Rust Valley

Six local companies recently received funding, housing and mentoring at the AlphaLab facility on Pittsburgh’s South Side.  Cynthia Closkey previously wrote about Alpha Lab back in March when the project of InnovationWorks was previously announced.  As Cynthia pointed out back then, what is useful about AlphaLabs is that it focuses on web- and software-related ventures

My early impression of Pittsburgh is that there’s an awful lot of biotech and medical startup activity going on, but not as much web stuff.  That’s fine, of course, but a mix is nice, too.  In some ways, this crop of companies looks like a lot of “me, too” with some “social network”, “facebook” and “social media” buzz lathered thickly over the top.  But when someone wants to spend money making web comics easier to make (as Chogger apparently does), you have to smile.

I’ve started perusing the resources available at InnovationWorks and starting to get a handle on startup culture and environment in Pittsburgh.  I was previously involved in some startup and venture-related activities in Albuquerque and I’ve been through a couple of rounds of funding at Renesys, so I have some context.  Pittsburgh looks like it’s in decent shape.

In particular, Alphalab looks like a reasonable deal.  Six months of use of space, some mentoring and $25k for 3% of common stock.  That’s an $833k valuation on what, in most cases, is just an idea.  Moreover, it is probably just the kick in the pants that many of these entrepreneurs need to get started.  I look forward to watching these six companies over the course of the next year or so and learning more about the funding/support system for startups in Pittsburgh.