Chris Mularadelis becomes the latest student from St. Bonaventure University to participate in Brown and White Ventures' internship program during the winter semester of 2026. Mularadelis is a junior Finance major and Spanish minor who also plays Division I men's soccer for St. Bonaventure. The resident of Aberdeen-Matawan, New Jersey pursued the fund's internship with a strong interest in finance and entrepreneurship. "I'm excited to work with Brown and White Ventures to learn from an alumni-led fund, building meaningful relationships and be part of a community that values thoughtful growth and long-term impact," Mularadelis said. Before attending St. Bonaventure, Mularadelis lived independently and played soccer in Argentina for nearly two years, an experience he says shaped his discipline, adaptability and perspective. Mularadelis becomes the ninth student from St. Bonaventure to participate in the Brown and White Ventures internship program.

Portfolio company wellconnected and its revolutionary platform, allco, deliver collaborative community care, all in one place. allco's intuitive tools help companies manage everything from intake assessments to referrals to Cross Agency Partnerships. For the first time, wellconnected is creating longitudinal shared records for individuals to better manage their care. "Think of allco as a blend of a specialized CRM, an ERP, and an electronic health record," founder Duane Conners said. "It's also built with best practices and industry leading compliance and security." Conners calls allco easy to implement, intuitive to use, automatically secure, and very customizable. It frees agencies from needing their own engineers or high-priced consultants. With allco, all programs are supported with a full toolkit to drive mission and support their communities. Clients receive centralized and aggregated reporting across all those programs using the platform, providing insight into milestones, referral activity, and needs that are identified. Each of those programs can also collaborate like never before with cross-agency case management and even integrate or support healthcare initiatives.

Growth across multiple regions moved wellconnected to hire Carolyn Montalbo as its new Community Experience Specialist. Montalbo joins wellconnected as it completes four years of rolling out its allco platform and developing it from a regional pilot to a multi-state social care infrastructure. In allco, wellconnected delivers a platform unifying community-based organizations, pharmacies, nonprofits, and care teams that are working to improve people’s lives. Montalbo arrives from LifeLaw, where she served as the Asset Alignment Director and oversaw operations and strategy for a rapidly growing estate-planning organization. She holds a masters in mental health counseling from the University at Buffalo. CEO Duane Conners brings Montalbo on as wellconnected's network has expanded, and its need to ensure every partner, user, and community stakeholder has a clear, supportive and consistent experience has grown. "I know how key it is to have great team members, especially when you are small but might. This is a great step of maturity for the team, the company and for our clients," Conners said. "I cannot wait to see the amazing things we are going to do now." Conners believes her background in both high-touch client service and organizational systems gives her a deep understanding of how to build clear, supportive, and trustworthy experiences. That’s especially true in environments where people depend on accurate information and seamless coordination. "As she steps into her role, Carolyn will help bring greater structure, consistency, and personality to our customer experience. That work will span onboarding, support and adoption all the way to storytelling," Conners said.

Portfolio company KAV Helmets has signed a paid pilot with a major construction company with more than 10 thousand employees to develop a new construction helmet. It will utilize the company's microfab production center in hashtag Buffalo, New York . CEO Whitman Kwok also reports he is preparing KAV, the maker of custom designed cycling helmets, to break into the construction helmet market full-time in 2026. Kwok said he has identified a pair of partners for entry into the sector. "We created a brand not just about cycling, but we’ve had a number of folks in the construction industry who have either ridden our bike helmet, or are familiar with the brand, and said `I want that, for not my weekend bike ride, but for my eight hours a day. I’m working on a construction site or a factory,'" Kwok said. The construction helmet business is a 400 million dollar market. The industry has shifted to what are called Type 2 helmets, designed to focus on impact that may be absorbed on the side of the helmet that most often happen during workplace falls. "I think we’re uniquely positioned to use the technology platform that we have and translate that to a whole another market, one that is ten times bigger than cycling, therefore gives us ten times the opportunity to fulfill our mission of saving lives," Kwok said. Hear more on this and the latest on KAV Helmets with Whitman Kwok on the Brown and White Ventures podcast https://youtu.be/BDjNfx3rbDY

As delivery volumes continue to rise, especially in multifamily and student housing, how couriers interact with package rooms can make or break the entire system. Courier and driver workflows are often the most overlooked part of a package room setup. It's where leasing teams often find convenience meets chaos. HelloPackage, with its courier and driver workflow integration system, believes it’s delivering a disruptive answer to the market through order and technological ease. Those familiar with the “last mile” problem can understand why, in multifamily properties, the real breakdown often happens in the last 50 feet, when a delivery driver arrives onsite and tries to complete a drop-off. Without clear signage, access instructions, or support, what happened before HelloPackage was often: • Packages left in the lobby • Missed deliveries •Incorrect drop-offs • A frustrated team and annoyed residents Multiply that by dozens (or hundreds) of daily deliveries, and you can understand the chaos that can ensue, or used to before HelloPackage introduced its driver workflows. The company has built a system that simplifies for residents and drivers because as HelloPackage has watched other companies learn, tech doesn’t matter if drivers can’t or won’t use it. HelloPackage focuses its system on simple, secure access: 1. Each delivery driver gets a unique PIN or uses a package barcode to enter the room. Everything is recorded: entry, exit, drop-off. 2. Delivery Onboarding Made Easy - First-time drivers get a full walkthrough of the delivery process, guided by AI-powered video instructions. Spanish is already available, with more languages on the way. 3. Zone Navigation & LED Guidance - Drivers scan the package and place it anywhere, our system automatically logs the correct zone and lights up the shelf for the resident at pickup. No special sorting required. 4. Behavior Monitoring & Feedback - We track delivery behavior across properties. Scorecards help identify top performers and flag repeat issues. 5. Ambassador Support - HelloPackage Ambassadors are local team members who visit onsite regularly to organize the room, resolve delivery issues, and keep everything running smoothly, so your team has zero to minimal involvement. The company reports courier and driver workflow integration means fewer mistakes, fewer complaints, and less involvement from on-site staff. It also helps leasing teams stay out of the package business entirely.

Brown and White Ventures announced it will invest in Maryland-based miRecule, a biotechnology company developing RNA therapies for some forms of cancer and muscular dystrophy. In miRecule, the venture capital fund invests in a drug design startup that applies genomic patient data to create highly tailored therapeutics designed to help patients live a life free from the debilitating symptoms of their disorders. miRecule is a biopharmaceutical company developing Antibody RNA therapeutics for rare genetic disorders. “Healthcare and medical startup companies are one of our focal points in Brown and White Ventures investment. With miRecule, we're committing to a company that seeks to make treatment more effective than ever before,” fund co-founder Jim Aroune said. “We are very excited to have Brown and White Ventures be a part of miRecule’s journey,” CEO Anthony Saleh said. “We look forward to working together.” Saleh said it is miRecule’s proprietary platform, DREAmir, which utilizes genomic and outcome data from thousands of patients to identify underlying genetic changes that cause their disease. With that, DREAmir creates a novel RNA therapeutic that can directly target and fix that genetic abnormality. The DREAmir platform is currently being deployed by miRecule to develop first-in-class therapies for neuromuscular diseases. The company began strategically collaborating with Sanofi, the Paris, France-based developer of prescription drugs and vaccines, in 2022. This lead partnership accelerates the discovery and development of a best-in-class antibody RNA conjugate to treat FSHD, Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy. The company announced U.S. Patent No. 12,104,157, titled “Targeted Inhibition Using Engineered Oligonucleotides. The patent broadly covers one of the company’s lead RNA therapeutics and other engineered oligonucleotides. It covers engineered oligonucleotides that are modified forms of miR-30 miRNA with superior binding properties. It also covers vectors, kits, and pharmaceutical compositions comprising these oligonucleotides. The patent is expected to expire in 2041. The newly issued patent strengthens miRecule’s intellectual property portfolio around its core programs and provides broad protection for the company’s technology. “This further strengthens our IP position,” said Saleh. “This patent provides broad coverage for our engineered oligonucleotides, which we believe have the potential to be developed into a new class of targeted therapeutics.” “miRecule will do well by doing good for others through this incredible technology it’s developing,” Aroune said. “This is at the heart of the Franciscan mission Brown and White Ventures seeks to express with every dollar we commit to new companies.” miRecule is also the second Brown and White Ventures investment to be led by an alumnus of St. Bonaventure University. Saleh earned his B.S. with honors in Biochemistry at the university in 2001.

With its collaborative care platform, allco, already making a difference in four states, wellconnected, the Buffalo, NY-based startup, shared that it is preparing to be cash positive in 2026 and ready to grow into a new, substantial metro. The company will wait to announce the next community in which its allco platform will be introduced. With allco, founder Duane Conners and his team have built a system which "streamlines platforms workflow for community organizations by giving them access to social support resources all in one place." A single source intake record is created through allco. It's managed for the community member and allows cross-agency access and collaboration through a coordinator dashboard. With a community member's data all in one hub that connected to what Conners calls a "robust service directory," allco delivers targeted outreach and closes the loop on referrals." The wellconnected team, in service to Chicago/Cook County, Illinois, portions of Western New York and New Jersey, and the state of West Virgina, reports allco has provided improved comprehensive data "which reveals deeper insights or measuring reporting and grant funding." Conners calls the product of all this onboarding alignment "a holistic approach to social care which ultimately enables CBO’s to provide better support and make a greater impact in their community." A video introducing allco can be found at the Brown and White Ventures YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xb9-voprOSQ Wellconnected invites social care leaders and community leaders to book a demo of the allco platform at: https://www.getwellconnected.co

KAV Teamworks introduced its club partnership program for cycling teams who push each other — and the sport — forward. In announcing Teamworks, KAV provides access to exclusiv eclub pricing on KAV Helmets for team members. That includes KAV's custom-fit process for each individual rider. KAV will also provide Teamworks members with dedicated support from its U.S. Team. New club partnership opportunities come with the Teamworks service, including features, collaborations and early product access. KAV Teamworks is open to: Cycling clubs and race teams • University and Collegiate programs • Grassroots community groups, Brand ambassadors and regional cycling collectives. KAV is a portfolio company of Brown and White Ventures. Its microfab plant in Buffalo, NY is now the helmet maker's headquarters.

