
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 v4 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 build a startup in Pittsburgh? Then apply to the Pittsburgh Founder Institute today!
The links are also listed below, for searchability.
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)
- Inspirational Events: Open, inclusive, beginner startup events (i.e. Startup Weekend, idea fairs, and inspirational meetups)
- #UnstuckPgh
- Black Tech Nation
- Carnegie STEM Girls
- Entrepreneur, Start up and Small Business Monthly Q and A
- Events at Work Hard Pittsburgh
- Freedom-Obsessed Female Entrepreneurs of Pittsburgh!
- From Startup to Success
- Girl Develop It Pittsburgh
- Girls Who Code
- Global Entrepreneurship Week
- Going Deep Summit
- Hustle HER Way Summit
- Inclusive Innovation Week
- Invest In Her
- Lesbians Who Tech Pittsburgh
- Open Coffee Club at AlphaLab
- PGH Tech Meetup
- Pittsburgh Entrepreneurs Forum
- Pittsburgh VR Meetup
- Product Development Management Association - Pittsburgh Chapter
- Startup Weekend Pittsburgh
- Thrival Festival
- Young Entrepreneur's Society of Pittsburgh (YESpgh)
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).
- Ascender Starter & Builder Series
- Bagels and Bytes
- Cafe Innovation
- EdTech PGH
- General Assembly Pittsburgh
- Google Developer Group (GDG) Pittsburgh
- Keiretsu Forum
- ngPittsburgh
- Pittsburgh ProductCamp
- Pittsburgh Startup Founder 101
- Pittsburgh Technology Council
- Pittsburgh Technology Innovation Group
- Start Smart Legal Seminars and Workshop (IPI/Pitt Law School and Project Olympus)
- 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)
- Academy Pittsburgh
- Alice Bootcamp
- All Star Code
- Ascender Bootcamp
- Big Data (Next Gen Hadoop) Ingest & Transform
- Concept to Launch
- Connects
- Dale Carnegie Training (leadership, communications, presentations, sales skills)
- Founder Institute
- Lean Startup Machine Pittsburgh
- Next Gen Native Hadoop Big Data Apex Users Group
- ONLC Training Centers
- PGH Lab
- Pittsburgh Agile
- Pittsburgh Code & Supply
- Pittsburgh Startup: Idea to IPO
- Praxis
- ProductTank Pittsburgh
- Startable Pittsburgh
- Startup Ideation Bootcamp
- 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 )
- Build First Product: Hackathons & resources to build. (i.e. hackathons and other builder-focused events and resources)
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
- Baer Crossey McDemus
- BNY Mellon
- Brentwood Bank
- Bridgeway Capital
- Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney
- Cherin Law Offices, P.C.
- Citizens Bank
- Cohen & Grigsby, P.C.
- Cozen O’Connor
- Dollar Bank
- Elliott & Davis
- FHLBank Pittsburgh
- First Commonwealth Bank
- First National Bank
- Fox Rothschild LLP
- KeyBank
- Kisner Law Firm
- Kraemer Manes & Associates
- Leech Tishman
- Meyer, Unkovic & Scott LLP
- Morgan Lewis
- OGC Law
- Pepper Hamilton LLP
- PGH Startup Law
- PNC Bank
- Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP
- Reed Smith LLP
- S&T Bank
- Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr LLP
- SSB Bank
- Standard Bank
- Stonecipher Law Firm
- The Lynch Law Group, LLC
- Wells Fargo Bank
- Workspace: Co-working and flexible workspaces (note: “official” office space goes in 3.1.a. Infrastructure)
- Alloy 26
- Ascender
- Avenu
- Beauty Shoppe
- Bruno Works
- CatapultPGH Coworking
- Club Level CoWorking
- Cube
- Factory Unlocked
- Industrious
- Innovate28
- Level
- Looking for Group Pittsburgh
- Novel Coworking Golden Triangle
- One Valley
- Spaces Bakery Square
- Stack
- The Global Switchboard Space
- Whetstone Workgroup
- Work Hard Pittsburgh
B. Develop
- Formalize: Accounting, development and HR for early-stage startups.
