Finding the Funding

By Julia Mericle – Reporter, Pittsburgh Business Times

Oct 15, 2020, 7:55am EDT

Ryan Green, co-founder and CEO of Strip District-based Gridwise, said, overall, he has felt supported as a Black entrepreneur in Pittsburgh’s startup ecosystem.

Founded in 2016, Gridwise’s earliest capital came from AlphaLab Gear and enabled Green to get the company off the ground full time. Next, Gridwise, which offers a software platform to help optimize hours worked for drivers in the ridesharing industry, raised funds from a series of angel investors, including Luis Von Ahn from Duolingo and several other Carnegie Mellon University professors, as well as from the 99 Tartans fund at CMU.

Having connections helped. Brian Finamore, Gridwise co-founder and CTO, got his master’s degree in electrical and computer engineering from CMU. In 2019, Gridwise partnered with CMU’s Mobility Data Analytics Center to find uses for the data it collects on its platform.

The company also participated in the Techstars Detroit accelerator program to round out its first $500,000 raised. From there, Green said he has built ongoing relationships with angel investors and venture funds across the U.S.

However, the places where funding has come up dry proved somewhat surprising.

Green traveled a lot and lived in 12 states. He has pitched his startup to a diverse set of investors from different backgrounds and races, including to venture funds that position themselves as making investments in founders of color a priority.