In community-based pharmacies around Buffalo, NY, staff is applying support assessments and referrals for the people they serve through 'allco,' the main platform of social services startup wellconnected. The dynamic new application of wellconnected's unifying intake system has operated since the Spring, in partnership with the University at Buffalo Clinical and Translational Research Institute Pharmacy staff executes a custom 'allco' intake process across the consortium of pharmacies UB has brought together. Staff conducts social needs assessments of people who come in for prescriptions or guidance. Referrals for services - from food to housing to mental health - are made for those in need. Clients are delivered to community-based groups that specialize in the care required. “Pharmacies are an important source of community support and this project will allow staff to guide people to places where they receive much-needed relief and help,” wellconnected CEO Duane Conners said. “They will use allco to leverage the social determinants of health risk assessments, which we know is an important step in improving the regional social care framework.” The pharmacy application is another demonstration of wellconnected as an enterprise platform. Its mission: improve social care through standardized case management, regional collaboration and the use of data to inform community care. As a key node in the healthcare continuum of any community and, for many people, a trusted source of support beyond the delivery of medicine and prescriptions, pharmacies become a critical part of the wellconnected mission. Conners said the 'allco' platform goes beyond a system that a pharmacy may apply for referrals. Documentation follows to build assessment of the viability of the project and the potential for a larger rollout. And, according to Conners, the use of ‘allco’ to create a referral network and document referrals has led to extremely high ‘closed-loop referral rates’ with existing clients, showing how data-informed processes can dramatically improve community-based care. "That level of trust is a key to this project as it will allow pharmacy staff to ask questions about health-adjacent context such as living situations, finances and food," Conners said. "'allco' will then provide a standardized protocol for guiding people to care that may be necessary. Onboarding at various pharmacies will begin later this spring or early summer." A portfolio company of Brown and White Ventures in 2025, wellconnected formed in 2021 as a mission-driven startup aiming to create a better social safety net for the people in our society who need help. Through its ‘allco’ software, the company brings a networked enterprise platform to a fractious and inefficient industry, driving collaboration between nonprofits and their funders. Local and regional social service networks in New York, New Jersey, West Virginia and Illinois are among the early adopters of wellconnected, where government entities and foundations are driving adoption to thousands of nonprofits.

InfoTechWNY recognized wellconnected founder and CEO Duane Conners as its Tech Leader of the Year for 2025 Thursday. Conners has moved wellconnected, through its lead platform, allco, on a mission to unify human services in communities and regions to most effectively serve through standardized intake and case management. In wellconnected's allco platform, a social services revolution is efficiently, effectively making the lives of people with basic service needs better. "Duane has put mission and culture at the heart of his terrific startup," said Irfan Khan, CEO of Circuit Clinical and InfoTechWNY's 2024 Tech Leader of the Year. "He’s also working with a Circuit alum - the inimitable Stephen Butzler, so I know Duane can attract and retain top talent." Conners has so far delivered wellconnected to: Chicago/Cook County, Illinois, Buffalo and Western New York, West Virginia, and a portion of New Jersey.

Since turning in the top performance in every measurable and securing best overall score in the VLAIR Legal AI Report, Counsel Stack has spent the days since the study's release sharing how it scored best in accuracy, authoritativeness and appropriateness. "Counsel Stack's win across all metrics reflects genuine superiority in the criteria that matter: substantive accuracy, citation quality, and legal authoritativeness. This wasn't a self-reported benchmark or a controlled demo—it was an independent, double-blind evaluation where quality alone determined the outcome," said founder and CEO Von Wooding. Counsel Stack delivered top VLAIR score in all three assessment criteria (accuracy, authoritativeness, and appropriateness) among all participants in the study, including other legal AI products, generalist AI, and the lawyer baseline It also registered what the report called "superior accuracy," what VLAIR termed "strong capability in providing substantively correct responses with minimal misinterpretations or factual errors." Wooding also celebrated Counsel Stack leading all VLAIR participants in authoritativeness by seven percent. By outperforming the attorney baseline in the report, Counsel Stack excelled at identifying and citing relevant and valid primary law sources, an essential differentiator for legal AI products over generalist alternatives. "This metric matters more than raw accuracy because courts don't accept unsubstantiated legal assertions. They demand proper citation to valid, binding authority. In the past two years, over 400 attorneys have been sanctioned for citing hallucinated or invalid cases in court filings. An answer that states the law correctly but lacks authoritative primary source citations can cost a client their case or an attorney their license," Wooding said. "Our authoritativeness score versus ChatGPT's represents the difference between defensible legal work and professional liability exposure." Wooding also said Counsel Stack's built-in compliance infrastructure transforms it from a research tool into an enterprise risk management system that goes beyond "convenience features." "They're a form of malpractice mitigation. While ChatGPT Enterprise costs $200/month and provides quick research, Counsel Stack's $300/month price point includes features that generalist AI cannot provide: exportable research logs, timestamped citation verification trails, integrated timekeeping for billing compliance, and audit-ready documentation. When a judge questions a cited authority, or a bar complaint alleges inadequate research, Counsel Stack's verification logs provide a contemporaneous record proving due diligence. You're not buying slightly better citations—you're buying professional indemnification and regulatory compliance infrastructure that generalist AI will never offer." VLAIR also noted Counsel Stack's consistent quality, reporting it outperformed the lawyer baseline by nine percentage points and demonstrated the ability to augment and enhance legal research capabilities for practicing attorneys. "While these attorneys outperformed AI on certain question types requiring deep contextual judgment, Counsel Stack demonstrated its greatest value as a performance floor," said Wooding. "On questions where the attorney baseline scored particularly low—complex multi-jurisdictional research, obscure regulatory questions, and comprehensive statutory analysis—Counsel Stack consistently delivered high-quality, well-cited answers. When attorneys scored 60% on complex questions, Counsel Stack scored 90%. This 30-percentage-point gap reveals Counsel Stack's role: not replacing lawyers, but preventing knowledge gaps from harming client outcomes when even excellent attorneys encounter unfamiliar terrain." Counsel Stack was also found by VLAIR to be superior to generalist AI on sources by achieving significantly higher authoritativeness scores compared to generalist AI products, reflecting the value of access to proprietary legal databases and specialized training on legal sources. The VLAIR results were all the more stunning, considering Counsel Stack outperformed all others in the study with a fraction of their competitors' resources. Companies participating in the study enjoyed 20-to-500 times the financial resources under which they operate compared to Wooding's company. "We outperformed well-funded competitors.. with only $200,000 in pre-seed funding, one founding attorney-engineer, and one software engineering intern. While competitors have raised millions and employ teams of dozens, we achieved the highest scores across all evaluation criteria. The performance gap at current resource levels suggests that with comparable funding and team size, Counsel Stack's lead would be substantially wider." The $200,000 pre-seed funding came from Brown and White Ventures in Q1 of 2025.

Now that it's bid farewell to its Silicon Valley birthplace, KAV Helmets continues consolidating and preparing for growth in its Buffalo operations. KAV, which uses 3D printing technology to create custom aerodynamic helmets designed to reduce brain injuries, is in the process of consolidating its manufacturing operations into the Barcalo building on Louisiana Street. CEO Whitman Kwok touted KAV’s production process as a “one-of-a-kind advanced manufacturing platform in the heart of Buffalo.” The key to KAV's mini-fab manufacturing process, he said, is the ability to produce a large amount of product with a small number of inputs. While KAV plans to stay in the protective gear space, Kwok said products beyond helmets are expected to be released by January. The local facility became operational in May. It has gone so smoothly that Kwok determined continuing to run a duplicate plant in Redwood City, California, no longer made sense. “This facility has done so well that we are actually not only building this factory here, but also consolidating production capabilities,” Kwok said, noting that the company saw double-digit month-over-month revenue growth when the facility came online. The consolidation, Kwok said, was also driven by Buffalo’s talent pool and vibrant cycling community. Equipment started being shipped from California to Buffalo in August, and those employed at the Silicon Valley location have been offered jobs in Buffalo. If those employees opt against moving, Kwok said, they can still work remotely. An uptick in sales since May will also allow KAV to continue investing in facilities and people. He said the company recently hired two employees on the production side and more are likely to come. KAV employs between 10 to 20 people. Kwok declined to provide an exact total, citing “competitive reasons.” “We will continue to hire, but I don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves. Obviously, it depends on revenue. We have a bunch of new products that are coming out, which will drive additional growth,” he said.

Hello Package's new package solution system includes a dynamic new release of tech built to make this startup take a new step forward. CEO Paul Favorov introduced how Hello Package will combine computer vision and AI to calculate package volume. Favorob said the enhanced system will boost tracking and security for residents of the properties benefitting from Hello Package. Drivers will also benefit from the computer vision and AI process. Hello Package, through its parent company, Package Solutions, is a portfolio company of Brown and WHite Ventures.

Pallets of printers and testing gear that arrived from KAV's Redwood City, California plant have been reestablished in the revolutionary cycling helmet-maker's Western New York factory this week. Printers; some new, others boxed up and repurposed from KAV's Silicon Valley Operations, are rolling onto the floor and running already. A nook in the company's factory, easily mistaken for a storage space, is being designed to become the factory's new testing zone for models of helmets already being produced and others yet to hit the market. It's part of KAV's migration East, a decision made this summer to amplify production and efficiency. Some KAV staff members are on the way to Buffalo. At least one engineer's arrived to support operations. Others are still measuring the opportunity. Cost-savings come with the decision by KAV CEO Whitman Kwok to head east. Production has already accelerated. KAV Operations Director Alex Grenning says the Buffalo plant hit a new stage of production this month.

Leading through his passion for new business and finance, Ian Palmer cuts an impressive path through the business school at Baldwin Wallace University. Brown and White Ventures's Fall 2025 intern is not only a double major in Finance and Accounting, but also minors in Mathematics. The junior from Berea, Ohio already leads the university's investment club. There, Ian oversees a student group that also focuses on executive restructuring and member development through structured pitch processes. Ian is also co-founder of an equity research firm for retail investors. It provides accessible market insights and investment recommendations. Ian has hands-on financial experience competing in the ACG Cup, an M&A case competition, as well as the CFA Institute Research Challenge, where he applied valuation techniques, pitch development and strategic analysis in real-world settings.

Brown and White Ventures' newest intern will wrap up her bachelor's degree by age 19.  Skye Sharpe chose to study Economics at the University of South Florida because she's academically drawn to analytics and mathematics and she knew it would challenge her.  "I love learning new things and challenging myself," said Skye, a Tampa, Florida resident. "I expect a lot from myself and recognize that my growth and success is dependent upon my knowledge."  Skye says travels to Switzerland and the Czech Republic shaped her understanding of how other's lives are different from hers. Trips with her husband to Guatemala and Puerto Rico reinforced how broad a spectrum there is in cultures and customs. It's inspired her to pursue backpacking around the world in her future. And she's excited to become a mother. She and her husband are expecting a daughter. She says her faith has shaped her in every decision she's made.  "Having a family so young definitely brings out even more ambition in me than I ever thought I’d have, which is saying a lot." Skye will intern in the sixth semester of Brown and White Ventures internship program. Launched in the Spring of 2024, twelve students have now participated in the fund's educational opportunity.

