Selected Principal Experience — Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
Turning investor readiness into an operating discipline
Companies were entering institutional raises with predictable diligence failures—unclear cap tables, incomplete data rooms, regulatory assumptions, and capital strategies that did not survive investor scrutiny.
Heath Naquin originally developed the Capital Readiness framework for the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation more than a decade ago. The methodology has subsequently been refined and applied across institutional commercialization and company-building programs.
- Client Type
- Founder Support / Capital Readiness
- Sector
- Healthtech
- Engagement
- Strategic Engagement
- Horizon
- —
$370M+
Secured by participating companies over three years
$173M+
Private investment
$200M+
Non-dilutive federal funding (SBIR, ARPA-H, related)
110
Companies supported across 11 cohorts
Problem
- Companies were entering institutional raises with predictable diligence failures—unclear cap tables, incomplete data rooms, regulatory assumptions, and capital strategies that did not survive investor scrutiny.
Intervention
- 01
Intervention
Built the original Capital Readiness framework for the Kauffman Foundation, structured around live investor diligence rather than pitch practice
- 02
Intervention
Refined and applied the methodology inside later institutional commercialization and company-building programs
- 03
Intervention
Used experienced investors to expose and repair fundraising, regulatory, evidence, and data-room gaps
- 04
Intervention
Established a repeatable capital-readiness process founders could carry into active raises
Result
- Over the past three years, participating Capital Readiness companies have secured more than $370M in follow-on capital, including $173M in private investment and more than $200M in non-dilutive federal funding through SBIR, ARPA-H and related programs
- Eleven program cohorts completed and 110 companies supported through the University City Science Center program
- Investors-in-Residence represent $1.35B in venture capital
- A repeatable diligence-first model replaced accelerator-style pitch preparation
Attribution & Disclosure
Partner detail is shared under NDA during a Strategic Assessment.
Listed for context only. Names reflect participation in the engagement — not endorsement or current client status.
Sources
Framework originally developed for the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. Recent company outcomes were generated through the University City Science Center's Capital Readiness program and are reported at the program level. Capital was secured by participating companies — not raised by Forged Catalyst Group or Heath Naquin.
This case combines historical framework-development experience with subsequent institutional applications and reported company outcomes. Institutional names are provided for attribution and context; no endorsement of Forged Catalyst Group is implied.
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