With more than 40 years of business experience, Mel Pirchesky, President of Pittsburgh-based Eagle Ventures, has a very diverse and, in many ways, unparalleled track record as an effective money raiser, CEO, and entrepreneurial coach and marketer. His experience has led to a deep understanding of and appreciation for the strategic financial aspects of “deal-making,” creating, financing, and growing businesses from an entrepreneurial perspective. His accomplishments include:

• Raising and investing $100 million of equity in the western PA region, almost exclusively from high net worth individuals;
• Coaching hundreds of entrepreneurs on how to much more effectively articulate their company's value proposition and how to understand 'to the depth of their bones' complex financial concepts;
• Being a CEO of three successful manufacturing companies, a medical device company, and an importer/distributor of supplies to commercial food operations;
• Effectively turning around four companies; substantially increasing their net income;
• Generating creative solutions associated with buying and selling dozens of small to medium-sized businesses; and
• Consulting to more than a few hundred entrepreneurially-owned companies focused on increasing profits.

Mel delivers high impact coaching to entrepreneurs, which allows them to much more effectively address their equity fundraising challenges.

As a coach, he creatively works with his clients to formulate effective market positioning in presenting their entrepreneurial opportunity to prospective investors that allows them to articulate clear distinctions for whatever their business opportunity may be. He uses both basic, experience-based and out-of-the-box processes to more effectively advise on their strategic financial, leadership, operational, sales/marketing, and acquisition opportunities.

On occasion, Mel also raises equity for entrepreneurially-owned, start-up companies in the Pittsburgh area that he has identified, as in his opinion, "great opportunities." Due to his long-standing reputation of professionalism and his extremely wide range of relationships, Mel effectively:

• Brings together these potentially great opportunities with prospective angel investors who have a challenge of trying to find them.
• Provides cost-effective financing for entrepreneurs that they would not otherwise have access to.
• Provides the entrepreneur with a choice of investor-advisors for Board representation who have built their own businesses.
• Works with investors and the entrepreneur to maximize the likelihood that the value-add of their opportunity will be realized.

Mel’s firm, Eagle Ventures, is named in the Pittsburgh Business Times 2016 as #12 on the list of the venture capital firms in the Pittsburgh area. Although not validated, Mel has likely raised more equity from angel investors than anyone else in the Pittsburgh area.

Besides his commitments to his family and career, Mel has a lifetime commitment to create a level playing field for minority youngsters. He manifests this by strongly promoting the expansion of the Laurel Highlands Council of the Boy Scouts of America's Scoutreach Program. This Program is focused on bringing Scouting’s character-building curriculum to really hard-to-reach youngsters who face greater challenges in life relative to most other children.

Mel is also a former Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Allegheny County Children and Youth Services Agency (now known as Children, Youth & Family Agency), the public agency responsible for caring for abused and neglected youngsters in Allegheny County.

Mel was a tax partner with Arthur Young & Company, a Big 8 accounting firm and a predecessor to Ernst & Young. His father, two brothers and he are Eagle Scouts. Eagle Ventures is named in honor of them and their accomplishments.

"You are an exceptional CEO coach, outstanding at what you do. I don't make that statement based on comparison, but because of what you have done for me. Strangely, it was difficult in the beginning for me to know your value....it was hard to comprehend.

Others said, "he listens...he is tenacious...you won't be able to define what he does because it is created through the process of working together...Mel's approach is to get to people, then connect to others."

"I have had such success utilizing your approaches that I have become a disciple. Just today, I networked my way to a great entrepreneur with great prospects for growth; based primarily on the questions you suggested that I ask."

Thanks for what you have done thus far. I am enthused about the future".

Entreprenuer raising money for a large SBIC