Solving boring problems with innovative solutions. Neil Bommele described that as being at the heart of healthy startup companies; the kind that,  when woven with high-value founders and well-measured business planning, can attract startup investment from Brown and White Ventures and other venture capital funds. Bommele, a 1987 alumnus of St. Bonaventure University, and an associate and advisory board member of Brown and White Ventures, returned to his alma mater with fund co-founder Jim Aroune (SBU '87) to share the story of the fund to students beginning their study of venture capital and other matters of entrepreneurship.  Professors Todd Palmer and Tom Cullen, co-leaders of the weekly course on entrepreneurship, launched their Fall 2025 semester presentation of the class September 2nd with a Q&A session with Bommele and Aroune.  Both shared the story of the fund's founding by Charles O'Neill (SBU '83) and the development of Brown and White Ventures' investment portfolio in 2025.  Brown and White Ventures has welcomed ten St. Bonaventure students and alumni into its internship program through the fund's first 20 months of operation.

When I first stepped into venture capital, I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t come from Wall Street, consulting, or a startup. My background was all over the place: professional athlete, a stint in politics, back into college athletics, and then law school. The closest thing I had to VC on my resume was a finance degree I earned nearly ten years ago and never really used. So, I walked in with no experience, just curiosity and the willingness to learn. Eighteen months later, I’ve realized that venture capital isn’t just about numbers, valuations, or exit multiples. At its core, it’s about people. And that’s something anyone, from any background, can learn if they’re willing to. ​The Paperwork Only Gets You So Far One of my earliest experiences as an intern in VC was dealing with the fund paperwork—LPAs, subscription agreements, governance language. To be honest, it was overwhelming at first. I was still a law student learning how to parse dense documents, and suddenly I was looking at contracts that determined how millions of dollars would be governed. But the deeper I got into it, the more I realized the real lesson wasn’t in the fine print. The paperwork creates the framework, but it doesn’t create trust. A Limited Partner doesn’t invest because the clauses are airtight. They invest because they believe the people running the fund will honor those words. That process felt familiar. In law school, you quickly learn that it’s not enough to recite rules; you also have to apply them in a way that gives people confidence. A client doesn’t hire you just because you know the statute. They hire you because they believe you’ll use that knowledge to protect their interests. The same is true with LPs. They’re not investing in the document. They’re investing in the people behind it. What I found is that the paperwork process is actually a relationship test. It forces you to explain things clearly, to be transparent about risks, and to show humility when you don’t have every answer. If you handle that process with openness, the documents become a safety net. If you handle it with arrogance, the documents become walls. One of my earliest lessons in VC was simple: the documents set the rules, but the relationships set the tone. The trust you build in those conversations lasts longer than any signature. Founders Are Betting on You Too I used to assume the dynamic in VC was one-sided. Investors had the money, founders needed it. But after sitting with dozens of founders, I realized it’s more mutual than I ever imagined. When a founder takes your capital, they’re not just accepting a check. They’re making a bet on you. They’re asking themselves hard questions: Will this investor stick around when things get messy? Will they make introductions that actually move the needle? Will they believe in me when the numbers don’t tell the whole story? Some of my most meaningful experiences in venture haven’t involved spreadsheets or valuations at all. They’ve been the moments when a founder called after running dry on capital and we worked together to develop strategy and a path forward. Or when we connected them to someone in our network who helped accelerate their sales process by months. Or when we simply listened, no agenda, because sometimes that’s what a founder actually needs. It reminded me of my time as an athlete. A great coach isn’t measured only by how they celebrate wins, but by how they respond to losses—what they say in the locker room when the scoreboard looks bad, how they instill belief when momentum feels gone. Founders, like athletes, need people in their corner who believe in them not just when they’re winning, but when they’re fighting uphill. Writing a check is the easy part. What founders really remember is how you showed up when there wasn’t a clear win on the table. Money is transactional. Belief and support are relational. And in the long run, founders gravitate toward investors who invest in both. Markets Move, People Endure Markets are fascinating to study. I’ve spent hours digging into sectors like broker connectivity and fintech infrastructure, trying to understand what felt like the most nuanced product-market fit. But the longer I’ve been in VC, the clearer it’s become that markets are fluid. They expand, contract, pivot, and sometimes vanish altogether. What doesn’t change is how people respond when the market turns. Some founders freeze when conditions shift. Others adapt and use the turbulence as fuel. The best don’t just ride the wave. They build boats sturdy enough to weather storms. I saw this firsthand working in municipal government through COVID. Overnight, the playbook went out the window. Budgets collapsed, businesses shut down, and citizens looked to leadership for stability. In those moments, it wasn’t about having the perfect policy on paper. It was about staying composed, communicating clearly, and finding solutions when none seemed obvious. Some leaders froze; others adapted. The ones who led effectively weren’t necessarily the most experienced, but the ones who had the grit to keep moving when the pressure mounted. Venture works the same way. The founders worth betting on aren’t always in the hottest market. They’re the ones who steady the ship when the water gets rough, who don’t panic when deals stall, and who find another way forward when the first plan fails. You can learn market dynamics from a book. You can model growth curves in a spreadsheet. But character under pressure? That’s something you only see in people. And in venture, that’s where the real bet is.   Learning Is the Real Job Coming into VC, I didn’t have the traditional toolkit. I wasn’t a banker or consultant with years of deal experience. I had to build it on the fly, asking what felt like “basic” questions, poring over financials, and learning how to spot red flags in governance documents. What surprised me most was how open people were if I just admitted I didn’t know something. Instead of pretending, I asked. Instead of assuming, I listened. Over time, the questions got sharper, the instincts more reliable, and the confidence more natural. What I thought was a weakness—starting from scratch—actually turned into a strength, because it forced me to approach everything with humility and curiosity. It reminded me of law school. On day one, no one really knows how to read a case or think like a lawyer. You stumble through, you get cold-called, you second-guess yourself. But slowly, the repetition builds discipline. You learn to ask better questions, to analyze differently, and to see patterns where you once saw noise. Venture has been no different, just with higher stakes and a different set of textbooks. The real job in VC isn’t about already having all the answers. It’s about building the discipline to keep learning. Markets change. Deal structures evolve. Technologies shift. If you think you’ve “arrived,” you’re already behind. And this lesson applies far beyond venture. You can break into any field, whether it’s law, politics, or venture, if you stay curious, humble, and willing to learn. The technical knowledge will come. The mindset has to be there first. The Human Side of Venture Eighteen months into venture capital, the biggest lesson I’ve learned is that this work is far less about money than it is about people. Paperwork matters, but trust matters more. Markets shift, but character endures. Founders need more than capital—they need belief. And no matter where you start, the real job is to keep learning. I came into this field with no traditional background. Athlete, politics, law student—nothing on my résumé said “venture capitalist.” But that turned out not to be a weakness. If anything, it made me approach the industry with fresh eyes and open ears. I’ve learned that you can break into any field if you’re willing to do the work, stay humble, and connect with people in a real way. The technical side of venture—valuations, diligence, structures—can be taught. What makes the difference is showing up as someone others want to work with. Because in the end, the cap table tells you who owns what, but it doesn’t tell you who showed up when it mattered. And that’s the part people never forget.

In a time when one in four Americans have been victimized by package theft on their property, 2025 seemed right for an answer to what's become a $12 billion annual crime impacting 58 million people in the U.S.  Enter Hello Package and its tech-driven, customer-focused response.  Hello Package's smart package solution, rolling out into housing developments,  creates on-site, open-shelving access in multi-family and student housing communities.  Creators of PackageSolutions' lead service say HelloPackage has four times the capacity of normal package locker solutions.  Its commitment to innovation and tech advancement provides human assistance and automatic adaptation to the growing e-commerce industry and large-scale increase in package volume. HelloPackage leaders call it a future-proof product. HelloPackage creates adaptive spaces in existing housing structures and also offers a solution that includes an independent package pod, where both delivery staff and residents have digitally provided access.  See how the system works in the company's short demonstration video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWKW9Q71LdI Brown and White Ventures announced August 1, 2025 its investment commitment to PackageSolutions and HelloPackage.

Belief in data. ​Brown and White Ventures' new portfolio company, wellconnected, is driving that expression to draw funders and nonprofits together to better serve the people who need their services.  ​CEO Duane Conners said wellconnected's platform, allco, has been engineered to fit an agencies’ specific needs around intake and case management.  ​The platform coordinates that information in such a way that users can pull automated health information summaries, which are presented in layman terms and create crucial context for SDOH. ​“Just like an HIE, ‘allco’ has a longitudinal record for social care,” Conners said. “The difference is ours is directly built into the case management suite. So if someone walks into a shelter, it’s a full-stack understanding of their history – if they ever needed transportation or childcare or have food insecurity – because all of those community agencies really need to work together.” ​Conners spreads that message at events like the HIMSS conference in Las Vegas, an international gathering of those leading cutting-edge healthcare and IT earlier this year. There, he shared the story of wellconnected's first-of-its-kind community information exchange in Chicago, Buffalo, New Jersey and West Virginia and the importance of leveraging data for the social determinants of health. ​“If someone comes in for housing assistance, our users can see historically that he lost his job and he needed rent assistance that had fallen off," Conners said. "So he can step in and start working with those other providers to make sure that doesn’t happen again.” ​The company was formed in 2021 as a mission-driven startup aiming to create a better social safety net for the people in our society who need help.  Through its ‘allco’ software, the company brings a networked enterprise platform to a fractious and inefficient industry, driving collaboration between nonprofits and their funders. Government entities and foundations in the states and communities wellconnected serves are driving adoption to thousands of nonprofits. Learn more at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmhOsyH2Q3Q

Steve Steinberger collected New York Knicks trading cards as a kid. Walt Frazier was his guy, but Steinberger's entire collection of Knicks cards remained his treasured childhood possession. Fifty years later, Steinberger's committed his energy as an entrepreneur to the future of digital collectibles, including blockchain trading cards that make the ones he used snap up as a kid seem like archaeological artifacts. "They always got beat up. They always lost value because of their physical condition," Steinberger said. "With the ones we help people create, they don't have to worry about that. Plus, the ones created can be verified as original works, with authentic value," said Steinberger, the founder of NFT-tradingcards.biz. With a platform that helps anyone create NFT trading cards on the block chain, Steinberger is helping to cut the path for not only artists, professionals, creators and influencers to profit from their own talent, brands and reputation, but, of course, athletes can do the same.  Steinberger built the company as NIL changed the landscape for athletes of all ages, all sports, all levels of competition.  Steinberger, a Canandaigua, New York native who now builds his company out of Florida, joined Jim Aroune for the latest episode of Brown and White Ventures. On the program, he goes in-depth about his company, as well as the crypto currency company, nftXc.biz, that will launch a new crypto currency specifically for digital collectibles.  ​Find the program at Brown and White Ventures website and at this link: https://youtu.be/coTgcazdM6U

