Portfolio News

If student loan domino falls, what’s next for fintechs in the sector?

As of last week, following policy changes under the Trump Administration, borrowers may see hits to their credit scores, wages garnished, tax refunds seized, and reductions in social security benefits. To make sense of how these changes may affect student loan-focused fintechs, as well as their impact on the debt and financial health of US consumers, we interviewed Laurel Taylor, Founder and CEO of NYC-based student debt and savings optimization platform Candidly. Read More>>
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Elizabeth Banks And Archer Roose’s Next Act: A New Pinot Noir And Doubling Growth

Archer Roose Wines, co-owned by actress Elizabeth Banks, says the canned wine brand is coming off a record year in 2024. What’s next is a new canned pinot noir, the company’s first new red varietal in five years. Co-founder and CEO Marian Leitner-Waldman tells me during a virtual interview that sales volume for Archer Roose Wines exceeded 100,000 nine-liter cases in 2024, a record for the brand, and is currently hitting a 125,000 annualized case volume on a trailing 12-month average....
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CytoAgents Announces Completion of Cohort 1 Dose-escalation Stage of Clinical Phase 1B to Advance Research on Cytokine Release Syndrome

PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--CytoAgents Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing CTO1681 for the prevention and treatment for Cytokine Release Syndrome (CRS), announced the successful completion of the first dose, core cohort dose-limiting toxicity observation period in its ongoing Phase 1b/2a clinical trial. Following a review of safety and efficacy data, the Safety Review Committee (SRC) has approved dose-escalation to the next, higher planned dose in Cohort 2. “This milestone marks an important step forward in our mission to deliver a safe, effective therapy...
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Candidly, Fiducius Partner to Offer Student Debt Repayment Benefits

Candidly has partnered with Fiducius, a provider of financial wellness benefits, to add tools for college savings and private student lending to the Fiducius platform. The new relationship will allow Candidly to grow its solutions for planning and paying for college and, in turn, enable Fiducius to reach new employee populations. With the addition of Candidly’s student loan refinancing marketplace, both firms believe the collaboration will drive more value for Fiducius users adjusting their student debt repayment strategy amid ongoing changes...
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New Episode of Never a Dull Moment – Z-Pods

A new Never a Dull Moment episode has dropped! 🎙️ Our host Ziad Henry Moukheiber sits down with Scott Pancoast CEO and founder of Zylö Therapeutics to discuss Z-Pods and more! Press play to hear about Scott's incredible journey from venture capital to starting a business in biotech and cosmetics. Listen to the full episode here.
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SommCon Celebrates Women’s History Month with Content Series Featuring Female Founders + Innovators in Craft Beverage

SommCon, the premier conference and exposition for wine and beverage professionals, is excited to announce “Women in Craft Forum Virtual Summit,” in celebration of Women’s History Month this month. This online summit offers beverage professionals and enthusiasts the opportunity to access industry-leading education and to get inspired by female founders, trailblazers, and disruptors having conversations around the challenges and nuances of being a woman in the beverage industry. The virtual summit features eights seminars from the Women in Craft Forum,...
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Candidly’s Laurel Taylor Named to Inc. 2025 Female Founders List

Candidly, the market’s only AI-driven student debt and savings optimization platform, announced today that its Founder and CEO, Laurel Taylor, has been named to Inc.’s Female Founders list for 2025. Taylor’s journey to founding Candidly began with her own experience accumulating student debt. The financial burden forced Taylor and her mother to forgo a combined two decades’ worth of wealth-building opportunities. Since founding Candidly in 2016, Taylor has helmed its mission to close the most critical and prevalent gaps in...
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Candidly’s Laurel Taylor Named to Inc. 2025 Female Founders List

Candidly, the market’s only AI-driven student debt and savings optimization platform, announced today that its Founder and CEO, Laurel Taylor, has been named to Inc.’s Female Founders list for 2025. Taylor’s journey to founding Candidly began with her own experience accumulating student debt. The financial burden forced Taylor and her mother to forgo a combined two decades’ worth of wealth-building opportunities. Since founding Candidly in 2016, Taylor has helmed its mission to close the most critical and prevalent gaps in...
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The Active Archive Alliance Welcomes Wasabi Technologies to the Organization

The Active Archive Alliance today announced that Wasabi Technologies, the hot cloud storage company, has joined the organization. The Active Archive Alliance is a collaboration of industry-leading storage systems and software vendors that collectively support and promote the use of active archives in providing modern solutions for today's data growth challenges. "Wasabi plays an important role in providing fully integrated solutions with AI enhancements, security and affordability built in – furthering the use of active archives for intelligent data management."...
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Akston Named Best Start-Up for 2024 in the S&P Global Animal Health Awards

Akston, the biotech built for pets, has been awarded the Best Start-Up of 2024 by S&P Global Animal Health at the Animal Health, Nutrition, and Technology Innovation Europe 2025 conference in London. The award was presented by Joseph Harvey, Editor, S&P Global Animal Health, and accepted by Akston CEO, Todd Zion. Read more >>
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