Early Stage Partners was formed in 2001 with the belief that Northeast Ohio, Ohio, and the Midwest could and would create and attract a significant number of early stage technology companies that would be attractive venture capital investment opportunities. This belief was predicated on positive trends in regional economies, technology, and entrepreneurship and on the experience of the Early Stage Partners team in identifying promising ventures and budding entrepreneurs.

They began raising capital in 2001 in the depths of a venture capital industry downturn. In spite of being a first-time fund investing in technology in the Midwest in the midst of that downturn, they raised $44 million.

Milestones
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Early Stage Partners invested in Blue Spark Technologies. (7/27/09)

Posted 8/27/09 at 1:15pm
Early Stage Partners invested in Arisdyne Systems. (6/27/08)

Posted 6/4/09 at 8:32pm
Early Stage Partners invested in EcoSMART Technologies. (6/10/08)

Posted 6/27/09 at 5:29am

Investments

Company	Date	Round	Size	Participants
Blue Spark Technologies	7/09	Series B	$1.5M	2
Arisdyne Systems	6/08	Series A	$5.3M	4
EcoSMART Technologies	6/08	Unattributed	$5M	6