Paradigm Emissions Technologies, a new portfolio company of Brown and White Ventures, has  developed its plasma system to address pollutants produced by diesel engines without requiring filters or chemicals.  ​Its device creates a low-maintenance alternative to traditional filtration systems that is compatible with both exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) and downstream after-treatment configurations. ​It cost-effectively removes PM from exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) and exhaust Aftertreatment including diesel particulate filters (DPF). ​Elimination of the most lethal fine particles is especially important. ​“This support (from Brown and White Ventures) will accelerate our ability to scale, deepen our pilot programs, and bring our technology to more fleets and OEMs that can’t afford to wait for other powertrain technologies to become viable,” said John Erbland, Paradigm founder and CEO. ​The Paradigm system is a relatively compact device which can be easily installed in the engine’s EGR System or downstream with other aftertreatment devices. It is a pass-thru device with no back-pressure fuel penalty and it does not require heat to operate. The system connects to the engine’s electrical supply. Paradigm’s “Smart Pipe” controller constantly communicates with the engine ECM. ​Paradigm’s Plasma Reactor System can be combined with catalyst technology to reduce PM, HC, CO and NOx. ​Paradigm plans to launch its second-generation product in 2026. ​Its  pilot program is scheduled to  include the fleets of: Monroe County (NY), Casella, Lewis Tree, and Regional Transit Service (RTS). The pilot would validate performance and demonstrate real-world impact.

Brown and White Ventures has reached an agreement to invest in Paradigm Emissions Technologies, Inc., a pioneering clean-tech startup based in Rochester, NY, focused on advancing the sustainability of diesel engines through innovative emissions-reduction decarbonization technology. Founded by John H. Erbland and Neville F. Rieger, Paradigm Emissions Technologies designs and manufactures a patented decarbonization plasma technology device that significantly reduces CO₂ emissions, improves engine fuel efficiency, and lowers fleet maintenance costs. With the potential to eliminate global CO₂ at gigaton levels, Paradigm Emissions Technologies provides a pathway to net-zero emissions, while helping fleets operate cleaner, longer, and more sustainably. ​Paradigm Emissions Technologies is backed by third-party testing and active pilot programs across New York State with a mission to deliver real-world solutions that balance environmental impact with economic feasibility. ​“We are proud to be investing in the team at Paradigm and its outstanding system,” said Jim Aroune, General Partner with Brown and White Ventures, LLC. “It presents an opportunity in the emissions control sector, and the significant diesel engine base that operates in our communities and our industrial, construction and municipal sectors.” “We’re honored to have Brown and White Ventures join us as a strategic partner in this next phase of growth. Their investment is a strong vote of confidence in our technology and our mission to deliver practical, real-world solutions that reduce emissions and improve air quality today,” said Erbland, founder, and CEO of Paradigm Emissions Technologies.   ​Paradigm Emissions Technologies has developed its system to address pollutants produced by diesel engines without requiring filters or chemicals.  Its device creates a low-maintenance alternative to traditional filtration systems that is compatible with both exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) and downstream aftertreatment configurations. ​“Investing in Paradigm Emissions Technologies aligns with our commitment to energy and technology startups, and manufacturing in Western New York and the Rochester/Finger Lakes regions,” said Aroune.  “The Paradigm system offers fleet operators a compliance-ready option without having to replace equipment or modify support systems. Our study leads us to conclude Paradigm is on the road to unlocking significant value in a sector largely overlooked.” ​Paradigm Emissions Technologies plans to launch its second-generation product in 2026, with pilot programs scheduled with fleets operated by:  Monroe County, Casella, Lewis Tree, and Regional Transit Service (RTS) to validate performance and demonstrate real-world impact. ​“This support (from Brown and White Ventures) will accelerate our ability to scale, deepen our pilot programs, and bring our technology to more fleets and OEMs that can’t afford to wait for other powertrain technologies to become viable,” said Erbland.  ​Its investment in Paradigm Emissions Technologies will also mark the first time the venture capital fund will invest in a startup founder who is an alumnus of the university. John Erbland earned a B.A. in Economics from St. Bonaventure University.

From day one, I was welcomed into the investment team—sitting in on founder pitches, asking questions, and contributing to internal conversations about deal opportunities. What made the start of this internship particularly meaningful was being involved in the deal sourcing process from the ground up. In May, we began identifying and evaluating a diverse pipeline of early-stage startups. After narrowing the list to our top prospects, I had the chance to dig into detailed diligence—analyzing business models, financials, market positioning, and founder dynamics. Presenting my findings and helping inform the team’s investment decisions has been both challenging and energizing. Working in data rooms, engaging directly with founders, and drafting investment memos gave me a front-row seat to how decisions are made in venture capital. Asking whether a company can scale—and whether a founding team can actually pull it off—is a hard question, but one I’ve come to really enjoy wrestling with as I build my own intuition. One of the most valuable parts of the experience has been learning from the partners and board members at the firm. Seeing how experienced business professionals assess risk and long-term upside has been a crash course in how real world decisions are being made. What makes this internship especially meaningful is working alongside fellow Bona alumni who share my values and are genuinely committed to pushing the University and its students forward. As we move into the next phase of the investment cycle, I’m excited to continue contributing and taking on more strategic work across our growing portfolio. Gabriel Kiekenbeck is a recent graduate of St. Bonaventure University, where he studied Business Administration and Management.

KAVHelmets announced it will serve as the official helmet sponsor for Gravel Worlds 2025, one of the most renowned grassroots gravel races in the nation.  This year's Gravel Worlds takes place in Lincoln, Nebraska, August 20–24, Gravel Worlds welcomes riders of all levels—from those conquering 30 miles or exceeding 300. Organizers call it a race built on camaraderie, determination, and a shared love for gravel riding, "with no egos and no barriers, just gravel, grit, and great people." KAV's announcement comes after the successful launch of its newest racing helmet model, Rhoan. It's Rhoan helmet is 3D printed KAV says it's made to channel air and shed heat. The company's AI manufacturing process creates a purely custom-fit helmet, designed to exceed safety standards while providing riders the conditions for speed that matters in competition. Rhoan is one of two models produced by KAV manufactured in the company's new production center in Buffalo, NY.   The helmet company has built a strong connection to Gravel World.  The riding event launched under the banner of The Goodlife Gravel Adventure in 2008. KAV describes it as a riding event with no categories, no officials and no prize money; just pure, unscripted competition and post-ride camaraderie.  Registration for Gravel Worlds 2025 is now open. KAV expects its riding community to be a part of the event, promoting this year's edition of Gravel Worlds with: "Choose your route. Gather your crew," and it's trademark slogan: "Get Out There." KAVHelmets is a portfolio company of Brown and White Ventures.

Brown and White Ventures co-founder Jim Aroune has been invited to join other WNY venture eco-system contributors to judge applicants for the Year 11 Cohort of the 43 North. The eleven-year-old startup accelerator invests $1 million in five companies each year that commit to relocating to Buffalo through its immersive program. Each year, 43 North teams up with VCs, operators, and ecosystem supporters to review and score applications. Hundreds arrive. 43 North counts on judges to spot-check, validate, and ensure quality and integrity in the selection process. Judges are matched with applicants based on industry expertise and areas of interest, offering a chance to see relevant deals. Scoring is virtual. A scoring template is provided by the program. Applications for 43 North's Year 11 Cohort close July 9th. Applicants are then assigned to judges two days later. Judges offer scores for the applicants four days later.

Brown and White Ventures welcomed Anthony Mamombe, a University of New Haven student, to its Winter 2026 internship program. Mamombe is an honors Banking and Finance student at New Haven who says he's motivated by curiosity about how great founders turn ideas into scalable businesses. "I am driven by `how to make a dollar out of 15 cents. I enjoy digging into markets, stress-testing assumptions, and using data to support strong investment decisions," Mamombe said. Mamombe has worked as a Customer Experience Leader at CABS Bank, where he led a cross-functional initiative that exceeded sales targets by over 50% year-to-date and generated. He leveraged data-driven decision-making and relationship management to successfully expand the bank’s private client portfolio. He previously managed more than 300 client accounts and performed financial analysis at the bank, where he also aligned investment strategies for clients. Mamombe says he looks forward to adding value through intensive analysis of current and prospective fund portfolio companies and prospects. "I’m excited to join Brown and White Ventures because of its hands-on, founder-first approach," Mamombe said.

2025 marked a foundational year for Brown and White Ventures. It was our first full year of active capital deployment, portfolio construction, and platform building—and an important step in establishing the disciplined, founder-first investment approach that defines our firm. As an early-stage venture fund, our work in 2025 focused on backing companies at critical inflection points: where strong teams, real problems, and applied technology intersect. We entered 2026 with a diversified portfolio, early validation across multiple companies, and a clear plan for responsible growth. Fund Snapshot Capital raised to date: $2.4 million Capital deployed in 2025: $1.1 million Active portfolio companies: Six Investment focus: Applied AI, healthcare-enabling technologies, clean and industrial tech, logistics, and infrastructure software Our strategy emphasizes capital efficiency, and early signals of commercial validation. While we maintain a strong connection to Upstate and Western New York, our investments span geographies and markets where innovation is driving real-world impact. 2025 Portfolio Highlights In 2025, we deployed capital across five portfolio companies, each addressing meaningful challenges in their respective sectors: KAV – Developing next-generation construction safety equipment. In 2025, KAV secured a paid pilot with a major construction company, signaling early enterprise demand. Counsel Stack – An AI-powered legal research and operations platform recognized publicly for strong performance in legal AI benchmarking. Hello Package – A logistics and proptech platform supporting package management and last-mile delivery for multifamily and student housing communities, with continued market expansion throughout the year. wellconnected – A social care infrastructure platform enabling coordination among community-based organizations, health systems, and partners, supported by team expansion as networks scaled. miRecule – A biotechnology company advancing RNA-based therapeutics using large-scale genomic data to inform drug discovery. We also announced a conditional commitment to Paradigm Emissions Technologies, a clean-tech company focused on reducing diesel emissions. This commitment is contingent on the company’s broader fundraising and reflects our disciplined approach to deployment. A Disciplined Approach to Early-Stage Risk Early-stage investing carries inherent risk, and we approach that reality with transparency and structure. Our strategy emphasizes: Small initial checks with milestone-based follow-ons Diversification across sectors and stages Active engagement with founders to support execution and governance Reserves held intentionally for companies demonstrating traction and scalability This framework allows us to balance conviction with capital discipline while supporting founders through critical stages of growth. Looking Ahead to 2026 As we enter 2026, Brown and White Ventures is positioned to build on the foundation established in our first deployment year. Our priorities include: Supporting portfolio companies through commercialization and early scale Deploying follow-on capital selectively where validation warrants Making a limited number of new investments aligned with our core themes Continuing to engage with founders, partners, and the broader innovation ecosystem We believe the strongest early-stage funds are built deliberately—with patience, discipline, and a long-term view. 2025 was an important first step in that journey. We’re grateful to the founders, partners, and investors who trusted us during this formative year, and we look forward to sharing continued progress in the year ahead.

