A new $25 million fund for Columbia-based Redbud VC is expected to help identify and develop top-tier, pre-seed innovators before they head to the coasts to find more abundant capital, said Brett Calhoun.
Brett Calhoun, general partner at Redbud VC, and Willy Schlacks, co-founder of EquipmentShare; courtesy photo
“There isn’t an underground hacker house pumping out unicorn founders,” said Calhoun, general partner at Redbud VC, in a blog post. “The only way for us to find world-class talent is to out-hustle the market, build unique networks, and maintain creativity in our search for world-class talent.”
Redbud VC’s oversubscribed Fund II — five times larger than its first fund — is led by the University of Missouri System Endowment; Jim McKelvey, co-founder of Square; and AngelList Fund of Funds. Additional limited partners include a former Boeing CEO and founders, early employees, and executives from Square, C2FO, Upgrade, Meta, and Veterans United, Calhoun said.
He noted the announcement also builds on the momentum of two of Redbud VC’s partners — brothers Willy and Jabbok Schlacks — taking EquipmentShare public on Nasdaq in January at a $7.2 billion valuation.
Since launching in 2023, Redbud has invested in 38 companies across more than 20 cities across North America. Fund II has already invested in seven startups spanning AI, hardware, software, and vertical technologies. Portfolio companies include Kansas City-built Trially and dScribe AI, as well as Focus, the 2025 winner of Missouri Startup Weekend.
“We invest $250,000 to $500,000 in people strengthened by struggle with no bias towards pedigree,” he explained. “We love supporting people with outsider backgrounds like ours, but we invest in anyone who doesn’t give up.”
Click here to explore Redbud VC’s portfolio.
The Schlacks brothers’ journey — building companies at an early age — informs how Redbud evaluates founders: with an emphasis on durability, ownership mentality, and execution under constraint.
Founders get a collaborative, complementary fund on the cap table, with a differentiated perspective, network, and ethos from the middle of the country, Calhoun said, describing a firm that knows its limitations — as well as the opportunity that comes with building toward a tier-1 organization that other VCs already watch closely.
“Participating as a lead investor is not core to our strategy, as we are focused on growing our network and having as much flexibility as possible in our ‘venture product’ to support the most talented and resilient people,” he said.
That support offers portfolio companies such resources as:
- Partnerships with high-integrity people;
- Opportunities to work with investors who’ve built companies;
- Customer and talent intros;
- Long-term fundraising support;
- A brand that increases the legitimacy of their company; and
- Accessing advisors and investors who won’t pull punches.
“Our investor base is largely composed of over 50 operators who have built companies in Missouri across many industries, including steel, construction, manufacturing, payments, healthcare, technology, and even fireworks,” Calhoun said. “A lot of these folks can be early customers and even strategic investors for our portfolio founders.”
EquipmentShare officials ring the bell as the company begins trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol “EQPT”; photo courtesy of EquipmentShare
Redbud VC and its partners are working to increase the density of the Missouri ecosystem and its connectivity to the coasts, he said.
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Missouri — and Columbia in particular, Calhoun said — already offer key examples (EquipmentShare and Zapier) of talent coming out of the Midwest, but building the region’s competitive advantage requires attention and authenticity around why innovators often leave.
“Major hubs are a collective of people from diverse backgrounds, including those from rural towns, immigrants, and those chasing something bigger,” Calhoun said. “When you’ve been in the chaos of major hubs, competing for roles, building a company, and trying to stand out, sometimes spending time with folks who have similar roots takes you back for a minute.”
“I was a first-gen college student at an undergraduate university where I am the only alum in VC, and my partners didn’t have a high school or college education,” he continued, describing his background at Arkansas Tech University before getting his masters at Mizzou, with a focus on finance and entrepreneurship.
“We all grew up in rural towns across the Midwest,” Calhoun said. “I won’t argue with the idea that the best talent is on the coasts, though I believe there’s plenty of strong talent distributed across the country. And talent in the Midwest is often overlooked.”
