Pittsburgh is a great place to build a startup, but most of the early-stage entrepreneurs we speak to are not aware of the local resources that are available to help them.

With applications for the Pittsburgh Founder Institute now open, we are excited to release the Pittsburgh Startup Ecosystem Canvas, which has been updated to Draft v2 below! It was developed by the Pittsburgh Founder Institute and local leaders Greg Coticchia and Randy Eager. 

This is just a draft, and while we spent many hours on this research, more input is needed. Please leave your comments on this collaborative Google document to help us complete the list. There are definitely omissions on this current version. 

Are you looking to start a company in Pittsburgh? Then apply to the Pittsburgh Founder Institute today!

Startup Stages

There is no one right way to build a technology company, but for the sake of simplicity we have outlined a basic, common, sequential framework.

1. Idea Stage

This is where new entrepreneurs get inspired, learn best practices, develop skills, validate ideas, and begin to build their team and product.

A. Inspire

• Startup Media: Centralized local information, listings, and news. (i.e. startup blogs/ publications/ lists/ FB groups/ newsletters, Startup Digest)

1. Awesomecast
2. Built in Pitt
3. NEXTPittsburgh
4. Pitchwerks
5. StartNow Pittsburgh
6. Launch Collective Mastermind

• Inspirational Events: Open, inclusive, beginner startup events (i.e. Startup Weekend, idea fairs, and inspirational meetups) 

1. #UnstuckPgh
2. Black Tech Nation
3. Boss Lady Grind - Pittsburgh
4. Carnegie STEM Girls
5. Entrepreneur, Start up and Small Business Monthly Q and A
6. Events at Work Hard Pittsburgh
7. Freedom-Obsessed Female Entrepreneurs of Pittsburgh!
8. From Startup to Success
9. Girl Develop It Pittsburgh
10. Girls Who Code
11. Global Entrepreneurship Week (CMU and Pitt)
12. Going Deep Summit
13. Hustle HER Way Summit
14. Inclusive Innovation Week
15. Invest In Her
16. Lesbians Who Tech Pittsburgh
17. PGH Tech Meetup
18. Pittsburgh VR Meetup
19. Pittsburgh Entrepreneurs Forum
20. Product Development Management Association - Pittsburgh Chapter
21. Startup Weekend Pittsburgh
22. Thrival Festival
23. Young Entrepreneur's Society of Pittsburgh (YESpgh)
24. The Launch Collective Expo

B. Educate

• Best Practices: Beginner knowledge-sharing events. (i.e. beginner events that serve to educate more than inspire, like 1 Million Cups, Startup Grind, Startup Found 101, etc).

1. Ascender Starter & Builder Series
2. Bagels and Bytes
3. EdTech PGH
4. Google Developer Group (GDG) Pittsburgh
5. ngPittsburgh
6. Pittsburgh ProductCamp
7. Pittsburgh Startup Founder 101
8. Pittsburgh Technology Innovation Group
9. Start Smart Legal Seminars and Workshop (IPI/Pitt Law School and Project Olympus)
10. Startup Grind Pittsburgh

• Training & Feedback: Skill & Idea development. (Ex. bootcamps and comprehensive training programs, like Founder Institute, General Assembly, Lean Startup Machine, code camps, etc)

1. Academy Pittsburgh
2. Alice Bootcamp
3. All Star Code
4. Ascender Bootcamp
5. Big Data (Next Gen Hadoop) Ingest & Transform
6. Concept to Launch
7. Connects
8. Founder Institute
9. Lean Startup Machine Pittsburgh
10. Next Gen Native Hadoop Big Data Apex Users Group
11. ONLC Training Centers
12. PGH Lab
13. Pittsburgh Agile
14. Pittsburgh Code & Supply
15. Pittsburgh Startup: Idea to IPO
16. Praxis
17. ProductTank Pittsburgh
18. Startable Pittsburgh
19. Startup Ideation Bootcamp
20. Startup Pitch Bootcamp: Learn How to Pitch from Top Entrepreneurs

C. Validate

• Team Formation: Resources for teaming up. (i.e. events or other resources that facilitate early-stage recruitment and cofounder matching )

1. CoFoundersLab
2. Ellevate
3. Entrepreneurs' Organization
4. FounderDating
5. LaunchPGH
6. Network After Work Pittsburgh
7. Pittsburgh Entrepreneurs Forum
8. Startup Job Fair (CMU and Pitt)
9. Tech Happy Hour - Pittsburgh

• Build First Product: Hackathons & resources to build. (i.e. hackathons and other builder-focused events and resources)

1. CodeDay
2. Code for Good
3. Conservation Hackathon 2018
4. FCHacks
5. HackPGH
6. Pittsburgh Hardware Startup Meetup
7. Pittsburgh TechFest
8. Prototype Pittsburgh
9. She Innovates Hackathon
10. SteelHacks 2018
11. TartanHacks
12. The Pitt Challenge
13. The XFactory

2. Launch Stage

In this stage, entrepreneurs establish and formalize the company, develop the product, get feedback from customers, and prepare for the next step.