The Golisano Institute for Business & Entrepreneurship will partner with St. Bonaventure University in studies focued on AI, according to the institute's president. Dr. Ian Mortimer shared more about the partnership on the most recent episode of Brown and White Ventures podcast with Jim Aroune. Mortimer, a St. Bonaventure alumnus ('93) said the foundation of the effort will be the 15 credits of data management, leadership and AI coding that are part of the Golisano Institute's two-year program. "Bonaventure, with all of its strengths, probably does not have the capacity on AI, the direction that we’re going. And so the vision, the conversation will be something to the effect of: how can our curricula help, in an above and beyond way, the students at Bonnies understand the opportunities that AI can incorporate either in Allied Health or business or other things that are going on." The shared AI initiative between SBU and the institute became part of the new relationship the university and the Golisano Institute announced when both sides agrees that Golisano graduates would have the opportuity to trasfer their credits and pursue a bachelor's degree at St. Bonaventure. The AI initiative is one of the first extended beyond the institute's Rochester campus by the business school, opened three years ago by billionaire, philanthropist and founder of Paychex, Tom Golisano. "We’ll start dancing together on this topic," Mortimer said, "and hopefully come up with a shared project that will make all boats rise," Mortimer said. It's part of a new dynamic opportunity for post-secondary students and the university. Golisano Institute graduates will be eligible to receive a minimum of $22,000 scholarship each year toward St. Bonaventure tuition. Golisano graduates are free to pursue degrees at St. Bonaventure in Management, Finance, Accounting, economics, Sports Management and Marketing. "As a place with a lot of St. Bonaventure alumni on staff, we see the Franciscan values come alive as we challenge and support our students," Mortimer said. SBU became the seventh higher education partner of the institute. Mortimer announced the Golisano Institute - St. Bonaventure partnership shortly after news broke the Institution would open a second campus in Buffalo, NY in 2026. Brown and White Ventures is a venture capital fund built by alumni and friends of of St. Bonaventure University, with the expressed mission to deliver ten percent of its net profits as a charitable contribution to the university. It operates independently of the university and is a private, for-profit investment vehicle. View the latest Brown and White Ventures podcast on the fund's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZglMjtTLMc

As its stunning, fluorescent orange Rhoan helmet rolls out to cycling enthusiasts filling holiday wish lists, KAV Helmets is preparing to gear up for its newest market introduction: a construction helmet making work crews safer on the job site. KAV founder Whitman Kwok told Jim Aroune in the latest Brown and White Ventures podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDjNfx3rbDY that the company has lined up pilot programs with significant domestic and international construction companies to apply his startup's unique process and components for custom-manufactured protective head gear to the hard hat sector. "We created a brand not just about cycling, but we’ve had a number folks in the construction industry who have either ridden with our bike helmet or are familiar with the brand and said `I want that, not just for my weekend bike ride, but for my eight hours a day that I’m working on a construction site or a factory," Kwok said. KAV's is reverse-engineering its construction helmet prototype with an eye toward an industry shifting to what’s known as type two helmets which focus on protecting helmet wearers from impact to the side of the head. No error on job sites is reported more commonly to OSHA than falls. The agency reports 40% of all fatalities at work are caused by falls, most from lower levels such as ladders and low roofs. Spinal injuries, TBI's and fractures. "I think we’re uniquely positioned to use the technology platform that we have and translate that to a whole other market, one that is 10 times bigger than cycling, therefore giving us 10 times the opportunity to fulfill our mission of saving lives," Kwok said. Kwok credits that unique positioning to the investment KAV made from day one in its impact lab, where all of its helmets safety integrity is tested, a review that he says is more intense than KAV's competitors. "We also benefit, for a time now, that Virginia Tech does independent testing, and we’ve leveraged our performance in that testing to communicate all the investments that we make in safety. At the construction site, what we are seeing is a 6X improvement. And that translates into the bottom lines of construction companies because of worker comp claims. Kwok computes the benefit to those companies , with the reduction of Injuries to employees to be an 8X ROI. Those results come even as KAV charges a higher price for each of its custom-made helmets compared to the mass-produced models workers have traditionally used. "We are looking forward to equipping people with these helmets," Kwok said. "And as we always do, having the humility to know that feedback will make it an even better helmet that we make available to the general public and to a broader set of companies." KAV's remains in full production mode of its first two cycling helmet models, now rolling off Kwok's microfab production lines of nearly 200 3D printers in Buffalo's First Ward. "This whole idea of the microfab was born from building a better business,, kind of a unique process. Also, it brings Industrial sovereignty, in a sense of being able to manufacture in this country," Kwok said. "But for the consumer side, it’s about building better products that you are excited to ride with and where. And cycling is just the first of many areas we are going to save lives in." KAV is nearly caught up on back orders from 2025 after moving all production operations to Buffalo from the company's Redwood City, California birthplace. Kwok is also preparing KAV to introduce a third cycling helmet model in 2026, one that will mirror the company's distinctive signature "honeycomb" safety model, constructed with KAV's patented material components. "We made the decision very early on that it would be a polarizing design. You would either love it or find it just different. And if you found that it was different and not a good way, there are a hundred other helmets that you could buy that could protect you in less of a way. And would meet your aesthetic.. Our goal here for the rest of the population, that wants something unique, looks great in a different way and has all the safety features that are built in." KAV grew its workforce in Q4 of 2025 as it built production capacity at its new home. Kwok believes his staff is finding a great synergy between the company's mission and the place where it is building safer experiences for others. "I think that’s what attracted us to Buffalo. and why I believe Buffalo found us attractive. It wasn’t just about building. KAV as some start up business. It was about creating a network and ecosystem for manufacturing. I don’t think it’s any surprise to anyone how competitive it is to manufacture overseas. The reason why many companies do that. And so what we wanted to do is leapfrog that rather than play catch-up. Build out a whole new technology stack where frankly the US has to lead. That we have a lead into some of the areas that we’re really great at, which is software development, material science, and then the people here that are craftsmen, not just laborers." KAV Helmets is a portfolio company of Brown and White Ventures See the complete conversation with Whitman Kwok at Brown and White Ventures podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDjNfx3rbDY

It's rare when biotech startups commit to Intensely personal campaigns. Yet in the offices and labs of a Gaithersburg, Maryland biotech company, Anthony Saleh Ph.D., finds his life’s work to be a race to find a treatment. A race run with his family in mind. Saleh’s company, mirRecule, is developing a revolutionary response for Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy (FSHD), a progressive and debilitating genetic disorder. Thirty thousand people deal with the condition. Saleh’s journey began not with a rare muscle disorder, but with cancer. Driven by the loss of two grandparents, his graduate work at Johns Hopkins in the early 2000s focused on a novel and highly intriguing class of medicine: RNA therapeutics. While DNA holds the master blueprint for all life, RNA acts as the crucial intermediary—the messenger that carries genetic information from the DNA in the cell nucleus to the protein-making machinery outside. When a person inherits genetic mutations that cause diseases, that same messenger RNA (mRNA) carries an order to the cell to create a toxic, disease-causing protein. “RNA therapeutics were intriguing,” said Saleh, a 2001 graduate of St. Bonaventure University. “They can be designed to target nearly any gene to tackle the underlying causes of diseases.” At the heart of miRecule’s strategy are RNA therapeutics that can be designed to specifically seek out and reduce the toxic DUX4 mRNA messenger, preventing the toxic protein from ever being made. Which would be a crucial advance that would help, among others, more than a dozen people in his own family. Saleh spent a decade at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) helping to develop the foundational technology that would eventually become miRecule’s proprietary platform. RNA therapeutics faced early challenges in safety and effectiveness. But in 2016, with co-founders Robert Place, PhD, and Ashwin Kulkarni, MS, and a crucial initial investment from his own father, Saleh translated that NIH work into the launch of miRecule. The company was initially focused on oncology, with a promising therapeutic for head and neck cancer already in preclinical development. Then, miRecule’s trajectory took an unexpected turn. Around the time miRecule launched, one of Saleh’s uncles was diagnosed with FSHD. Then, in 2017, his father was also diagnosed with it. A disease that had been an academic problem, became a family matter. Saleh would soon after take a genetic test, and learn he, too, had FSHD “I have never experienced such a serendipitous situation,” Saleh said. “Here I was, diagnosed with FSHD along with multiple members of my family, and the best therapeutic strategy to treat FSHD was a technology I had spent my career working on.” Delving into research of the condition, Saleh met with specialists In FSHD who were also exploring RNA therapeutics for the culprit in the condition: the protein DUX4. “As I learned more about FSHD, I realized that an RNA therapeutic that could directly prevent expression of DUX4... could potentially be a more effective treatment than traditional therapeutics currently being explored,” Saleh said. This urgency to help his father, himself, and the next generation ignited miRecule’s new focus. The engine driving miRecule’s discovery is the DREAmiR™ (Discovery, Rational Engineering, and Analytics) platform. It analyzes genomic and clinical outcome data from thousands of patients to uncover the precise genetic mutations causing a disease. This allows miRecule to design a highly tailored RNA molecule to match and correct the underlying disorder. The key challenge for any RNA therapeutic is delivery. RNA molecules are large and must be safely transported into the correct target cells—in this case, deep into the affected muscle tissue. Saleh’s company formed a strategic collaboration with pharmaceutical giant Sanofi in 2022. This partnership combines miRecule’s anti-DUX4 RNA therapeutic, known as MC-DX4, with Sanofi’s proprietary Nanobody® technology. The resulting Antibody-RNA Conjugate (ARC) aims to fuse the potent RNA drug to a muscle-specific antibody (the Nanobody), ensuring targeted and safe delivery directly to the diseased muscle cells. “The different organizations can bring different strengths, but also what we are all doing together is having the patients at the forefront of our minds,” Saleh emphasizes. And for miRecule’s founder, the pursuit of a cure is no longer just a career; it is a profound matter of legacy. Saleh is leveraging decades of scientific expertise, a state-of-the-art discovery platform, and a landmark industry alliance to race against the progressive, debilitating symptoms of a disease that few know today. “This is, obviously, important to me and my family,” Saleh said. “But it is also a breakthrough that can help many more people through a scientific solution that can be applied beyond this one condition.” Brown and White Ventures has committed to investing in miRecule.

