Mike Gausling

Michael "Mike" Gausling is a serial entrepreneur and venture capital investor based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, he earned a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (1980) and an MBA in Finance from Miami University of Ohio (1983). In 1987, in his late 20s, he co-founded OraSure Technologies (NASDAQ: OSUR), the company that developed and secured FDA approval for the world's first rapid oral-fluid HIV test.

As co-founder and CEO of OraSure, Gausling helped build the company over roughly 17 years from a startup into a business with more than $50 million in annual sales and a market capitalization of over $500 million, raising more than $100 million in capital along the way. He departed in 2004. He was recognized as the Ernst & Young Central and Eastern PA Biotech Entrepreneur of the Year in 2005, and the company was named to the Greater Philadelphia region's "Fastest 50" growth companies for seven consecutive years.

In 2006–2007 he co-founded Originate Ventures in Bethlehem with partners Eric Arnson and Glen R. Bressner — an early-stage venture fund. Since inception, Originate has invested more than $44 million across roughly 17 startups (in most cases as the first institutional money in the deal) and has returned upward of $164 million to investors. Gausling typically served as board member, mentor, and deal-maker for portfolio companies. In 2014 he founded One Putt Ventures, a family office blending venture investing, C-level advisory services, and social entrepreneurship.

Beyond investing, Gausling has held numerous board and community roles, including director positions at KNBT Bank (NASDAQ: KNBT, where he chaired the Audit Committee), TB Biosciences, Holganix, and Micro Interventional Devices, as well as Chairman of the Lehigh Valley Industrial Park and treasurer roles at Valley Youth House and the NCC Foundation.

• Invests at seed and early stage in emerging-growth product companies, often as the first institutional capital in.
• Stated thesis: looks for "a great leadership team and a highly differentiated product in an emerging market category with early customers already in place."
• Check sizes historically ~$500K–$4M at Originate Ventures; $1M–$5M for a limited number of ventures at One Putt Ventures.
• Sector emphasis on medical devices, healthcare, diagnostics and biotechnology, plus consumer/commercial products, IT, web/software and digital media.
• Strong geographic bias toward Pennsylvania and New Jersey (Greater Philadelphia and the Lehigh Valley), reflecting his roots and network there.
• Brings an operator's perspective — "sat on both sides of the table as an entrepreneur and as an investor" — and typically takes a hands-on board/mentor role helping founders navigate from startup to exit. Motivated by "the adrenaline rush of being around early-stage technology companies."