Spotlight On: Scott Nissenbaum, President & CEO, Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania

October 2025 — In an interview with Invest:, Scott Nissenbaum, president and CEO of Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania, discussed Philadelphia’s emergence as a tech hub, the challenges of funding uncertainty, and the region’s strengths in life sciences and AI innovation. “Philadelphia increased by 12 spots in Startup Genome’s best places to build a startup, moving from No. 27 to No. 13, which is phenomenal,” said Nissenbaum, while noting the ongoing need for more venture capital at growth stages.

What is Ben Franklin Technology Partners’ mission and main offering?

Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania is a leading technology-based economic development authority. We operate as a seed-stage venture capital fund, investing in 40 to 50 companies annually through debt or equity. Our goal is to create jobs, generate tax revenue, and drive impact within the Greater Philadelphia region, with a global reach.

Our active portfolio of over 200 early-stage companies shares key characteristics: technological differentiation and a commitment to creating jobs in the Philadelphia area. We’re part of a larger network, with independent Ben Franklin entities affiliated with institutions like Carnegie Mellon, Penn State, and Lehigh. Our Philadelphia branch originated through affiliations with Penn, Temple, Drexel, and other local universities.

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What changes over the past year have most impacted your organization, and how?

The uncertainty of the federal government makes long-term planning difficult, with funding, structure, and legality in flux. Most of our funding is from Pennsylvania’s state budget, but we also have federal contracts. We were awarded an EDA tech hub designation for Philadelphia in cell and gene therapy, and though we applied for an $80 million grant, we did not receive it; they rebid the last six tranches. This uncertainty impacts our investments and available dollars. Our 200 early-stage companies rely on NIH, SBIR, and NSF grants for innovation from universities. Federal cuts are reducing or removing their ability to conduct research, innovate, and spin out companies, which will definitely impact our business.

Besides uncertainty, what are some of the biggest challenges entrepreneurs in the region are facing as they try to scale?

Capital is always an issue. Philadelphia, as a region, has done really well in growing. Philadelphia increased by 12 spots in Startup Genome’s best places to build a startup, moving from No. 27 to No. 13, which is phenomenal. However, we still lack sufficient risk or exploratory capital, and venture capital. While we are strong at the seed stage, with good angel networks, universities, and entities like Ben Franklin, for Series A and Series B, we import or raise about 80% of capital from outside the region. This has been a weak spot for building companies in Philadelphia at the mid-stage or growth stage.

Uncertainty makes investor decisions harder, increasing the scarcity of follow-on capital. Virtually none of our companies are profitable at our investment stage; if you do not have the capital to keep doors open, you do not keep them open. We will spend a lot of time this year strengthening and supporting our companies with contacts and connections for their next round of capital.

Where do you see the greatest opportunities for Philadelphia to stand out in attracting and growing technology-driven companies?

Philly is historically known as an Eds and Meds city. We have 128 universities within an hour, providing immense research, innovation, academic, and workforce talent, pumping out next-generation thought leaders. On the med side, Philadelphia once hosted every major pharmaceutical company and boasts institutions like CHOP, the University of Pennsylvania, Temple University, and Thomas Jefferson.

Our designation as an EDA tech hub for precision medicine stems from this synergy. Philadelphia is credited with five genetic breakthroughs, including curing an 11-year-old boy’s genetic deafness. Companies like Spark Therapeutics exemplify this. We have four PhDs on staff with deep life sciences expertise to underwrite and support these companies, identifying university-generated technologies. This clearly paves Philadelphia’s path for the next generation.

Given your track record in investing in life sciences and biosciences, what trends or sectors are you most excited about right now?

Precision medicine is a key focus. We’ve helped spin a dozen robotics companies from the University of Pennsylvania and other universities, including Ghost Robotics, which recently had a $400 million exit with its autonomous military-grade metal dogs. 

AI also cannot be ignored. I view it as a fundamental foundation, not just an investment thesis — like the internet in the late 1990s. AI will change everything. Combining AI with AI-enabled robotics, including humanoid technologies, will profoundly impact the world, though the exact changes are still emerging.

What role does mentorship play in the resilience of early-stage companies, especially in today’s uncertain economic climate?

Mentorship is critical for a company’s success. Our Mentor Connect program, from MIT, formalizes this by connecting coachable entrepreneurs — screened for coachability — with two or three experienced C-level startup executives. This is our most sought-after program, with over 150 mentees and 300 mentors.

Mentoring is crucial at early stages, with relationships often lasting for the life of the business. It’s conflict-free: we don’t interfere, and mentors can’t invest, consult, or join boards. This program purely supports early, coachable companies. We also form support teams for similar industries, bringing professionals together to discuss best practices, suppliers, and problems. For early-stage tech companies, a lack of mentoring will make the journey longer and more expensive, potentially leading to failure without sufficient capital.

Based on your experience raising funds and working with many founders, what advice would you give to local entrepreneurs trying to break through?

Patient persistence. A successful early-stage entrepreneur must believe they can accomplish something unprecedented. This requires a unique personality, including the ability to recognize when to surround themselves with great people. It’s rare for one person to do it all. My first advice for a startup is to find a great co-founder who complements your capabilities. If you’re a great salesperson, find a brilliant technologist; if you’re a brilliant technologist, find someone who can run and manage a business.

Not trying to do it alone is crucial advice. When evaluating businesses, we find it easier to invest in a team with diverse skill sets and diversity within the organization than in a “one-person or one-woman” band.

Given the growing focus on building an inclusive startup community, what progress have you seen in creating more pathways for diverse founders to succeed?

We have embraced diversity, equity, and inclusion. We also recognize the numbers are not representative of our region, with Philadelphia being a majority minority city. We have systematically looked at how we do, what we do, where we do it, and with whom we do it to help improve our numbers. We are proud to say that the numbers have increased almost four times in terms of the percentage of the portfolio. About 46% of the new investments in our portfolio over the last five years have diversity within the C-suite. About 56% have gender diversity within the C-suite. This is still probably not fully representative of the world and the population, but it is drastically better than where we have been, where the region has been, and certainly better than what the industry at large has been.

Looking ahead to the next two to three years, what excites you most about the next wave of founders and companies emerging in this region?

I’m most excited and a little scared by how AI will change business. It’s going to impact every industry and company. At Ben Franklin, we identified 55 ways AI will improve our own organization. The pace and scale of AI innovation will only accelerate, and we, as a species, need to keep up.

We already see its impact, even in how children are educated. “Why would I write a paper?” is a common sentiment now; it’s a very different world. Over the next two to three years, AI’s impact will be fundamental, like the internet, communications, or electricity were. I’m excited because I’m an optimist — you can’t do early-stage investing otherwise — though it’s definitely not without its scariness and risks.

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