In an era where technology continues to revolutionize traditional industries, the legal sector is poised for significant change through the advent of event contract markets. Von Wooding, founder of legal AI startup Counsel Stack, believes these markets are set to influence legal predictions and outcomes, emphasizing the role of legal research in this evolving landscape. As legal professionals increasingly seek to understand trends and patterns in case law, Wooding said the emergence of event contract markets, such as Kalshi and Polymarket, will change the dynamics of legal predictions. "Legal research helps you see where a case is probably heading. When you dig through enough opinions, you start to notice how judges handle recurring issues, which arguments survive contact with precedent, and where the real friction points sit," he said. According to Wooding, while legal outcomes may never be entirely predictable, the right analytical frameworks can significantly enhance the accuracy of predictions. “Patterns show up and trends emerge. Legal outcomes are not perfectly predictable, but with the right heuristics they are not a coin toss either. Attorneys understand this," Wooding said. "This nuanced understanding gives legal practitioners an edge when navigating complex cases and various judicial interpretations. With the advent of platforms that allow betting on the outcomes of major cases, attorneys will have access to novel data that can refine their predictions. "When prediction markets form around major cases, the advantage will go to whoever understands the facts and underlying political pressures," Wooding notes. “Arguably most importantly, deeper patterns in the doctrine play a crucial role in shaping these outcomes.” Wooding speaks as his company prepares for its next step following Counsel Stack's exceptional performance in the VAILS Legal AI Report in Q3 2025. Wooding's platform secured best overall performance, as well as top scores in accuracy, authoritativeness and appropriateness. The integration of event contract markets into the legal sphere signifies a shift toward leveraging data analytics as a mechanism for understanding judicial behavior. "Research becomes a tool for reducing uncertainty," Wooding asserts. "It gives one a clearer sense of the range of outcomes and why one trajectory makes more sense than another." Analysts report this perspective highlights the potential for enhanced decisiveness among legal professionals, empowering them to make informed decisions based on data-driven insights.

From Cleveland, and Tampa, they contributed each week to the growth of, what is still, a startup venture capital fund. And yet, Skye Sharpe and Ian Palmer believe they've grown their own skills and experience by being in the room where it happens for Brown and White Ventures during their Fall 2025 internship with the fund. As undergrad students, Skye, a student at the University of South Florida, and Ian, a student at Baldwin Wallace University, juggle both studies and the twice-weekly assignments provided by the fund's semester-long internship program "I gained hands-on experience with the venture capital investment process from sourcing to evaluation," Ian said. "I did market research, analyzed startup founders and leadership teams, and supported growth initiatives for existing portfolio companies." "I performed diligent research on companies and founders and was taught what information is important to look for, why that information is valuable, and how to draw important conclusions on such information," Skye said. "I was coached to dig deep into every project I worked on and encouraged to ask questions about everything." Both interns also took part in outreach to potential investors in the fund and shared research about prospective investment targets for Brown and White Ventures "I was exposed to numerous start-up companies, and had the privilege of speaking to their founders and seeing the inner workings and complexities of how businesses are created and parts of their journey from idea to tangibility," Skye said. "I helped in crafting detailed investment memos, and participated in pitch meetings with founders across diverse industries," Ian said. "I developed a deep understanding of how deal cycles unfold, from initial outreach through due diligence, as well as the qualitative factors that characterize strong leadership teams." Ian and Skye are the 11th and 12th interns to participate in the fund's program. Both say they recognized the value of seeing investment decisions being made in real time. "Blending quantitative analytical research with people-focused judgment; it was an immersive learning process in which my ability to think critically about markets, business models, and the dynamics propelling successful ventures was really enhanced," Ian said. "I have learned so many valuable professional skills that I will carry with me," Skye said. "I am truly grateful for the opportunity to learn and grow, and have already seen how this internship is opening more doors for me in my career." Brown and White Ventures is accepting applications for its Winter 2026 internship program. Apply at this website by going to the Contact tab in the site's upper right corner. Applicants are asked to submit a cover letter and resume.

Vue 22 found itself in a familiar predicament; relying on an off-site delivery service that pulled packages away from the community and left its Bellevue, Washington residents waiting. The process caused frustration, delays, and extra work for the site team trying to manage expectations they couldn’t control. When the off-site provider announced it was leaving the Seattle market, MG Properties had a decision to make, and not much time to make it. Luckily, they’d seen what an efficient package solution looked like. MG Properties had watched HelloPackage succeed in a high-volume San Francisco property, and that familiarity gave them the confidence to move fast. Vue 22 didn’t just need a fix. It needed an upgrade. With the exit date looming, Vue 22 had a narrow window to act and no package infrastructure in place. The only available space was a neglected storage room, never intended to handle resident traffic or high-volume deliveries. There was no time for a long buildout or trial-and-error rollout. MG Properties needed a partner who could move fast, handle everything end-to-end, and deliver a system that worked from day one. That's when HelloPackage delivered. Its full turnkey setup: design, hardware, installation, and onboarding, arrived within the tight deadline; contract to install in just 60 days. The underused storage room: reimagined into a modern, tech-powered package room, complete with 24/7 access and minimal to zero daily involvement from the management team. Because MG Properties had seen the system succeed elsewhere, there was no hesitation. The rollout was fast, clean, and immediate. As soon as the off-site provider exited the market, HelloPackage was already up and running. How did it turn out for Vue 22? Begin with more than 24,000 packages delivered through September; each, scanned and placed directly by drivers. No bottlenecks, no front desk handoffs. Resident adoption of the Hello Package system reached more than 90 percent. At least 790 residents of the 840 units use it. Adoption happened naturally, with no staff involvement. A dead space in the property became essential, daily. In July, 2025 alone, nearly 3,400 packages moved through it. Hello Package led to no rerouting, no complaints and a smooth, self-managed amenity working in the background. It created more time for staff and an experience residents now expect.

Fresh off its impressive presentation at the NYPTA Conference in Saratoga Springs last month, Paradigm Emissions Technologies will keep its decarbonizing momentum rolling onto the national stage. The Henrietta, NY company will take part in the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) National Conference in Chicago, Illinois next year. "Our goal is to apply the same sort of presentation that we offered at NYPTA, but on a larger stage," Paradigm CEO John Erbland said. "This will provide national visibility to the public transit companies in all states. More importantly, according to Erbland, it will also amplify Paradigm's presence before the nation's Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs.) Brown and White Ventures has made a commitment to invest in Paradigm Emissions Technologies. The APTA conference in Chicago is scheduled for October 4-7, 2026.

Paradigm Emissions Technologies CEO John Erbland leads his team into a regional event that could deliver crucial partnerships for the company. Erbland also is this week's guest on Brown and White Ventures podcast with host Jim Aroune, where he shares the story of Paradigm's innovation and his personal entrepreneurial journey. Paradigm Emissions Technologies will present at the New York Public Transit Association (NYPTA) Conference in Saratoga Springs October 27-29th. "This is an exciting opportunity that places us on the podium to present our technology and garner new sales leads," Erbland said. The NYPTA Conference is attended by 130 transit bus companies from across the Empire State. They will hear Erbland describe Paradigm's high-voltage, plasma technology system that converts carbon particulates produced by diesel engines into water vapor and CO2. Erbland says Paradigm's system and the appliance that makes the conversion happen prolongs the life of diesel engines, saves companies money and time and helps them meet state and federal environmental standards. The company's presentation at the NYPTA conference is expected to be Paradigm's widest exposure to the industry to date. "It also provides visibility to key OEMs like New Flyer bus, Cummins engine and BAE Systems as part of our licensing strategy." Paradigm also reports Rochester Transit Service (RTS) is moving from pilots to volume purchases of Paradigm systems. Funding was approved for nine more Paradigm Systems. RTS applied to the Federal Transit Administration for $2.1 million. Included in that funding is the purchase of 70 Paradigm Systems. October's proven to be a high-profile month for the Rochester-based startup. Erbland also pitched Paradigm at the 43North Finals pitch day event in Buffalo October 16th. Find the podcast at Brown and White Ventures YouTube Channel: https://youtu.be/ZJCTgmxI-7c

Counsel Stack, the Pittsburgh-born startup and Brown and White Ventures portfolio company, outperformed every other legal AI startup to enter the nation's foremost independent legal research survey. Those results were reported in the Vals Legal AI Report (VLAIR), which extended its original survey and evaluated how AI products perform on legal research tasks. It measured performance with respect to a lawyer control group, known as the Lawyer Baseline. Counsel Stack joined early industry leaders Alexi, Midpage, ChatGPT and one other significant, unnamed company in the survey. Vals reported: "Counsel Stack demonstrated strong performance across all evaluated criteria, achieving the highest scores among all participants with 81% accuracy, 77% authoritativeness, and 71% appropriateness, resulting in a 78% aggregate weighted score." The Vals assessment measured the participants’ ability to respond to 200 U.S. legal research questions, distributed across a range of question types typically encountered in private practice. The study established a scoring rubric taking into account prior studies and industry feedback. In the end, Vals evaluated responses using three weighted criteria. · Accuracy: whether the response is substantively correct with no incorrect elements (50% of average weighted score) · Authoritativeness: whether the response is supported by citations to relevant and valid primary and/or secondary law sources (40% of average weighted score) · Appropriateness: whether the response is easy to understand and could be immediately shareable with colleagues or clients (10% of average weighted score VLAIR reported that, based on evaluation results from its survey, Counsel Stack demonstrated several notable capabilities: Highest overall performance: Achieved the top score across all three evaluation criteria (accuracy, authoritativeness, and appropriateness) among all participants in the study, including other legal AI products, generalist AI, and the lawyer baseline. Superior accuracy: At 81% accuracy, Counsel Stack tied for the highest accuracy score, demonstrating strong capability in providing substantively correct responses with minimal misinterpretations or factual errors. Strong source citation: Scored 77% on authoritativeness, leading all participants in identifying and citing relevant and valid primary law sources, an essential differentiator for legal AI products over generalist alternatives. Comprehensive legal coverage: Successfully provided responses to 196 of 200 questions, with only 4 technical timeout issues, demonstrating broad coverage of U.S. legal research questions across federal and state jurisdictions. Specialized LLM architecture: Built with multiple specialized LLMs specifically designed for legal research, enabling the product to handle the unique requirements of legal source identification and citation. Consistent quality: Outperformed the lawyer baseline by 9 percentage points overall (78% vs 69%), demonstrating the ability to augment and enhance legal research capabilities for practicing attorneys. Superior to generalist AI on sources: Achieved significantly higher authoritativeness scores compared to generalist AI products, reflecting the value of access to proprietary legal databases and specialized training on legal sources. Founded in 2023, Counsel Stack offers multiple specialized LLMs for legal research, document review and client communications. In the VLAIR legal research study, their research product achieved the highest performance across all evaluation criteria, ranking first among all participants including legal AI products, generalist AI, and the lawyer baseline. Brown and White Ventures made a $200,000 investment in Counsel Stack in 2025.