- 2440 Media
- ANTLR Interactive
- Blue Archer
- C-leveled
- Cintacs
- CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen)
- Clark and Chamberlin
- Cohen & Company
- Collins & Ganley, P.C.
- CrawfordEllenbogen, LLC
- Davis, Davis & Associates
- Dennis Piper & Associates, CPA
- Drift2
- DS Financial Advisors
- EchoHR Consulting
- FiveStar Development
- H2R CPA
- Holsinger PC Certified Public Accountant
- Hyperfluid Solutions
- Imperial
- Infoshape
- IQInc
- Joyce, Inc.
- Kathy L. Hess & Associates
- OpenArc
- Paxton
- Posti & Associates
- PrimePay
- Rivers Agile
- ROKET
- Siegel and Company
- Sisterson
- Sparkbox
- Treetop Interactive
- Truefit
- W. Cotton Mather CPA
- Wilke
- ZAP Solutions
- Prepare for Seed: Incubators and advanced mentorship. (i.e. advanced knowledge sharing, later stage events and resources for startup TEAMS)
C. Launch
- Seed Accelerators: Seed funding mentor programs (Techstars-style programs that provide funding)
- Pitch & Demo: Show local startups for investment (i.e. demo days for companies seeking seed investment)
- Alloy 26 Demo Day
- AlphaLab & AlphaLab Gear Demo Day
- AlphaLab Gear Hardware Cup
- Launch Pad Pitch competition
- Launch Pad Pitch competitionLaunchCMU
- LeechTishman LaunchPad
- McGinnis Venture Competition
- PGH Tech Council — Tech 50
- Pitt Innovation Challenge
- Project Olympus Show & Tell
- Randall Family Big Idea Competition
- Startup Blitz
- UpPrize Challenge
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)
- Major Media: Mainstream local business press. (i.e. major local or regional publications that frequently champion local businesses)
B. Funding
- Angels / Micro-VCs: Seed-stage investors
- Andrew Rabin
- Andrew Williams
- Arjun Hattiangadi
- Benjamin J. Garber
- Brian Jeffrey Gross
- Catherine Mott
- Drew Volpe
- Edward Engler
- Evan Tahler
- Ezz-Eldin Moukamal
- Guillaume Binet
- Innovation Works
- Jim Ruiz
- Joey Rahimi
- John Hammer
- John Petote
- LifeX Seed Fund
- Matt Newton
- Mountain State Capital
- Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse
- Raffi Krikorian
- Ryan Walsh
- Ryusuke Kubo
- Severin Hacker
- Taylor Davidson
- Tim Marman
- Troy Polamalu
- Victoria Kulli
- William Guttman
- Zach Malone
- Zachary Marburger
- Venture Capitalists: Series A and beyond
- 20/20 Capital Group
- 3 Rivers Capital
- Adams Capital Management
- Birchmere Ventures
- BlueTree Venture Fund
- Chrysalis Ventures
- Coal Hill Ventures
- Draper Triangle
- Eagle Ventures
- Edison Partners
- FFC Capital
- Grouse Ridge Capital
- Incline Equity Partners
- PGH VC Association
- Pi Capital Group
- Pittsburgh Equity Partners
- PNC Riverarch Capital
- Riverfront Ventures
- Rosetta Capital
- Scottie Ventures
- Stone Pier Capital
- Stonewood Capital
- Tecum Capital
- 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)
- 42Floors
- Acuity HR
- Boyden Executive Search
- Compass Business Solutions, Inc.
- Hurley Insurance Brokers
- Instant Offices
- JLL Pittsburgh
- Kennon Insurance Consultants
- LoopNet
- McIlrath Insurance Agency
- Offices
- OfficeSpace
- Regus
- Rofo
- Rupp-Fiore Insurance
- Simpson & McCrady
- The Bradley Partnerships, Inc.
- Wagner Agency, Inc.