A. Start

• Establish: Law firms & banks for startups 

1. Baer Crossey McDemus
2. BNY Mellon
3. Brentwood Bank
4. Bridgeway Capital
5. Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney
6. Cherin Law Offices, P.C.
7. Citizens Bank
8. Cohen & Grigsby, P.C.
9. Cozen O’Connor 
10. Dollar Bank
11. Elliott & Davis
12. FHLBank Pittsburgh
13. First Commonwealth Bank
14. First National Bank
15. Fox Rothschild LLP
16. KeyBank
17. Kisner Law Firm
18. Kraemer Manes & Associates
19. Leech Tishman
20. Meyer, Unkovic & Scott LLP
21. Morgan Lewis 
22. OGC Law
23. Pepper Hamilton LLP
24. PGH Startup Law
25. PNC Bank
26. Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP
27. Reed Smith LLP
28. S&T Bank
29. Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr LLP
30. SSB Bank
31. Standard Bank
32. Stonecipher Law Firm
33. The Lynch Law Group, LLC
34. Wells Fargo Bank

• Workspace: Co-working and flexible workspaces (note: “official” office space goes in 3.1.a. Infrastructure) 

1. Alloy 26
2. Ascender
3. Avenu
4. Beauty Shoppe
5. Bruno Works
6. CatapultPGH Coworking
7. Club Level CoWorking
8. Cube
9. Factory Unlocked
10. Industrious
11. Innovate28
12. Level
13. Looking for Group Pittsburgh
14. Novel Coworking Golden Triangle
15. Spaces Bakery Square
16. Stack
17. The Global Switchboard Space
18. Whetstone Workgroup
19. Work Hard Pittsburgh

B. Develop

• Formalize: Accounting, development and HR for early-stage startups.  

1. 2440 Media
2. ANTLR Interactive
3. Blue Archer
4. Cintacs
5. Clark and Chamberlin
6. C-leveled
7. CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen)
8. Cohen & Company
9. Collins & Ganley, P.C.
10. CrawfordEllenbogen, LLC
11. Davis, Davis & Associates
12. Dennis Piper & Associates, CPA
13. Drift2
14. DS Financial Advisors
15. EchoHR Consulting
16. FiveStar Development
17. H2R CPA
18. Holsinger PC Certified Public Accountant
19. Hyperfluid Solutions
20. Imperial
21. Infoshape
22. IQInc
23. Joyce, Inc.
24. Kathy L. Hess & Associates
25. OpenArc
26. Paxton
27. Posti & Associates
28. PrimePay
29. ROKET
30. Siegel and Company
31. Sisterson
32. Sparkbox
33. Treetop Interactive
34. Truefit
35. W. Cotton Mather CPA
36. Wilke
37. ZAP Solutions

• Prepare for Seed: Incubators and advanced mentorship. (i.e. advanced knowledge sharing, later stage events and resources for startup TEAMS)

1. Ascender Incubation
2. BHiveLab Incubator
3. eCenter
4. IncubateHER
5. Indiana County Small Business Incubator
6. New Sun Rising
7. PantherlabWorks
8. Project Olympus Incubator Program
9. Riverside Center for Innovation
10. VentureBridge
11. Washington Area Business Incubator
12. Work Hard Pittsburgh Cooperative Business Incubator

C. Launch

• Seed Accelerators: Seed funding mentor programs (Techstars-style programs that provide funding)

1. AlphaLab
2. AlphaLab Gear
3. Blast Furnace
4. Idea Foundry
5. Numo
6. SteelBridge Labs

• Pitch & Demo: Show local startups for investment (i.e. demo days for companies seeking seed investment)

1. Alloy 26 Demo Day
2. AlphaLab Demo Day
3. AlphaLab Gear Hardware Cup
4. LaunchCMU
5. LeechTishman LaunchPad
6. McGinnis Venture Competition
7. PGH Tech Council — Tech 50
8. Pitt Innovation Challenge 
9. Project Olympus Show & Tell
10. Randall Family Big Idea Competition
11. Startup Blitz
12. UpPrize Challenge
13. Launch Pad Pitch competition

3. Growth Stage

Here, a startup proves their utility, receives recognition, and scales up. This usually requires funding, angels, VCs, and ways to connect them to startups.

