Portfolio company Yotta in the News

Yotta Energy has been selected by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and the U.S. Department of Energy as one of ten climate tech companies, hailing from Europe, Australia, North America and across the U.S, that are dedicated to significantly accelerating the move to a resilient, electrified, and clean economy, in New York and beyond.

Working across the value chain, these transformative companies are positioned for scale and ready to make an impact, with solutions ranging from cells and packs; thermal, long-duration, stationary and portable storage; mobility solutions; and distributed energy resources.

Austin, Texas-based Yotta Energy produces distributed energy products, including EV chargers and the first solar battery that integrates behind rooftop solar panels. The integrated battery significantly reduces installation costs, along with its plug-and-play design that means if you can install a solar module, you can install their battery.

 

SWAN announces investment in Relavo

SWAN is pleased to announce an initial investment in Relavo.

Relavo is a medical device company that is changing the way that kidney failure patients receive treatment. Founded by an all-female team of biomedical engineers from Johns Hopkins University, Relavo is seeking to make home dialysis more accessible by minimizing the risk of infection with their technology, the PeritoneX. The PeritoneX is a novel connection device that reduces the risk of infection in peritoneal dialysis. Rather than connecting tubes directly, patients will connect them to the PeritoneX, which then internally disinfects the connected tubes with an antimicrobial solution. By reducing the risk of infection, patients will receive safer treatment.

SWAN Director Juan Thurman in the News

The investment tracking platform SERAF featured Juan Thurman in the seventh in a series of interviews highlighting the work of interesting impact investors. Juan Thurman is a Director of the SWAN Impact Angel Network.

SERAF asked, “Looking ahead in early stage impact investing, what are you most excited about? What keeps you up at night?”

Juan replied, “When we started engaging with investors in 2016 they assumed impact investing was concessionary. Fortunately, investors have become more educated and now know you can make market or better returns investing in impact startups. The thing I am most excited about is working with early stage founders, helping them get traction and seeing them deliver impact in their chosen markets. Missing out on good deals is what keeps me up at night.”

Portfolio company ClearFlame named as one the Next Big Things in Tech

Thanks to its enormous installed base and prolonged driving distances, heavy trucking lags passenger cars in moving to zero-emissions operations. Geneva, Ill.-based ClearFlame Engine Technologies, however, is readying an alternative off-ramp from diesel fuel: a series of engine modifications that allow current-model trucks to run on ethanol sourced from corn at no loss in performance. Based upon that, ClearFlame has been named to Fast Company’s annual list of the Next Big Things in Tech.

Fast Company describes the chosen members of this list as “tech breakthroughs across industries that promise to transform the future.”  These technology breakthroughs were highlighted by Fast Company for their cutting-edge advancements and potential to impact consumers, businesses, and society overall. Clear Flame is recognized in the transportation category by this leading publication dedicated to the intersection of business, innovation, and design.

Valerie Tompson to lead SWAN’s Houston Chapter

SWAN Impact Network is pleased to announce that Valerie Tompson has been named to serve as the Chapter Lead of the Houston branch and has also joined SWAN’s Board of Directors.

Valerie has worked as a physician assistant and currently serves as the Executive Director at City Church in Houston. With a blend of medical experience, public accounting, a recent MBA from Duke University, and non-profit management experience, Valerie gathers and analyzes data and makes executable plans for innovative, efficient processes that directly impact the bottom line. She brings an intensity and stamina of effort to her work with attention to detail as well as an ability to simplify complicated ideas and build trusting relationships. Valerie enjoys getting up-to-speed quickly and continually learning new things to stay on the cutting edge. Much of her professional and personal time has been spent in roles helping organizations make an impact.

Outside of work, Valerie enjoys spending time with her family. Her husband Matt is a Physician who practices in the Houston Medical Center, and they have three children who range from middle to graduate school. Traveling (and eating), reading, and running fill up her additional time. Valerie has served in many roles in her children’s schools in Houston, including the chair of the Parent Guild at St. John’s School and PTO president at Roberts Elementary.

Portfolio company Harmonic Bionics has closed additional funding

Harmonic Bionics aims to empower patients and their care providers by designing intelligent technology that facilitates data-driven treatment for neurological and musculoskeletal movement impairments. Their flagship product, Harmony SHR™, is a bilateral upper extremity exoskeleton dynamically designed to provide unique value in three areas of practice: neuroscience and movement science research, movement disorder assessment, and rehabilitation.

Harmonic Bionics has announced that they have raised $3 million of venture funding from South Korea-based medical robot manufacturer Curexo, Inc.   Harmonic Bionics will now assist with US promotion and business development for Curexo’s Morning Walk S200, a robotic gait rehabilitation system, and CUVIS-spine, a surgical spine robot.

Last year, the company raised a $7.42 million Series A from H Robotics, Bass Investment, and DSC Investment.

Announcing Changes in SWAN’s Leadership

After three years of dedicated service on the SWAN Board of Directors, Laura Hill is rotating off the board. She has brought to the board keen insights about angel investing, was instrumental in improving our deal flow process, has been the lead on planning and organizing SWAN social events, and most recently ably led the working group that nominated her replacement on the board.

Thank you, Laura!

 

 

 

 

SWAN is pleased to have Gwen Echols join our Board of Directors. Gwen brings a wealth of experience to the board and strengthens the Dallas representation on the board. Gwen is an experienced professional with a record of driving progress in the business and nonprofit community. Presently a nonprofit advisor and board member, she has supported Dallas agencies in leadership roles for over 20 years. Concurrently Gwen has provided mentorship and coaching to social impact leaders and entrepreneurs since 2018. Gwen is a frequent investor at SWAN, and has been active at  the Rockies Venture Club, one of the country’s oldest angel groups. Gwen was formerly a Senior Vice President with Bank of America, including career roles on the Bank’s merger team, in technology development, and through 2003, as Senior Vice President and relationship team leader in corporate treasury services.

 

 

SWAN is delighted to have Meagan Packard join our leadership as Director of Impact Reporting. She is tackling one of the most-challenging aspects of being an effective impact investing network, namely .quantifying the actual impact resulting from our investment dollars. We expect her efforts will make SWAN a recognized leader in reporting on the impact, and will position SWAN as a role model for other impact angel networks.

Quoting Meagan, “Our world needs novel solutions to critical conservation & sustainability issues now. My aim is to get cutting edge research into the marketplace quickly to start solving our global climate and biodiversity problems today”.

SWAN announces follow-on investment in Sonnest

SWAN is pleased to announce a follow-on investment in Sonnest.

Sonnest is transforming cardiac ultrasound. Their Electrast™ is the first electrically sensitive imaging agent for assessing and monitoring the perfusion, structure, and function of the heart, allowing low cost ultrasound procedures to provide information only previously available from much higher cost scans. Electrast™ is a contrast agent that activates with ultrasound and the heart’s local electric field if the heart tissue is perfused and viable.

SWAN previously invested in Sonnest in February and May 2021.

SWAN announces investment in Young Mountain Tea

SWAN is pleased to announce an initial investment in Young Mountain Tea.

Young Mountain Tea works directly with tea farmers in India and Nepal to create organic tea, allowing the company to meet consumer demand for transparency and authentic impact. Right now, American consumers can’t access sustainable tea because existing tea companies buy corporate-grown tea through long chains of intermediaries. Tea has the potential to transform life for Himalayan tea farmers by creating sustainable livelihoods and repairing damaged ecosystems. Young Mountain Tea also partners with farmers to also help build factories to help process the tea, which the otherwise cash-strapped farmers would not be able to build.

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