John McIlwraith named Investor of the Year

"As I grow older, I pay less attention to what men say. I just watch what they do."

Starting with this quote from Andrew Carnegie, Bob Coy of CincyTech presented the 2011 Greater Cincinnati Venture Association Investor of the Year Award to John McIlwraith of Allos Ventures.  John was honored in front of a crowd of over 250 attendees at Northern Kentucky University, where he teaches and serves as president of the board of the Entrepreneurship Institute.

"This is a well-deserved honor.  John is a key player in the venture community in the Midwest and his leadership has resulted in tangible growth for our local economy," says Elizabeth Edwards, fellow board member of the Greater Cincinnati Venture Association.

John, who is well-known in Cincinnati as a managing director at Blue Chip Venture Capital, started Allos Ventures in 2010, during one of the most difficult fundraising environments in venture capital history.

2011 has been a big year for John.  Just after launching Allos Ventures with partners Dov Rosenberg and Don Aquilano, John helped close a $11 million Series B round from Sequoia Capital and Claremont Creek Ventures for local Cincinnati portfolio company AssureRx, where he serves as Chairman of the Board.

"This is one of the largest investments we've seen in the Midwest in recent history," says Bob Coy of CincyTech.

John started his career as a corporate lawyer at Jones Day, where he co-founded the Private Ventures group after determining that the firm needed a better way to serve the needs of early-stage companies and venture capital/private equity investors. After several years of representing VC firms, like Primus and Morgenthaler, and early-stage technology companies, he decided he was jealous of how much fun his clients were having, and that he wanted to go down a more entrepreneurial path.

Although he achieved success as an attorney, he knew that to succeed as a venture capitalist he would need operating experience. So, he joined Quantum Health Resources, a provider of drugs and related therapies to patients with rare, chronic diseases, as SVP of business development. While there, he was able to gain insights into the healthcare industry, including through being involved in the launch of a mail-order specialty pharmacy and several new products. In 1997, shortly after Quantum was sold to Olsten Health Services, John was recruited by Blue Chip Venture Company to join the firm as its third partner.

John’s investment experience includes software, business services, and healthcare companies, such as Bluegill Technologies (sold to Checkfree), Sircon (sold to Vertafore), Medhost (sold to HealthTech Holdings), Healthscribe (sold to Spheris), and Renal Solutions (sold to Fresenius). He is still a managing director with Blue Chip, and is responsible for its investments in Blue Chip Surgical, Endocyte, Inspiris, and Nine Sigma, among others. He is also active with Blue Chip's Validation Fund, which invests in seed-stage technology companies in Ohio.

John has been involved in a variety of early-stage venture initiatives throughout the region. He was involved in the formation of Gazelle TechVentures, where he served on the executive and investment committees.  He is a founding member of the Michigan Venture Capital Association board of directors and serves on the board of the Greater Cincinnati Venture Association.