UAVenture Capital was founded by Fletcher J. McCusker and Michael Deitch, the CEO/CFO team at SinfoníaRx and also the duo behind the startup to IPO of Tucson-based Providence Service Corporation (Nasdaq: PRSC).  Fletcher, a 1974 UofA graduate, started Providence in 1997 with a $50,000 investment, grew the company to $55,000,000 in revenue, and went public in 2003.  Providence then grew to a billion-dollar business, and is, by far, the most successful public company ever launched in Tucson.  Michael and Fletcher left Providence in 2013 to assist Tech Launch in its commercialization efforts by becoming the “business drivers” for UofA spinout SinfoníaRx.  Invented by the College of Pharmacy faculty, SinfoníaRx pioneered medication therapy management, designed to assure physician-written prescriptions are safe, don’t conflict with other medications, and are age-appropriate and necessary.  The company allows its clients to comply with Medicare requirements and saves them money by preventing unnecessary or ineffective prescriptions.  Patient health is improved by direct pharmacist interaction and medication review. As Chairman of the Rio Nuevo District (downtown Tucson’s revitalization board), Fletcher is credited with spearheading much of the development downtown since moving downtown in 2010.

Fletcher is a UofA alumnus of the year, holds an honorary Doctorate awarded in 2014, endowed the Public Programs Chair, scholarships a member of the tennis team, and sits on several UofA advisory boards.

Michael was the founding CFO at both SinfoníaRx, Inc. (now a subsidiary of Nasdaq: TRHC) and The Providence Service Corporation (Nasdaq: PRSC).  He has deep experience in mergers and acquisitions and negotiating terms and conditions of financing arrangements including private equity capital, mezzanine capital, and commercial lending.

Michael and Fletcher have been working together for over 20 years and together they have closed over 30 acquisitions, taken a company from inception through its initial public offering including two follow-on offerings, and have raised millions of dollars of financing.

Before starting PRSC, Michael worked in the industry serving as director of financial controls for Crawford & Company (CRD) a New York Stock Exchange-listed company specializing in health care and business claims adjusting.  He also worked as a senior member of the tax department for Glasrock Home Health Care Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the New York Stock Exchange listed company British Oxygen Company now known as The BOC Group.  Before working in the industry, he worked in public accounting providing audit, tax, and litigation support services.

Michael is a certified public accountant and received a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Tennessee in 1979 and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Tennessee in 1981.

Dave is a serial entrepreneur and start-up journeyman with extensive experience at venture-backed, high-growth companies that have collectively raised more than $700M in funding. As an executive leader, Dave has experience scaling venture-backed start-ups from 50 to 500 employees. Dave has an intuition for what sells coupled with a financial analyst mindset around valuation and execution. As the portfolio navigates across a spectrum of growth stages, Dave’s experience in fundraising, people management, sales, operations, finance, and marketing is a crucial resource for our founders.

Dave currently serves as a volunteer commercialization partner and advisor for the University of Arizona’s tech transfer office. Dave provides critical feedback and advice to researchers looking to convert their patents into start-up businesses. His early access to on-campus discoveries and breakthroughs provides our team with an in-depth knowledge of investment opportunities and a playbook for how this can be replicated across other campuses.

Also active in the Tucson community, Dave serves as a non-profit board member and mentor for Groundswell Capital and the Avanza Empowerment Fund. Groundswell Capital is the state of Arizona’s first “Green Bank” with more than $250M in funding and exists to provide innovative financial tools to support equitable, clean energy initiatives. The Avanza Empowerment Fund provides low-interest loans and grants to deserving women, veterans, and minority-owned small businesses in Arizona.

Mr. Hecker’s law practice focuses primarily in the areas of corporate and general business law, securities regulation, real estate, business start‑up, capital formation transactions, corporations, mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance.  Mr. Hecker is a frequent panelist and speaker on securities regulations and corporate law and capital formation education seminars.

Mr. Hecker received both his Bachelor of Arts degree (1969) and his Juris Doctor (1972) from the University of Arizona.  He was on the Board of the Arizona Department of Transportation from 1979 through 1983, serving as Chairman in his last year, and was Chief of Staff to Governor Bruce Babbitt from 1983 through 1984.  He has served as Chairman of the Securities Regulations Section of the State Bar of Arizona and is a member of the Securities Regulations and Business Law Sections of the State Bar of Arizona.

Mr. Hecker is Professor of Practice at the University of Arizona, College of Law teaching Law and Entrepreneurship.

Mr. Hecker is listed in the 1991-2022 editions of Best Lawyers in America in the areas of Corporate Law, Business Organizations, Venture Capital Law, Mergers and Acquisitions and Corporate Governance Law and holds an AV Preeminent Rating with Martindale Hubbell.  He is included in Arizona’s Finest Lawyers – 2021