next leader.
"This is really going to be a great job for somebody to step into; we're really excited to help bring in a new leader to the organization and somebody who can take it to new heights and hopefully have even more of an impact on the region," Lunak said. "We're committed to having a broad and inclusive slate of candidates, but I would say, first and foremost, (we're looking for) someone who is very empathetic and understands the entrepreneur's journey. Ideally, we'd have somebody with experience in building and scaling a tech company, knowledge of the investment and economic development-community building of things. But at the same time, we don't want to be too prescriptive. We want to encourage top talent to apply and people from various backgrounds with great ideas."
When it comes to reflecting on the past 17 years at IW, Lunak said there are several things he's most proud of having accomplished since he took the top spot at the organization in January 2005, but the one that ranks above them all has been the "front-row seat" he's had in witnessing the transformation Pittsburgh's regional entrepreneurial community has had over the years. Since then, Lunak said Pittsburgh has cemented itself as being one of the top tech hubs in the country, something he wouldn't have classified the region as being almost two decades ago.
"That's been really gratifying; I've been part of the entrepreneurial community in one way or another, either as a founder-entrepreneur or as an investor or other things for a long time and it's really gratifying to see how far we've come and to feel like you've played a part in that," Lunak said.
Upon his beginning at IW, Lunak said a few dozen startup companies per year would pitch their business models to the organization for potential investment. This year, Lunak said he expects that close to a thousand companies will come "knocking on (IW's) door" for possible funding.
"It's hard to see those changes in months or even a year or two, but over the course of that span, it's been really remarkable how far our reach has come," Lunak said. "I think the sky's the limit, and it's really an exciting time for someone to be part of IW and to join; the organization's strong, doing really well. We have a great team, and I think it's just the last decade or so that has been a really exciting time. I think that the future may hold, in fact, even more promise for our region."
Lunak's impact on the region's startup ecosystem has been nearly unrivaled among those who work in the tight-knit community.
To date, IW has invested more than $113 million across 600 companies since its formation in 1999, the majority of which occurred under Lunak's directive.
Over the past 10 years, IW said 60% of founders receiving investments from the organization have been to those who are women and or people of color.
In 2008, Lunak saw IW launch now-nationally ranked software-based startup accelerator AlphaLab, which was then followed by the launch of its hardware equivalent, AlphaLab Gear, in 2013. In just the past year, Lunak also saw IW launch AlphaLab Health in partnership with the Allegheny Health Network to help bolster the region's emerging software, hardware and life sciences companies.
Lunak also directed the raise and full investment of the $24 million Riverfront Ventures fund, an effort that aims to offer more capital to high-potential companies within IW's portfolio as well as the larger regional community.
"Over that past several years, I have had the pleasure of watching Rich Lunak grow Innovation Works from a fledgling agency/regional startup investor to a powerhouse entity that stands as PA’s largest seed funder today," Catherine Mott, chair of Innovation Works’ board of directors and founder of BlueTree Allied Angels, said in a statement. "Rich has built a powerful well-rounded team that I know will carry-on his legacy. It has also been a privilege to work alongside Rich as an investor funding regional companies, and I am most grateful for the efforts Rich and his team have accomplished to attract outside capital to our region."
Pittsburgh-based Innovation Works is one of four organizations that make up the statewide Ben Franklin Technology Partners, itself managed by Pennsylvania's Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority.
