Investors Stories
Investor market turns Midwest conservative: ‘Everyone here is feeling a changing landscape’
After years of soaring valuations across the startup scene, venture firms like M25 are observing a shift to more risk-averse investors and stricter examinations of even the most-exciting company’s worth, said Abhinaya Konduru. “We’re seeing a new normal,” said Konduru, a principal on the influential Chicago-based M25 team and a panelist at Thursday’s MidxMidwest event…
‘Wonderful things anywhere’: Entrepreneurs share keys to ‘Main Street’ success
Editor’s note: This story was originally published by Missouri Business Alert, a member of the Kansas City Media Collective, which also includes Startland News, KCUR 89.3, American Public Square, Kansas City PBS/Flatland, and The Kansas City Beacon. Click here to read the original story. COLUMBIA, Missouri — When Willy Schlacks noticed what he said were inefficiencies plaguing…
Looking for investors? A startup’s first ask shouldn’t be for money, leading VCs say
Most startup founders think of funding as transactional, Darcy Howe shared, but it’s actually relational. “You’ve got to have relationships with people long before they’ll fund and that includes angels and all the others,” the KCRise Fund founding managing director told a crowd gathered at UMKC’s Bloch Executive Hall for Startland News’ Kansas City Startups…
Her fund targets investments for women of color; why this VC is fighting a lawsuit that would curb equity-focused funding
The fight for equity — especially among Black and brown entrepreneurs — isn’t easily won, said Ayana Parsons, likening the setback-laden struggle to a boxing match that seemingly never ends. “There are many rounds,” Parsons recently told a Kansas City crowd gathered at Burns & McDonnell’s campus for an event to honor diverse legacies. Parsons’…
InvestMidwest aims to turn connections into dollars; startups can apply to pitch now
Attending InvestMidwest as an audience member was so impactful for Nick Love that the Love Lifesciences co-founder hopes to pitch his own company when the startup-investor conference and showcase returns this spring to Kansas City — for the first time since 2019. “InvestMidwest allowed us to speak with investors, but was also structured such that…
