Chicago, IL — February 5, 2013 — IE Partner Larry Hayward was quoted in a recent article in Forbes about investing in the social sector and supporting impact entrepreneurs. The article titled “Social Enterprise: The Investor’s Final Frontier” was published on Forbes.com on February 5th. Please follow this link for the full article.

GALESBURG, IL – December 17, 2012 - Glen Barton, Retired Chairman/CEO of Caterpillar, has joined Intellihot’s Board of Directors. Intellihot, which manufactures energy-efficient tankless water heating systems and boilers for residential and commercial applications is a portfolio company of Independence Equity Management, LLC (www.independence-equity.com).

See Press Release here for details.

Chicago, IL — Oct 15, 2012 — As part of a Chicagoland Entrepreneur Center mentor program, Hayward will have office hours today at 1871.

The mentorship program is designed to provide connections and tactical knowledge to build great startups. Volunteer advisors and speaker who provide Office hours include experienced entrepreneurs, early stage investors, educators and practitioners with relevant startup expertise. Topics covered include Sales, Marketing, Financing, Legal, Talent, Product Development and Design, Strategy.

About the CEC and 1871:
The Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center (CEC) is a non-profit organization that supports entrepreneurs on their path to building high-growth, sustainable businesses that serve as platforms for economic development and civic leadership. Its flagship project,1871, fulfills CEC’s vision of a central address for entrepreneurs in Chicago. CEC runs and operates the workspace, develops programming, organizes events and ensures that the culture of 1871 allows entrepreneurs the greatest opportunity for success.

Chicago, IL — Oct 2, 2012 — IE Partner Larry Hayward participated at the Crain’s Small Business Week’s Access to Capital Panel.

The Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce and the Small Business Development Center organized panel discussed the different choices for capital available to small businesses. The panel discussion included senior-level capital providers from important and emerging sectors of the finance market including Angel Investing, Business Credit, Commercial Banking, Crowd Funding and more.

For more information on this event, click here.

Evonik Cyro LLC is launching the first optical train package, ACRYLITE® Solar Pre-Fab lens panels, for Concentrated Photovoltaic (CPV) modules saving customers tooling costs and manufacturing time using lenses manufactured by 10x Technology and EVONIK Cyro. These lens panels take advantage of the precision tooling and prescription replication capability of 10x Technology LLC, a developer of micro-structured polymer products.

For details follow link here. Press Release

Independence Equity Partner, Michael Gruber, shall be speaking on ACG Chicago’s panel on ‘Building the Next Gazelles: from Early Funding to Emerging Growth’ on June 26 in downtown Chicago.

For registration and further details please follow this link: Register Here

Here are some details on the event:

Tuesday, June 26th, 2012
Building the Next Gazelles: From Early Funding to Emerging Growth

11:30 AM – 1:15 PM

The Standard Club
320 S. Plymouth Ct.
Chicago, IL

Building the Next Gazelles:
from Early Funding to Emerging Growth

Chicago’s entrepreneurs are finding new capital in the rapidly developing angel networks, new talent and mentorship in the expanding incubator spaces and many are now looking for next stage investment/exit expertise to join the gazelles in the middle market. Join us to meet some leaders in this early stage investment community and better understand where you fit into this new growth dynamic.

IE Partner Laurence Hayward was invited to speak at the 2^nd Annual Microneedle Drug Delivery Conference held in Cork, Ireland from May 12-15, 2012.  The Conference aims to explore the use of Microneedles, typically in the form of a patch, for the effective delivery of a range of drugs.  The potential advantages of this delivery technique is it avoids the pain associated with hypodermic needles, provides a convenient and easy-to-use format including extended dosing periods, has a form factor that is more efficient to distribute, use and dispose of (avoiding reuse issues) and potentially can be manufactured for less cost relative to conventional needles.  Hayward’s presentation specifically addressed how to make microneedle technology scalable using efficient, high volume manufacturing techniques.  More on the Conference can be found at www.microneedles.ie.  A copy of the presentation is also available upon request to lhayward@independence-equity.com.

Chicago, IL — Mar 27, 2012 — Independence Equity Partner Larry Hayward shall act as coach to a student team at University of Illinois Golder Center’s Private Equity Case Competition.

The Golder Center for Private Equity and Entrepreneurial Finance’s Private Equity Case Competition focuses on providing undergraduate students with the opportunity to experience the work of an analyst at a private equity firm, as well as develop skills integral to such positions. Teams with 3 to 5 members compete by analyzing a company to make recommendations about their firm’s potential investment. At the final competition, teams present their work to a panel of distinguished industry professionals. The coach will be a real world resource for the students to use while working through their case and putting together their presentation.

For more information on this event, click here.

Northbrook, IL (March 19, 2012) – Independence Equity I LP, an early-stage venture fund, announces an investment in Intellihot Green Technologies, Inc (IGT).  IGT’s tankless water heater reduces water and energy waste and reduces installation and operating costs.

With conventional water heaters, a substantial amount of water is wasted after a user opens the tap and awaits the arrival of hot water; the IGT design can provide instant hot water, reducing water wasted when people run their faucets excessively before use.

IGT units can be installed in both retrofits and new construction.  The company has demonstrated 40% lower natural gas consumption with its unit and a capital investment up to 50% lower than the boiler/tank system that it replaces in commercial applications.  The IGT unit also provides a more consistent heat profile than systems in the market today, a common complaint from users of existing tankless water heaters.

IGT has filed several patents covering fundamental design as well as specific elements of the system. Novel features include a self-learning software system, de-scaling techniques, remote monitoring, and master-less cascading that eliminates over-designs commonly used to ensure peak period hot water availability

According to Independence Equity Partner Laurence Hayward, “It is rare that we see an opportunity to invest in a technology that preserves two precious natural resources.  The Intellihot technology saves energy and water.  While “tankless” water heaters have been around for several years, Intellihot has built a much better mousetrap, which should enable tankless solutions to capture a much greater share of the large market for water heaters.  This in turn reduces energy use and reduces water waste.  We are pleased to take part in bringing this important technology to market.”

IGT is located in Galesburg, IL, making it the only company that designs and assembles tankless water heaters in the United States. It serves both residential and commercial markets and has several large scale deployments including the federal penitentiary in Pekin, IL.

Contact:  Laurence K. Hayward, 847.739.0100

Chicago, IL — Dec 16, 2011 Independence Equity Partner Michael Gruber shall speak on the Green Building Panel at the Energy Investment Forum in Austin, TX, with such conference taking place January 25-26. Gruber’s panel will discuss topics relating to green building materials, energy efficiency, and exciting developments in lighting, material, building management systems and demand & supply response systems.

For further details on the conference see the following link. Energy Investment Forum