A. Recognition 

• Investor Networking:  Connect professional investors with founders. (i.e. events or groups that facilitate connections with professional investors)

1. 3 Rivers Venture Fair
2. Active X-it
3. Angel Investment Network
4. BlueTree Allied Angels
5. Keiretsu Forum
6. Next Act Fund
7. PA Angel Network
8. Pipeline Angels Angel Investing Bootcamp
9. TiE Pittsburgh
10. Forty x 80

• Major Media: Mainstream local business press. (i.e. major local or regional publications that frequently champion local businesses)

1. ABC Pittsburgh
2. CBS Pittsburgh
3. Crain's Pittsburgh
4. FOX Pittsburgh
5. NBC Pittsburgh
6. Pittsburgh Business Spotlight
7. Pittsburgh Business Times
8. Pittsburgh Current
9. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
10. Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
11. Smart Business Magazine

B. Funding

• Angels / Micro-VCs: Seed-stage investors  

1. Andrew Rabin
2. Andrew Williams
3. Arjun Hattiangadi
4. Benjamin J. Garber
5. Brian Jeffrey Gross
6. Catherine Mott
7. Drew Volpe
8. Edward Engler
9. Evan Tahler
10. Ezz-Eldin Moukamal
11. Frank Demmler
12. Guillaume Binet
13. Innovation Works
14. Jim Ruiz
15. Joey Rahimi
16. John Hammer
17. John Petote
18. LifeX Seed Fund
19. Matt Newton
20. Mountain State Capital
21. Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse
22. Raffi Krikorian
23. Ryan Walsh
24. Ryusuke Kubo
25. Severin Hacker
26. Taylor Davidson
27. Tim Marman
28. Troy Polamalu
29. Victoria Kulli
30. William Guttman
31. Zachary Marburger
32. Zach Malone

• Venture Capitalists: Series A and beyond

1. 20/20 Capital Group
2. 3 Rivers Capital
3. Adams Capital Management
4. Birchmere Ventures
5. BlueTree Venture Fund
6. Chrysalis Ventures
7. Coal Hill Ventures
8. Draper Triangle
9. Eagle Ventures 
10. Edison Partners
11. FFC Capital
12. Grouse Ridge Capital
13. Incline Equity Partners
14. PGH VC Association
15. Pi Capital Group
16. Pittsburgh Equity Partners
17. PNC Riverarch Capital
18. Riverfront Ventures
19. Rosetta Capital
20. Scottie Ventures
21. Stone Pier Capital
22. Stonewood Capital
23. Tecum Capital
24. Topanga Partners

C. Growth

• Infrastructure: Office space, HR, local business insurance. (i.e. office space/ HR/ insurance providers for capital-rich companies to grow and scale) 

1. 42Floors
2. Acuity HR
3. Boyden Executive Search
4. Compass Business Solutions, Inc.
5. Hurley Insurance Brokers
6. Instant Offices
7. Kennon Insurance Consultants
8. LoopNet
9. McIlrath Insurance Agency
10. Offices
11. OfficeSpace
12. Regus
13. Rofo
14. Rupp-Fiore Insurance
15. Simpson & McCrady
16. The Bradley Partnerships, Inc.
17. Wagner Agency, Inc.

• Expansion: Growth accelerators/consultants. (i.e. programs and business consultants for capital-rich companies to grow and scale)

1. Accenture
2. ARC Advisory Group
3. Aspirant
4. Cayenne Consulting
5. CEO Boot Camp
6. CGI
7. Conduent
8. Deloitte
9. Ernst & Young
10. FTI Consulting
11. Full Circle
12. JLL
13. KORYAK Consulting
14. KPMG
15. KRNLS
16. LifeX Labs
17. McKinsey & Company
18. Manufacturing 360 Consulting
19. MMasters Corp
20. Plus Consulting
21. Protiviti
22. PwC
23. SCORE 
24. SDLC Partners
25. Synergen
26. Towers Watson

D. Success Stories

Successful homegrown companies that have raised significant institutional funding, employ a large workforce, or have achieved liquidity.