The story of wellconnected's use of trusted, connected data powering whole-person care across communities resonated at one of the nation's leading conferences on broadening social care. CEO Duane Conners joined with leaders from 4medica and the New Jersey Innovation Institute to deliver that message, and insights into their successful partnership, at the Civitas 2025 Annual Conference in Anaheim (September 28-30.) Conners showed how wellconencted's allco platform builds transformative processes in Chicago and Cook County, Illinois, as well as other communities in New York, New Jersey and West Virginia, through leveraged data to systemize and track social care. Allco's coordinated system improves processes and transparency and creates improved care for a community's most vulnerable. "At wellconnected, we believe true interoperability must go beyond clinical data to include behavioral and social insights that shape health every day," said Conners, wellconnected founder. “By partnering with 4medica and NJII, we're showing how connected data can empower care teams, strengthen communities, and deliver on the promise of whole-person care.” Conners and wellconnected, and their partners, hosted a featured session at the conference: Transforming Whole-Person Care: Unlocking the Power of Cross-Sector Data Sharing. He was joined by 4medica President Gregg Church, Rashidat Balogun, MPH, Managing Director of Chicago Regionwide CIE, Illinois Public Health Institute and Jennifer D'Angelo, COO and EVP, Healthcare Division of the New Jersey Innovation Institute.

As packages began piling up on the doorsteps of America during the COVID-19 Pandemic, and porch pirates became a growing threat in its neighborhoods, the founders of Hello Package realized they could engineer a solution. Atlanta-based Package Solutions recognized security, efficiency and convenience could come together within the hallways of the nation's multi-unit housing developments and properties where single spaces filled with the needs of the isolated consumer. Hello Package has launched in apartment complexes and dormitories in the U.S. Southeast. Its CEO, Paul Favorov, told Brown and White Ventures Podcast the company is expanding West and into the Northeast. "We realized Hello Package is not just a technology company that solves package deliveries, it is a solution for drivers who need to make the delivery," Favorov said. Hello Package installs secure, accessible onsite space for convenient local package handling. It onboards and trains residents, delivery drivers and property staff, ensuring smooth operations and clear communication. Delivery alerts arrive for residents, who are led to the secure Hello Package pickup space at their property. It is there that packages, already dropped off by drivers with controlled keypad access to the space, have been stored by delivery drivers in shelving units assigned by the Hello Package system. Computer vision and tracking confirm package delivery and guide residents to the area within the space where they will find their package and, in seconds, find what they were expecting. To learn more about the company, head to HelloPackage.com Find the podcast at the fund's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYzzwM1DIiM

America’s fourth largest industry struggles to technically catch up with the times and develop true standards for communication and accountability. Into that gap arrives wellconnected, a Buffalo, New York startup seeking to lend a hand to social services and community service providers closest to home. Duane Conners told Brown and White Ventures podcast during a conversation in Williamsville, NY that his startup’s transforming how people access services; regardless of what kind of service the person needs. Through its allco platform, wellconnected binds a region’s agencies into seamless, efficient and more productive community assets, for both those seeking social services, and also services provided by: healthcare, housing, food, education and local government. “It’s a model that allows the tech to be that cobweb sticks everyone together. And allows for a digital no-wrong-doing.” Conners, a former lead at Kaleida Health, designed allco in partnerships with hundreds of organizations to unify onboarding and share collaborative case coordination. “Any agency, any one you speak with on the platform, allows you access to all of the services you need, near or far that most effectively help you.” Conners said his eight-year-old platform helps people who help people, including those on the ground working in food pantries, homeless shelters, school districts, county governments. It allows those organizations and their members to digitally collaborate.” Chicago and Cook County, Illinois, West Virginia, parts of New Jersey and Buffalo and Western New York implement allco and see their service enhanced through allco platform. “Our industry; most of it is ad hoc. And that’s what humans are. We work with individuals and individual care plans. But all those agencies don’t have communication tools and integration that can best support success,” Conners said. Listen to the entire conversation with Duane Conners at the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYKmPfWXMz8

Shaving your head is what a cyclist who wants a custom-fit helmet would ordinarily have to do to get exactly what they want.  KAV Helmets CEO Whitman Kwok muses that, when his company realized that was the cutoff point for consumers to buy into his new line of five-star safety certified custom-built lids, a better system of measurement had to be developed. “Not that many people are that committed to our product to do that,” Kwok joked with co-hosts of News4Buffalo’s morning show September 9th.  KAV’s one-selfie, AI-driven custom measurement system allows consumers to send a single image of their head into the company’s app when purchasing a helmet. That snapshot, plugged into an algorithm that also measures facial features to assist in the design of the custom helmet, delivers a near-perfect fit, according to Kwok.  Manufacturing breakthroughs like that helped KAV remain the only cycling helmet maker producing helmets in the United States.  Leveraged with patented materials with which the helmet is made, and a 3-D printing model that drives an environmentally-friendly, efficient production model, KAV has gone from Silicon Valley startup to Western New York manufacturer.  Kwok and company moved full operations from Redwood City, California to Buffalo’s Old First Ward in August. The cost of doing business in the region made more sense for KAV’s next step in its business ascent.  Kwok called out the region’s workforce and the Buffalo community’s support of KAV for the decision during his conversation on News4Buffalo. “Because of the people, the dollars and cents work out,” Kwok said. “For us, our fundamental premise is we built a technology, we call it micro-fab; a mini-factory that’ s allowed us leap frog a lot of the reasons people tend to offshore.”  KAV continues to leverage relationships it built as a Cohort 9 winner of the 43North startup contest in 2023. It led to investment from Brown and White Ventures in early 2025.  Kwok says KAV will benefit from moving full operations from Silicon Valley to Buffalo because of the lighter cost of doing business and the workforce willing to take KAV to the next level.  “Buffalo has such a great history of manufacturing. For us to take the best of the old and take new technology, I think it’s a winning combination.” See News4Buffalo’s segment on KAV with Whitman Kwok here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhFn2Uds2cg

Brown and White Ventures will co-host an event designed to help founders navigate the complexities of early-stage financing. Professionals navigating these transactions daily will offer clarity on deal terms and investor expectations Tuesday September 16th from 5 p.m. to 7 pm.   The Event: Early Stage Deals Demystified, will include analysis and guidance from Matt Weinbaum and David Valenti. Both attorneys are shareholders at Dentons in Pittsburgh, PA.  Dentons and Finta are also co-sponsoring the event, set for Tuesday, September 16th at the UB Cultivator Center at 701 Ellicott Street in Buffalo, NY.  Meg Kelly, co-founder of Finta, will lead the discussion. "This event will feature a practical discussion on what's market in convertible security and preferred stock financings," said Weinbaum. The event is free. Follow this link to register. https://luma.com/dk3dpaou

Calming people down about AI is one of the things Christopher Kanan must do these days. Especially when it comes to what he describes as "Terminator" stuff; where artificial intelligence overwhelms humankind. "I have a lot of arguments for that," said Kanan, an associate professor of computer science at the University of Rochester who leads the Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences' AI Initiative. "I’m like 'well at least you know and you won’t be caught completely unaware.'" Kanan is the guest on the latest episode of Brown and White Ventures podcast.  He frequently speaks to companies and business leaders about AI's arrival  and shares why there's a first impression it makes, on boat corporate leaders and the workforce.  "Companies want to embrace it as much as they can. AI does not complain. It can work 24 hours a day. It has access to a lot of information. It doesn't necessarily have to do on-the-job training, or it’s not going to need breaks. It’s not going to file a complaint or lawsuit against you," said Kanan, who holds appointments in Brain and Cognitive Sciences, The Goergen Institute for Data Science and AI (GIDS-AI) and The Center for Visual Science.  Kanan believes the individual can respond to AI's arrival best by becoming a proficient applier of the technology.  "Keep in mind, AI does not think when you don't engage it. When it is at rest, it's not thinking. When you're at rest, you're always thinking," Kanan said. "But if you're not using this stuff, you're going to be replaced by someone who is. So, learn how to use it." Kanan calls AI's existence in day-to-day life now its, where one study found the amount of time to complete a human task is cut in half every eight months, its "Co-Pilot" era. "It keeps getting better, and better and better at doing things, but we have to check it. Now that may sound depressing to some, but on the other hand, if everything is automated, then there's the hypothetical scenario that we get to a utopia where people only do the work they want to do,  and everybody derives benefits from it."

A Silicon Valley startup choosing Western New York as its next-gen launch site had a great ring to it two years ago. But KAV Helmets, the Redwood City, California-born innovator of cycling helmets through 3D printing and AI manufacturing, has now doubled down on Buffalo. Founder Whitman Kwok announced at a grand opening event at KAV's Louisiana Street production center Thursday that the maker of custom-fit cycling helmets will call Buffalo its full-time home for all manufacturing; leaving The Valley behind for another Valley; that of the Queen City's Old First Ward.  "It's not just the talent that we find here, it's the people who've been supportive, and a community that has helped us take the next step," Kwok said to a gathering of state, local and regional leaders.  "This is the definition of true success for a community," said Colleen Heidinger, President of 43North, the state accelerator program that awarded KAV one million dollar as part of its annual startup competition in 2024. "We invested in KAV, wrapped our services and support around Whitman and his team. But then, the community stood up around him."  Heidinger specifically mentioned the investment by Brown and White Ventures, the year-old venture capital fund built by alumni and supporters of St. Bonaventure University which operates independently of the university.  "When Brown and White invested, that was a sign of this community's commitment to KAV and in 43 North," Heidinger said.  KAV became Brown and White Ventures' first portfolio company in Q1 2025. The fund followed a $200,000 initial investment with a follow-on investment of $100.000 in Q2.  "Innovation in manufacturing, in the region in which our fund seeks to invest, is one of the reasons we continue to support Whitman and the KAV team," said Jim Aroune, co-founder of Brown and White Ventures.  "I was struck by your passion, for pursuing health, safety, and new technology, and in this place, with such an industrial past, that makes such a connection to what makes Buffalo. You are, truly, a perfect fit," Bonnie Lockwood, Regional Director of WNY, said to Kwok and KAV staff. Lockwood spoke at the factory opening event on behalf of New York Governor Kathy Hochul. KAV's Buffalo plant has operated the last two months with a staff of five. It has produced KAV's two helmet models, including its Rhoan helmet, the company's newest model.  Kwok said Wednesday the company would hire three, and up to ten employees in its new micro-factory, which has dozens of nearly-silent 3D printers spinning the company's helmets. "We are extremely excited to grow with this community," Kwok said.