- Expansion: Growth accelerators/consultants. (i.e. programs and business consultants for capital-rich companies to grow and scale)
- Accenture
- ARC Advisory Group
- Aspirant
- Cayenne Consulting
- CEO Boot Camp
- CGI
- Chief Outsiders
- Conduent
- Confirmed
- Deloitte
- Ernst & Young
- FTI Consulting
- Full Circle
- JLL
- KORYAK Consulting
- KPMG
- KRNLS
- LifeX Labs
- Manufacturing 360 Consulting
- McKinsey & Company
- MMasters Corp
- Plus Consulting
- Protiviti
- PwC
- Rivers Agile Workshop
- SCORE
- SDLC Partners
- Synergen
- Towers Watson
D. Success Stories
Successful homegrown companies that have raised significant institutional funding, employ a large workforce, or have achieved liquidity.
- 4moms
- Activaided
- Argo AI
- ATRP Solutions
- Avere Systems
- Bellefield Systems
- Black Locus
- DesignAdvance
- DiamondKinetics
- Duolingo
- Dynamics Inc.
- ebillinghub
- EquityNet
- Expii
- Forest Devices
- FOREVER
- Gridwise
- Helomics
- Hibersense
- Hyliion
- Interphase Materials
- JazzHR
- Jetpack Workflow
- LearnBop
- LegalSifter
- LendingHome
- Malcovery Security
- Matrix Solutions
- Module Housing
- Net Health Systems, Inc.
- Nowait
- Panopto
- ReCaptcha
- Rijuven
- Seegrid
- Shoefitr
- ShowClix
- Skyword
- 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. )
- Adam Paulisick
- Andy Chan
- Andy Hannah
- Annia Aleman
- Babs Carryer
- Barry Rabkin
- Ben Utter
- Ben Wilson
- Bobby Zappala
- Brad Frost
- Brian Finamore
- Catherine Mott
- Craig Markovitz
- Dave Nelsen
- David Cristello
- Don Charlton
- Don Morrison
- Dr. Rasu Shrestha
- Greg Coticchia
- Henry Thorne
- Ilana Diamond
- Jennifer Wilhelm
- Jim Jen
- John Dick
- John Quayle
- Josh Lucas
- Justin Reese
- Kannu Sahni
- Kelauni Cook
- Kenny Chen
- Ketaki Desai
- Kevin Dowling
- Kit Mueller
- Kit Needham
- Linda Handley
- Lynn Banaszak
- Mark DeSantis
- Marta Dalton
- Mary Del Brady
- Melanie Querry
- Mike Capsambelis
- Olga Pogoda
- Prashant Ambe
- Randy Eager
- Ray Milhem
- Rich Lunak
- Robb Myer
- Ryan Gayman
- Sean Ammirati
- Suzy Teele
- Zachary Swetz
2. Government
Public organizations that facilitate local economic development
- Allegheny Conference
- City of Pittsburgh Department of Innovation & Performance
- Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce
- Inclusive Innovation PGH
- Innovation PGH
- P4 Pittsburgh
- PGH Lab
- Southwestern PA Veteran's Chamber of Commerce
- Sustainable PittsburghThe Pittsburgh EcoInnovation District: Uptown and Oakland
- 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)
- California University of Pennsylvania
- Carlow University
- Carnegie Mellon University
- Chatham University
- Duquesne University
- Indiana University of Pennsylvania
- Penn State in Pittsburgh
- Point Park University
- Robert Morris University
- Seton Hill University
- University of Pittsburgh
- Washington & Jefferson College
- Local Employers (Major technical employers, like Microsoft or Google or large local companies, with large local offices)
- Aethon
- Alcoa
- Allegheny Technologies
- Amazon
- ANSYS
- Apple
- Aptiv
- Argo AI
- Ariba
- Astrobotic
- Aurora Innovation
- BlackBox
- Bossa Nova Robotics
- Carnegie Robotics
- Cisco
- Comcast
- Deeplocal
- Ford
- GE
- IBM
- Identified Technologies
- Industrial Scientific
- Intel
- Lumos Networks
- Microsoft
- Modcloth
- Near Earth Autonomy
- Nokia
- Oculus
- Oracle
- Petuum
- PPG Industries
- Re2
- Redzone Robotics
- SAP
- Seegrid
- Siemens
- TeleTracking
- Thermo Fisher Scientific
- Uber
- Westinghouse Nuclear
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!)