1. 4moms
2. Activaided
3. Argo AI
4. Avere Systems
5. Bellefield Systems 
6. Black Locus
7. DiamondKinetics
8. Duolingo
9. Dynamics Inc.
10. ebillinghub
11. EquityNet
12. Expii
13. Forest Devices
14. FOREVER
15. Gridwise
16. Helomics
17. Hibersense
18. Highmark Health
19. Hyliion
20. Interphase Materials 
21. JazzHR
22. Jetpack Workflow
23. LearnBop
24. LegalSifter
25. LendingHome
26. Lightside Labs
27. Malcovery Security
28. Matrix Solutions
29. Module Housing
30. Nowait
31. Panopto
32. ReCaptcha
33. Rijuven
34. Safaba
35. Seegrid
36. Shoefitr
37. ShowClix
38. Skyword
39. Wombat Security

Supporters

To facilitate the steps, every ecosystem needs strong supporters.

1. Evangelists

Successful local founders who lead the ecosystem & frequently mentor newbies.  (i.e. Local leaders who have taken a leadership position, speak at a lot of startup events, mentor all the programs, etc. )

1. Adam Paulisick
2. Andy Chan
3. Andy Hannah
4. Annia Aleman
5. Babs Carryer
6. Barry Rabkin
7. Ben Utter
8. Bobby Zappala
9. Brad Frost
10. Brian Finamore
11. Catherine Mott
12. Craig Markovitz
13. Dave Nelsen
14. David Cristello
15. Don Charlton
16. Don Morrison
17. Greg Coticchia
18. Henry Thorne
19. Ilana Diamond
20. Jennifer Wilhelm
21. Jim Jen
22. John Dick
23. John Quayle 
24. Josh Lucas 
25. Justin Reese  
26. Kannu Sahni
27. Kelauni Cook
28. Kenny Chen
29. Kevin Dowling
30. Ketaki Desai
31. Kit Mueller
32. Kit Needham
33. Linda Handley
34. Lynn Banaszak
35. Mark DeSantis
36. Marta Dalton
37. Mary Del Brady
38. Melanie Querry
39. Mike Capsambelis
40. Olga Pogoda
41. Prashant Ambe 
42. Randy Eager
43. Dr. Rasu Shrestha
44. Rich Lunak
45. Robb Myer
46. Ryan Gayman
47. Sean Ammirati
48. Suzy Teele
49. Zachary Swetz 

2. Government

Public organizations that facilitate local economic development 

1. Allegheny Conference
2. City of Pittsburgh Department of Innovation & Performance
3. Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce
4. Inclusive Innovation PGH
5. Innovation PGH
6. P4 Pittsburgh
7. PGH Lab
8. Southwestern PA Veteran's Chamber of Commerce
9. Sustainable Pittsburgh
10. The Pittsburgh EcoInnovation District: Uptown and Oakland
11. Urban Innovation21

3. Talent

Major local business or tech universities and employers that attract and retain local talent.

• Local Universities (universities with prominent technical or business programs)

1. California University of Pennsylvania
2. Carlow University
3. Carnegie Mellon University
4. Chatham University
5. Duquesne University
6. Indiana University of Pennsylvania
7. Penn State in Pittsburgh
8. Point Park University
9. Robert Morris University
10. Seton Hill University
11. University of Pittsburgh
12. Washington & Jefferson College

• Local Employers (Major technical employers, like Microsoft or Google or large local companies, with large local offices) 

1. Aethon
2. Alcoa
3. Allegheny Technologies
4. Amazon
5. ANSYS
6. Apple
7. Aptiv
8. Argo AI
9. Ariba
10. Astrobotic
11. Aurora Innovation
12. BlackBox
13. Bossa Nova Robotics
14. Carnegie Robotics
15. Cisco
16. Comcast
17. Deeplocal
18. Facebook
19. Ford
20. GE
21. Google
22. IBM
23. Identified Technologies
24. Industrial Scientific
25. Intel
26. Lumos Networks
27. Microsoft
28. Modcloth
29. Near Earth Autonomy
30. Nokia
31. Oculus
32. Oracle
33. Petuum
34. PPG Industries
35. Re2
36. Redzone Robotics
37. SAP
38. Seegrid
39. Siemens
40. TeleTracking
41. Thermo Fisher Scientific
42. Uber
43. Westinghouse Nuclear
44. Wombat Security

Learn more about the Startup Ecosystem Canvas here, and leave us your thoughts on the Pittsburgh Canvas on this collaborative Google document (This is just a DRAFT, and more input is needed!)

Are you looking to start a company in Pittsburgh? Then apply to the Pittsburgh Founder Institute today!