A Chicago-based venture capital firm is the matchmaker after Covid-19. Organize a virtual occasion in which midwest start-ups will participate individually with investors.
Founded in 2016 and led by Jonathan Ellis, Sandalphon Capital is organizing midwest.tech/connect, a new event, to fill the gap left by the global pandemic. More than ever, he said, there is a need for initial investment in the Midwest, however, fundraising and due diligence are taking longer than before, because it is harder for investors to find deals due to reduced travel, fewer occasions and fewer networks.
“Then we thought we were going to do something,” said an online page committed to the occasion. “We try to link startups to investors in our network, whether they suit us or not. This occasion allows us to make these bonds, on a giant scale, efficiently. This format also avoids the need for a “warm introduction” and reduces some of the barriers that many founders face to stand up to investors.”
The three-day summit, scheduled september 8-10, will come with individual meetings between start-ups and Zoom investors. It is open to the founders –pre-Seeds, Seeds and Serie A – located in the Midwest in sectors such as agtech, biotechnology, packaged products for customers, edtech, business technology, fintech, food technology, health, insurtech, life sciences, logistics. /supply chain, manufacturing, medical technology, real estate/prop technology, retail and more, as well as forward-looking and venture capital investors.
The founders will contact as many investors as possible, depending on mutual interest and availability. Investors may be interested in setting up to 50 startups.
Sandalphon said the occasion focuses primarily on the Midwest states, which he defines as Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin, as well as Pittsburgh/Western Pennsylvania and Kentucky. , this will allow startups founded or with a strong Midwest or ties to the industry.
Start-ups and investors must apply to attend; last week, more than a hundred investors committed. The summit is loose for the founders, however, Sandalphon charges $50 according to the investor player to cover the prices of staff, advertising and software related to the organization of the event. At least 10% of the revenue, he said, will move to Feeding America, a national hunger-fighting organization.
Applications began on July 21 and will be accepted until Friday, August 7. The remaining calendar is as follows:
Even with the demanding situations of Covid-19, Sandalphon said the outlook in the Midwest is positive. He interviewed 197 ceos of start-ups in the region in May. Among their main findings, more than 60% were definitely or slightly negatively affected through Covid-19, with 19% very or incredibly negatively affected. Of the 59 startups definitely impacted, 49% report that their revenue has increased. Two-thirds of new company CEOs are positive despite the existing environment.
A freelance journalist in Cincinnati, I covered everything from aviation to entrepreneurship. I love hearing how big corporations and start-ups in the Midwest
A freelance journalist in Cincinnati, I covered everything from aviation to entrepreneurship. I love hearing how big corporations and midwest start-ups are working to make the world a bigger place.