Originate Ventures

Investment decisions are led by Managing Partners Glen R. Bressner and Mike Gausling. Bressner has been a venture investor since joining Key Venture Capital in 1984 and was a partner at Mid-Atlantic Venture Funds from its 1985 founding. Gausling joined after co-founding OraSure Technologies, which he grew to a public company with a market cap exceeding $500 million.

The firm concentrates on emerging companies in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Its headquarters is in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and both Bressner and Gausling hold board and advisory roles tied to the Greater Philadelphia and Lehigh Valley economic development ecosystems.

The firm targets early-stage, growth, management buyout, and turnaround situations. This flexibility reflects the blended background of the partnership — Bressner's institutional venture experience and Gausling's operational track record navigating a company from startup to public markets.

The firm has invested in medical devices, avionics, compound semiconductors, digital health, and financial technology. Glen Bressner's prior board seats include Innovative Solutions & Support (avionics) and St. Christopher's Hospital for Children, while Mike Gausling's operational career centered on diagnostics and medical devices at OraSure Technologies.

Mike Gausling co-founded OraSure Technologies (NASDAQ: OSUR), the company that developed the first rapid oral-fluid HIV test. Over 17 years, he grew the business to more than $50 million in annual sales and a market capitalization over $500 million, raising more than $100 million from angel investors, venture capitalists, public offerings, and commercial banks along the way.

The firm describes itself as 'entrepreneurs investing in entrepreneurs,' emphasizing hands-on support beyond capital. This includes advising on personnel issues, hiring, creative fundraising, and strategic planning — areas where Eric Arnson's brand-strategy background at ENVISION and McKinsey supplements the partners' operational and investment experience.

No. Originate Ventures is an independent partnership. Glen Bressner combined his prior firm, Mid-Atlantic Venture Funds, with new partners to establish the firm, and Mike Gausling joined from an operating CEO background rather than from a bank or asset manager.