SARANAC LAKE — Point Positive, an “angel investor” group based in Saranac Lake, meets with vetted entrepreneurs for pitch sessions twice a year. This October, seven member investors and Point Positive Coordinator Melinda Little met at Workshop in Lake Placid to hear from three entrepreneurs.

Decisions to invest or not are up to the member investors, and the time commitment is tailored to preference. Members can lead, mentor, advise or just monitor, and invest on an individual basis in fully vetted, promising ventures across multiple industry sectors.

The three companies that presented needed various areas of support.

¯ Provider One is a start-up medical scribing business out of Syracuse seeking seed money to develop an app that will allow users to do scribing remotely. The woman-owned, woman-run company is looking to relocate to the North Country and proceed with a beta phase. Provider One became familiar with Point Positive through former entrepreneurs in whom Point Positive has invested previously.

¯ MCM Development, developers from Malone who have already developed apartments in the Richardson building (with a waiting list), are looking to create an Opportunity Zone Fund to help accelerate their second project, the River Building, which is already 55% complete. At the pitch event investors learned about the opportunity to put capital gains in the project so they pay less capital gains or none, depending on the length of time their money is invested.

¯ New Leaf founder and architect Tim McCarthy, who currently operates out of a warehouse in Bombay, New York, attended the pitch event seeking advice to further his business and manufacturing plans. He has produced customized versions of net-zero modular homes and has developed a design for a single-box version. He has a vision of building these homes now in large quantities in an expanded facility in Bombay. He is looking to establish next steps financially as he works to verify the cost to produce and source interest with pre-funding. Point Positive member investors have expressed and shown interest, and Point Positive is facilitating the process whereby interns from Clarkson’s Shipley Center will assist McCarthy with the financial analyses needed.

Investments committed to entrepreneurs through Point Positive are taxed a modest percentage to support Point Positive’s overall operations. In addition, potential investors are charged an annual membership fee that allows them to participate in Point Positive’s research and due diligence, and to attend the semi-annual pitch sessions. Over the past four years, Point Positive has vetted more than 40 ventures from a wide range of industries, committing over $3 million in capital, fueling new jobs and a stronger, diversified economy in the Adirondacks.

The next pitch events are scheduled for next year: Friday, July 31 and Monday, Oct. 5, 2020.