Brown and White Ventures has reached an agreement to invest in Package Solutions, a startup whose lead service, HelloPackage, redefines last-mile logistics in multi-family and student housing through AI, automation, and on-site holding of deliverable packages.  ​In HelloPackage, PackageSolutions has built a system which centralizes delivery management, package tracking, and resident communication into one intelligent system. ​HelloPackage, founded in Atlanta, Georgia, manages thousands of packages and delivery drivers each month—reducing operational costs, improving resident experience, and creating new NOI for property owners. ​“What Brown and White Ventures finds in HelloPackage is a company that enhances security and convenience in a universal experience: the home delivery of goods and services,” Jim Aroune, co-founder and General Partner of Brown and White Ventures, LLC. “PackageSolutions is poised to successfully leverage technology to address this challenge, especially for those who live in multi-unit housing and residential developments.” ​"We’re excited to have Brown & White Ventures join us as a strategic partner and advisor in our next phase of growth. Their investment reflects confidence in our technology, team, and vision to deliver AI, computer vision, and service that simplify last-mile logistics and elevate the resident experience,” said Paul Favorov, CEO/CTO of PackageSolutions, maker of HelloPackage. ​Owners and operators use HelloPackage to reduce onsite staff burden, lower costs, and improve resident satisfaction—helping communities lease faster and retain residents longer. ​HelloPackage currently serves 52,000 units, including communities managed by NMHC Top 20 Owners and Operators. The company processes more than six million packages annually and maintains a 4.4-star resident satisfaction rating across more than 50,000 reviews. “With the support from Brown & White Ventures, we’ll accelerate customer implementations, expand into key markets like Texas and the West Coast, and bring our AI-driven logistics solution to more communities overwhelmed by packages and delivery drivers,” Favorov said.  ​Its commitment to PackageSolutions is Brown and White Ventures’ fifth investment in a portfolio company in its first year of distributing funding to startup companies.  ​Learn more about HelloPackage at: https://www.hellopackage.com

The difference Paradigm Emissions Technologies makes in a diesel engine is easy to see in a pair of circular filter devices the size of a plum. One is a blackened, soot-filled ring at the end of an exhaust system that is not managed by Paradigm's plasma technology that eliminates particulates. The black is the soot normally released from diesel engines; what most of us see at construction sites, from long-haul trucking vehicles and from public and commercial bus lines.  The other filter is pure white. Untouched by particulates that had been managed earlier in Paradigm's anti-particulate filtering appliance. There's no soot in this filter because the plasma system's already broken it down. The only thing pushed through the white filter is water vapor.  Reporter Jennifer Lewke showed the difference during her News10 NBC Rochester report Friday, July 25, 2025 in an in-depth report on Paradigm.  See more on the story at this link. https://www.whec.com/top-news/local-companys-patented-technology-reduces-diesel-engine-emissions-gains-investor-attention/ And learn more about Paradigm, a Brown and White Ventures portfolio company, at https://paradigmemissionstech.com

The inspiration for the startup seeking to change social services through unifying technology and process comes from Duane Conners's extensive experience in Western New York's health and social care systems.  Conners, the co-founder and CEO of wellconnected, has positioned himself as a key player in the fields of healthcare finance and innovation for a generation.  Conners, a 2000 Pioneer Central graduate, studied at the University at Buffalo School of Management and graduated with a B.S. in Financial Analysis.   Kaleida Health brough Conners on in 2008. His career with the region's largest health organization led to his tenure as a Senior Decision Support Advisor at Buffalo General Medical Center. Here, he provided invaluable financial and clinical analysis, aiding project and management teams in navigating complex decisions. Conners's expertise grew as he transitioned to the role of Manager of Budget and Financial Analysis at Kaleida Health, where he led a team dedicated to developing a service line-based budget across the organization. His analytical skills and leadership paved the way for future opportunities. In 2015, he briefly served as a Financial Analyst at North American Breweries, Inc. before taking on the challenge of Network Finance Manager at HealthNow New York Inc., where he played a pivotal role until May 2016. His tenure showcased his ability to blend financial acumen with strategic insights, strengthening healthcare finances. In addition to his extensive healthcare experience, Conners founded rprt in October 2015, serving as CEO until August 2022. Under his leadership, rprt specialized in creating reporting environments and implementing solid data practices that benefited nonprofit and non-tertiary care providers. This entrepreneurial venture solidified his status as an innovator in the field. Conners’s commitment to enhancing healthcare solutions can be found in his work with VBP Forward from September 2018 to April 2021, where he helped healthcare organizations develop value-based care solutions and improve population health outcomes. His collaborative spirit led to co-founding the Center of Excellence for Infection Prevention and Control (COEIPAC) in January 2017, dedicated to spearheading innovative strategies in infection prevention. His early career included significant roles at organizations like Infonaut, where he served as Vice President of Business Development, and the Western New York Impact Investment Fund as an Investment Associate. These experiences equipped him with a broader understanding of healthcare investment and operational strategies. It led to wellconnected, the newest portfolio company of Brown and White Ventures. Founded four years ago, the company's platform "allco" works directly with community-based organizaqtions to create a secure, central data hub that removes silos, allows collaboration and ultimately provides better social care services. Conners' s SaaS introduced itself in Buffalo and Erie County before making inroads into West Virginia and New Jersey. It's big break came months ago, when it engaged in a five-year agreement with Chicago and Cook County, Illinois.  Conners continues to be a driving force for positive change in the industry, proving that a dedication to data-driven practices and innovative solutions can lead to significant advancements in health care delivery.

Brown and White Ventures announced Monday July 14, 2025 it will invest $200,000 in wellconnected, a four-year old Buffalo, New York based startup whose “allco” platform gives social care agencies a standardized way to perform intake, case management, data collection and referrals.  Many different nonprofits align into one standardized system under wellconnected platform, ‘allco.' It turns inefficient ad hoc networks into engines of true collaboration. The investment by Brown and White Ventures is seed funding for wellconnected which will support the national rollout of “allco.” The platform has made major integrations with social care systems in New York, New Jersey, West Virginia and Illinois and positioned “allco” as a disruptive force dedicated to improving U.S. social care. “We find it compelling how welllconnected and “allco” tackle the long-standing fragmentation of social services in our country. We’re proud to be investing in a company positioned to become the digital infrastructure for social care in the United States,” said Jim Aroune, General Partner at Brown and White Ventures. “We’re grateful to the team at Brown and White Ventures for understanding the scope of vision as we pursue this very important mission,” wellconnected founder and CEO Duane Conners said. “wellconnected is bringing deeply necessary change that brings structured data and real-time analytics to the American social safety net so that we can provide quality resources and service to community members who need it most.” Conners reports “allco’s” primary clients include: non-profit organizations, public sector agencies and health insurers. The platform can also serve municipal governments engaged in delivering social care services, including housing support, food assistance, re-entry programming for formerly incarcerated individuals, mental health counseling and employment services. "By backing wellconnected, Brown and White Ventures sees an opportunity to make good on our Franciscan mission to promote compassionate service, respect and peace in our investments," Aroune said.  In 2021, Conners and Jamie Bono founded "allco." One of the platform's first partners was 211 Western New York, which received funding from Launch NY and Buffalo Innovative Seed Company. ​ While wellconnected would land contracts in New Jersey and West Virginia, it was the closing of a five-year pilot program contract with the city of Chicago and Cook County, Illinois that doubled the company's revenue in 2024.

For all the pedaling and pounding pace cyclists endure, bike helmet safety and speed can come down to the polymors under the shell, especially the proprietary kind KAV Helmets put to use. KAV founder Whitman Kwok shared that and more about his helmet company on the N-1 Podcast with James Huang. Huang, who promotes his program to be all the bicycle news that's fit to print, toured KAV's California headquarters to learn more about the startup and how it's challenging the manufacturing process of cycling safety. N-1's title for the episode: Turning The Bike Helmet Hegemony On Its Head. KAV Helmets is a portfolio company of Brown and White Ventures.

Halfway through my internship and I’ve already learned more than I ever imagined. In my first week at Brown and White Ventures, I had the chance to learn about the company’s mission, values and investment approach. I was also welcomed by an incredible team that has supported and guided me throughout the journey. One of the most valuable parts of this experience has been participating in founders’ pitch meetings, where I learned how to actively listen, identify key focus areas and ask thoughtful follow-up questions. From these sessions, I helped prepare investment memos for companies selected for investment consideration. Research we produced and presentation we delivered in these documents played a key role in pushing a deal into follow-on discussions. Through the investment memo process, I learned how to conduct detailed due diligence, financial modelling, market research, assess risks and evaluate product-market fit working with real data and develop comparables to support recommendations. Headline: Brown and White Ventures invites its interns to participate in follow-on meetings with selected startups. We observed how experienced investors think critically and ask sharp, concise follow-on questions of a prospective investment's financials, business models, risks, defensibility, and team dynamics. In one of these conversations, we learned to assess whether assumptions in revenue forecasts were realistic based on historical data and market benchmarks. These meetings helped me move from theoretical knowledge to practical insight, where I could anticipate what questions matter most to investors and why. Beyond analysis, fund staff shared how to pitch and confidently present what we do as a fund, and how we invest. Taking part in the pitching process boosted my confidence and sharpened my communication skills. I’m grateful for the experience so far and look forward to continuing learning in the second half of my internship. Sandisiwe Nyama is a recent MBA graduate of the Kogod School of Business at American University. She earned her undergraduate degree in Banking and Finance from Great Zimbabwe University.

Brown and White Ventures announced that Neil Bommele of Fairport will serve as the fund's newest Associate.  Bommele has applied his experience as a member of the venture capital fund's board since 2024. A proud alumnus of St. Bonaventure University (Class of 1987,) Bommele is renowned for his enthusiastic engagement with his alma mater. Neil is a firm believer in the strength of alumni networks to generate business opportunities and support the institution’s growth. Bommele's diverse career in sales across sectors such as mortgages, consumer goods, and real estate management highlights his adaptability and entrepreneurial drive. He owned Healthy Vends, a food vending company. Bommele also previously worked at Oxford Mortgage, Recorded Books and Wilton Enterprises.  Bommele's dedication to strengthening alumni connections continues to benefit the fund and the university at large.​​​​